"Oh yeah, there were plenty of guys on the Nationwide Tour who smoked in the middle of the round...We always talked about it. You could go in the Porta John and take your drags."

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It's always fun to read a well done player profile, especially when the player is interesting and his story is bound to have men in Oxford's running around PGA Tour offices trying to figure out the spin.

So while all the stuff Dave Shedloski tells us about in the Robert Garrigus story--Memphis last year, the 2011 U.S. Open and his struggle with addiction--these are the comments bound to be brought up the next time Tim Finchem claims that PGA Tour pros are all angels and drug testing was unnecessary.

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"I don’t know how long it will take to sink in. Eight months? Nine months? A couple days? I don’t know. I’ve never done this before."

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I've been hearing from reader Rob Matre about amateur Russell Henley, winner of Sunday's Stadion Classic on the Nationwide Tour over his home course at the University of Georgia.  Rob posted a gallery of images from Sunday's round.

From an unbylined AP story on the win:

“I can’t even feel my arms,” Henley said. “I was nervous all day. I don’t know how long it will take to sink in. Eight months? Nine months? A couple days? I don’t know. I’ve never done this before.”

The three-time All-America selection finished at 12-under 272 on the University of Georgia Golf Course.

If you want to experience what golf highlights were like in the silent era, here's a B-roll with graphics of the final round in Athens.

"I don’t want to look back knowing that I had the chance to do it and not doing it, and hating myself for it."

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Doug Ferguson tells us that Brett Waldman is giving up his looping duties to play on the Nationwide Tour next year after earning his way in through a miraculous Q-school run.

The hardest part of his journey was the final decision – give up financial security by working for Villegas, or grind it out on a tour with no guaranteed pay from smaller purses.

"It’s just a dream," Waldman said. "I don’t want to look back knowing that I had the chance to do it and not doing it, and hating myself for it. I would always look back and say, ‘What if?’ There’s a reason I got to where I am. I might as well chase the dream."

Waldman, who played college golf at Kansas State and Central Florida, had not played competitively since he was eliminated from the second stage of Q-school in 2002. He went to work as a caddie for his cousin, Tom Pernice Jr., for Ben Crane and eventually Villegas.

On a whim – and with prodding from his wife, Angel – he decided to try PGA Tour qualifying this year and was one of only nine players who made it through a pre-qualifier (four rounds) and the next two stages of four-round tournaments. While trying to advance, he continued to work for Villegas as the Tour Championship and tournaments in China and Australia.

Waldman might want to think about keeping the bag (if allowed) until late February since, as Sean Martin reports, the Nationwide tour is down to 26 events from 29 and doesn't start play domestically until mid-March.

"Had enough."

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I didn't mind much when Jerry Rice was playing in the Nationwide event he hosted, but now he's just taking up a spot belonging to someone who actually belongs in the field.

Rice shot a 92, the highest score ever since this Nationwide Tour event began in South Carolina's Upstate in 1992.

Rice talked before the tournament of buying Cristal for everyone if he'd reached his goal and made the cut. He saw those hopes doused early when he couldn't avoid the water at The Carolina Country Club.

He put three shots into the water on the par-4 second hole for a 10. Things never improved from there. His 20-over finish was two shots worse than the 90 put up by Shawn McCaughley in 2006 at The Cliffs Valley Course.

Sounds like someone else we know...

Rice signed autographs for about 15 minutes after finishing No. 18. He then bypassed several TV cameras and media waiting to discuss his round.

"I don't want to talk about golf right now," Rice said before getting in his car. "Had enough."

Sean Martin's Rice-update tweets were quite enjoyable and I'm sure he'll be chiming in more today as Rice tries to break 100.