Villanow resident John Kimbell now sits second on the list after winning the inaugural South Georgia Classic at the Kinderlou Course in Valdosta last weekend, his first Nationwide win in nine career starts.
Kimbell finished the tournament at 10-under par after shooting a final round 3-under 69 on Sunday, edging Australian Matthew Jones by one stroke.
He was the only player to break 70 on the final day.
The 38 year-old Kimbell earned $108,000 for his win, his first on the PGA's second largest circuit.
His previous best finish on the Nationwide Tour had been a tie for 13th at the Livermore Wine Valley Country Championship in Livermore, Cal. three weeks ago.
It really feels great," said Kimbell, who is in Athens this week for the Athens Regional Foundation Classic. "Now that I've had a couple of days to think about it, it's a nice feeling."
Kimbell has played in six events so far this season, making the cut three times, while earning $126,139.
Not bad for a guy who only got serious about the game of golf 15 years ago.
While some golfers were born with a club in their hands, Kimbell didn't play at all while attending high school in San Antonio, Texas.
It wasn't until his mid-twenties that he was bitten by the golfing bug after moving to the northwest Georgia area in 1989.
The game was then just a hobby for Kimbell, who was working third shift at UPS in Dalton.
Honing his game at the LaFayette Golf Course, Kimbell quickly picked up the sport.
He qualified for his first Hooters Tour event in 1996 and began his professional career.
He bounced around the mini-tours for a decade, ironically enough finding his biggest successes at Kinderlou, the longest PGA and Nationwide Tour course in history at 7,781 yards.
Naturally a long hitter – Kimbell is seventh in driving average at 312.7 yards – he finished fourth in a Hooters event at Kinderlou in 2004 and placed 10th there the following year.
Then in Sept. 2006, Kimbell won at Kinderlou and three months later, he made it through the tour’s qualifying tournament to earn exempt status on the Nationwide Tour this year.
"I really like the course and not just because I've won there," he said. "I really thought it was a good course from the first day I played it. It suits my game well."
Last Sunday’s win at Kinderlou also earned him exempt status on next year’s Nationwide Tour, but gave him a jump toward a loftier goal.
If Kimbell can finish the season in the top 25 on the money list, he will earn an exemption to the big league of golf – the PGA Tour – in 2008.
"At the beginning of the year I thought about just finishing in the top 60 to earn my Nationwide exemption for next year," he explained. "Now with the win, things have changed.
"I'd love to play on the PGA Tour, it's why we do this. I've got a pretty good jump on it so it's on my mind. But it's still early in the season, so I'm trying to not to worry about it too much and just keep playing.
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