Michael Sims finished in a six-way tie for 32nd when the Nationwide Tour's Stonebrae Classic at the TPC San Francisco Bay GC wound up late on Sunday night Bermuda time.

It was sufficient to earn him more than $3,000 to add to the $13,200 cheque he picked up after placing ninth at the Tour's Louisiana Open the previous weekend.

However, it remains to be seen whether he will be in the field at the Tour's next stop, the Athens Regional Foundation Classic which will tee off this Thursday, which runs alongside the first major golf tournament of the year, The Masters at Augusta in Georgia.

The Athens Regional is also being held in Georgia – close to where Sims has been practising for much of the winter – at the Jennings Mill Country Club.

Normally players without full Tour exemption need to place in the previous week's 25 to earn automatic entry to the next tournament.

But having made the cut in his last two events and with his connections in Georgia, it could be the Bermudian will get into this week's $550,000 tournament where, on current form, he could build on what has been a superb start to his season.

At the Stonebrae, Sims rebounded from a two-over 73 in the first round to card a sizzling 66 in his second and put himself among the leaders.

He fired an eagle and three birdies, finishing three-under for his last holes and five-under overall.

That form deserted him on Saturday as he struggled to a bogey-riddled six-over 77 but in Sunday's final 18 he conquered the course with a bogey-free 67 that included four birdies which elevated him to 32nd overall with a 72-hole total of 283.

Coincidentally, his near namesake, Australian Michael Sim, collected his second Nationwide Tour title, closing with a seven-under 64 for a six-stroke victory over countryman Cameron Percy and John Kimbell.

The 24-year-old Sim, also the 2006 PalmettoPride Classic winner, recorded an 18-under 266 total to earn $108,000 in the inaugural event to jump from seventh to first on the money list with $182,017.

"I had a really good feeling that I was going to win today," Sim said after his third top-four finish in five events this year. "I felt all week like this was my tournament to win.

"My swing feels better than it's ever been. I didn't have a score in mind today. It was just flowing. I was really in control of my game."

Percy and Kimbell shot 68s.

Sim, the top-ranked amateur in the world in 2005, led the field in fairways hit and tied for second in greens in regulation.