Gaining a full card for the Nationwide Tour will open up a slew of new earning opportunities for Michael Sims and offerhim a direct path to the PGA Tour itself.

The Nationwide Tour is effectively a developmental tour for the PGA Tour and in 2006 it boasted a schedule of 31 tournaments with prize purses ranging from $450,000 to $750,000 ? around one tenth of PGA Tour level.

A place in the top 20 Nationwide money earners at the end of the year means a membership card for the following year?s PGA Tour.

Most Nationwide events are held in the US, but in January and February this year, it staged events in Panama, Australia and New Zealand.

Sometimes known as the ?satellite tour?, it was initially called the Ben Hogan Tour at the time it was formalised by the PGA Tour in 1990. In 1993, it became the Nike Tour and in 2000, the Buy.com Tour.

Nationwide Tour tournaments operate similarly to typical PGA Tour events in that they are all 72-hole strokeplay events with a cut made after 36 holes. The cut on the Nationwide Tour is for the top 60 players and ties, unlike 70 for the PGA Tour. The fields are usually 144 or 156 players.

Event winners receive 18 percent of the total prize purse, as on the PGA Tour, and this translates into a six-figure cheque for the winner at most Nationwide tournaments.

Since 1997, a player who wins three tournaments in one year on the Nationwide Tour receives an immediate promotion to the PGA Tour for the remainder of the year.

Many Nationwide events are televised on The Golf Channel.