The eGolf Professional Tour, formerly the Tarheel Tour, is a third-level men's professional golf tour based in Charlotte, North Carolina

Charlotte, North Carolina

Charlotte is the largest city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the seat of Mecklenburg County. In 2010, Charlotte's population according to the US Census Bureau was 731,424, making it the 17th largest city in the United States based on population. The Charlotte metropolitan area had a 2009...

 with about twenty tournaments conducted annually in the states of North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia and Georgia.

The Tarheel Tour was founded in 2002 by Paul Wortham and David Siegel. It was purchased by Five Oaks Capital in August 2008 and renamed the eGolf Professional Tour the following year. In its first season, the tour had ten tournaments and $234,000 in prize money. In 2008 the Tour expanded to 19 tournaments with a total purse of over $2.4 million. Following the takeover by eGolf, prize money has increased significantly and the tour was slated to pay out over $4.5 million in 19 tournaments during 2009. Prize money varies between $220,000 and $300,000 each week, and is funded in part by the players' entry fees.

As a development tour, the eGolf Professional Tour is designed to be a stepping stone for players trying to ascend to higher level tours. Many players on the tour have gone on to play on the second tier Nationwide Tour

Nationwide Tour

The Nationwide Tour is the developmental tour for the U.S.-based PGA Tour, and features professional golfers who have either failed to score well enough at that level's Qualifying School to earn their PGA Tour card, or who have done so but then failed to win enough money to stay at that level...

, and a few have reached the top level on the PGA Tour

PGA Tour

The PGA Tour is the organizer of the main men's professional golf tours in the United States and North America...

, including Will MacKenzie

Will MacKenzie

William Ruggles MacKenzie is an American professional golfer who has played on the PGA Tour.MacKenzie was born and raised in Greenville, North Carolina. He was a golfing prodigy growing up but burned out on golf at age 14 and completely quit the game after high school...

, Steve Marino

Steve Marino

Stephen Paul Marino, Jr. is an American professional golfer, a member of the PGA Tour since 2007.-Early life, education, early golf:...

, Jason Bohn

Jason Bohn

Jason Duehn Bohn is an American professional golfer who currently plays on the PGA Tour.Bohn was born in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. He graduated from the University of Alabama in 1995 with a degree in Finance. In 1992, while a sophomore on the Alabama golf team, Bohn was playing in a charity...

, Tommy Gainey

Tommy Gainey

Tommy Gainey , also known as "Two Gloves", is an American professional golfer on the PGA Tour.-Early pro career:Gainey was born in Darlington, South Carolina. He attended the Central Carolina Technical College just outside of Darlington...

, Matt Bettencourt

Matt Bettencourt

Matt Bettencourt is an American professional golfer.Born in Alammeda, California, he turned professional in 2001 after attending Modesto Junior College....

 and David Mathis

David Mathis

David Mathis is an American professional golfer.Mathis was born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. He played college golf at Campbell University. He turned professional in 1997....

.

For 2011, the eGolf Tour will reimburse the top twenty money earners the fees for the PGA Tour's qualifying school

Qualifying school

In professional golf the term qualifying school is used for the annual qualifying tournaments for leading golf tours such as the U.S. based PGA and LPGA Tours and the European Tour. A fixed number of players in the event win membership of the tour for the following season, otherwise known as a...

, and a number of exemptions for Nationwide Tour

Nationwide Tour

The Nationwide Tour is the developmental tour for the U.S.-based PGA Tour, and features professional golfers who have either failed to score well enough at that level's Qualifying School to earn their PGA Tour card, or who have done so but then failed to win enough money to stay at that level...

 events, and two events in Morocco that will allow winners to compete for the European Tour's King Hassan II Trophy http://www.egolfprofessionaltour.com/faq.

Money leaders

Year	Money leader	Events played	Earnings (US$ United States dollar The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies.... )
2011	Corey Nagy	12	89,607
2010	Jason Kokrak Jason Kokrak Jason Kokrak is an American professional golfer who currently plays on the Nationwide Tour.-Amateur career:Kokrak was born in North Bay, Ontario, and played high school golf at JFK High School in Warren, Ohio, where he twice led his team to the Ohio Boy's state championship as Division III medalist...	11	115,225
2009	Scott Brown	14	142,362
2008	David Robinson	16	106,645
2007	Matt Cannon	20	81,724
2006	Dustin Bray	19	63,168

External links

• eGolf Professional Tour – official site