Notebook: Daly returns, 10 players at Pebble Beach

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JOHN DALY / IT'S BEEN 19 YEARS -- Longtime Arkansas resident John Daly returns to the Nationwide Tour this week for the first time since 1991. He received a sponsor's exemption into the Fort Smith Classic at Hardscrabble Country Club in Fort Smith, Ark. The former Arkansas Razorback played on the Nationwide Tour full time in 1990, its inaugural year, making 14 cuts in 19 starts, finishing second three times and winning the Utah Classic. That fall, he would get his PGA TOUR card through the Qualifying Tournament and go on to earn 1991 Rookie of the Year honors with the highlight being his surprise victory at the PGA Championship. Daly has made 439 PGA TOUR starts and won five times, adding another major at the 1995 British Open. In 2010, the 44-year-old has made the cut in eight of 11 PGA TOUR events, with his best finish a T24 at the Puerto Rico Open presented by Banco Popular.

TEN CURRENT NATIONWIDE TOUR PLAYERS AT PEBBLE BEACH -- Ten Nationwide Tour members successfully qualified for this week's U.S. Open at Pebble Beach Golf Links in California. Three are inside "The 25" on the money list -- Bobby Gates (No. 3), Jim Herman (8th) and Daniel Summerhays (24th). Arjun Atwal, Craig Barlow, Jason Gore, Kent Jones, Hugo Leon, Deane Pappas and Blaine Peffley round out the group. Gore (three starts), Jones (five) and Barlow (four) have all competed in previous U.S. Opens but never in one at Pebble Beach. The rest are competing in their first U.S. Open. Seven are Americans and three are from outside the U.S. but have college golf experience here -- Atwal (India/Nassau CC), Leon (Chile/Southeastern Louisiana U.) and Pappas (South Africa/U. of Arkansas). Gore is remembered for co-leading the 2005 U.S. Open at Pinehurst after two rounds and being in the final group on Sunday before playing his way out of the championship. In total, there are 60 current or former Nationwide Tour players in the 156-player field.

ARKANSAS RAZORBACK TAG RIDINGS ON TRACK IN 2010 -- Tag Ridings, a 1997 All-American and Scholastic All-American while at the University of Arkansas, is in the midst of a very consistent year. About the only blemish on his 2010 record is the lack of a victory. The Oklahoma native has five top 10s with his best finishes a T3 in Bogotá and a T4 in Australia. He is currently 7th on the money list. Thirty-two of his 44 rounds have been under par. Ridings, who has played all 11 events this year and missed only one cut, would no doubt be a popular Fort Smith winner if he were to pull it off. He is seeking a return to the PGA TOUR where he competed full time in 2004 through 2009 and has earned more than $3.3 million. Ridings has one Nationwide Tour win to his credit, the 2002 Permian Basin Open in Midland, Texas.

BUSY WEEK IN FORT SMITH -- Fort Smith Classic tournament officials have lots planned in the way of outside the ropes activities this week. Things kicked off on Monday with a celebrity pro-am and "Dancing for a Cause", followed by Tuesday's Prayer Breakfast which featured Auburn University offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn as guest speaker and the Wal-mart Family Festival in the late afternoon. On Wednesday, the tournament pro-am will take place at Hardscrabble with the Natural State Golf Trail Junior Pro-Am taking place at Eagle Crest Golf Club in Alma. On Thursday evening, Charlie Daniels headlines the Cox Community Concert with John Daly appearing on stage with Johnny Lee and the Urban Cowboy Band at Fort Smith River Park. "Pink on the Links", designed to raise awareness about breast cancer, will be prominent throughout the day on Friday at Hardscrabble CC and then into the night with the "Pink Par-Tee" downtown.

HARDSCRABBLE COUNTRY CLUB -- At 6,783 yards (par 70), the Perry Maxwell-designed (1927) Hardscrabble Country Club is not the shortest course on the Nationwide Tour this year. That honor belongs to the 6,707-yard (par 71) Thornblade Club, host venue for the BWM Charity Pro-Am in Greenville, S.C. Among the past champions at Hardscrabble are 2007 Masters winner Zach Johnson (2003 event) and this year's PLAYERS Championship victor Tim Clark (2000 event).

"QUEST FOR THE CARD: INSIDE THE NATIONWIDE TOUR" SET TO AIR ON GOLF CHANNEL -- Beginning next Wednesday (June 23rd) Golf Channel will air ten episodes of "Quest for the Card: Inside the Nationwide Tour" on the following dates (all Wednesdays) through November: June 23, July 7 & 21, Aug. 4 & 18, Sept. 1 & 15, Oct. 6 & 20 and Nov. 3. All shows will be 30 minutes with the exception of the 60-minute final edition on Nov. 3. "Quest for the Card" profiles the players and tournaments on the Nationwide Tour and the season-long quest for "The 25" PGA TOUR cards, plus news and notes about the Tour. The June 23rd show will air at 6:30 p.m. ET. Each show will re-air several times.

BIRTHDAY BOYS -- Celebrating a birthday this week in Fort Smith is David Hearn of Brantford, Canada (June 17 / turns 31).

NEXT WEEK -- The Mexico Open Bicentenary at El Bosque Country Club in Leon, Guanajuato, Mexico, about 125 miles northwest of Mexico City....June 24-27. Last December's PGA TOUR Qualifying Tournament medalist Troy Merritt won last year's event.