1997 Nike Tour graduates
This is a list of players who graduated from the Nike Tour in 1997. The top 15 players on the Nike Tour's money list in 1997 earned their PGA Tour card for 1998.
| 1997 Nike Tour | 1998 PGA Tour | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Money list rank |
Earnings ($) | Starts | Cuts made |
Best finish |
Money list rank |
Earnings ($) | |
 Chris Smith |
1 | 225,201 | 31 | 16 | T7 | 144 | 184,933 | |
| Mark Carnevale |
2 | 184,997 | 32 | 15 | T7 | 150 | 174,470 | |
| Chris DiMarco |
3 | 135,513 | 31 | 17 | T9 (twice) | 111 | 260,334 | |
| Steve Flesch* |
4 | 133,190 | 29 | 14 | 2 | 35 | 777,186 | |
 Trevor Dodds |
5 | 130,983 | 29 | 18 | Win | 33 | 791,340 | |
| Barry Cheesman |
6 | 120,033 | 32 | 15 | 3 | 100 | 310,535 | |
| J. L. Lewis |
7 | 119,829 | 32 | 15 | 4 | 104 | 287,753 | |
| Brian Kamm |
8 | 118,005 | 28 | 10 | 13 | 189 | 87,326 | |
| R. W. Eaks |
9 | 117,665 | 34 | 11 | T7 | 137 | 199,499 | |
 Glen Hnatiuk* |
10 | 116,381 | 30 | 15 | T14 | 165 | 148,098 | |
| Joe Daley |
11 | 105,297 | 27 | 8 | T27 | 211 | 42,092 | |
| Ben Bates* |
12 | 105,089 | 31 | 22 | T8 | 112 | 260,225 | |
| Harrison Frazar* |
13 | 104,023 | 26 | 16 | T2 | 63 | 461,633 | |
| Mike Small* |
14 | 102,079 | 26 | 8 | T9 | 178 | 112,336 | |
| Bobby Wadkins |
15 | 101,717 | 32 | 15 | T15 | 154 | 171,854 | |
*PGA Tour rookie for 1998.
T = Tied
Green background indicates the player retained his PGA Tour card for 1999 (won or finished inside the top 125).
Yellow background indicates player did not retain his PGA Tour card for 1999, but retained conditional status (finished between 126–150).
Red background indicates the player did not retain his PGA Tour card for 1999 (finished outside the top 150).
Winners on the PGA Tour in 1998
[edit]| No. | Date | Player | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Apr 26 | Trevor Dodds Won on first playoff hole |
Greater Greensboro Chrysler Classic | −12 (68-69-70-69=276) | Playoff | Scott Verplank
|
Runners-up on the PGA Tour in 1998
[edit]| No. | Date | Player | Tournament | Winner | Winning score | Runner-up score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Apr 5 | Steve Flesch
|
Freeport-McDermott Classic |  Lee Westwood
|
−15 (69-68-67-69=273) | −12 (66-68-71-71=276) |
| 2 | May 17 | Harrison Frazar
|
GTE Byron Nelson Golf Classic | John Cook
|
−15 (66-68-66-65=265) | −12 (64-68-66-70=268) |