Meet Generation Next

Twenty-three Current and Former NGA/Hooters Tour heading to PGA Tour

By Paul Warner

Myrtle Beach, S.C.- December 10, 2010

Over the last 20 years, the NGA/Hooters Professional Golf Tour has proven to be the No. 1 development tour in the country for aspiring golfers to begin their careers, recommended by more PGA and Nationwide Tour professionals than any other tour in the country. NGA/Hooters Tour alumni have gone on to win on the Nationwide Tour, PGA Tour and Champions Tour, including 12 PGA Tour “Majors” and two PGA Tour Player of the Year awards. In 2010, former NGA/Hooters Tour players won 12 times on the PGA Tour and 12 more on the Nationwide Tour, cementing the National Golf Association as the 3rd largest men’s 72-hole professional golf tour in the country behind only the PGA and Nationwide Tours.

In 2011, 23 current or former NGA/Hooters Tour players will be advancing to the PGA Tour. Some advanced by finishing inside “The 25” on the Nationwide Tour, while others survived the grueling, six-round marathon that is PGA Tour Qualifying School to earn PGA Tour cards.

So without further ado, meet Generation Next:

1. Michael Thompson (Birmingham, Ala.)

After struggling through his first year on the NGA/Hooters Tour, Thompson, a former University of Alabama golfer, found his stride in the 2009 Bridgestone Winter Series, winning once and posting four finishes of T7 or better in eight events. The former U.S. Amateur runner-up carried that momentum into the 2010 NGA season, where he racked up six top-10 finishes, four top-5s and his first Hooters Tour win en route to POY honors.Thompson finished T16 in Q-School to earn his PGA Tour card.

Read more at hooterstour.com : Meet Generation Next