Michael Sim is Dominating Your Nationwide Tour

If you ever stay up until around 1 in the morning (which I do), then you can often catch a first run or a replay of the Nationwide Tour action of the day.  I'll excuse you if you haven't been watching, but you're missing out on Australian Michael Sim. 

Sim is having a killer year so far.  In his last three starts alone, he has won twice and lost in a playoff.  Effectively, he could have done what Jason Gore (and others) did to get to the PGA Tour via the Battlefield Promotion.  Were it not for that playoff loss in Georgia, Sim would be playing at TPC Las Colinas this week.

Instead, he has a $211,136 lead over the second ranked player on the Nationwide Tour money list.  Though there is more money to be won than ever on the PGA Tour's AAA affiliate, that makes him a lock for the 2010 PGA Tour.

The sick part of it all is that Sim has played so well that he has catapulted into the top 100 in the Official World Golf Rankings.  A Nationwide Tour guy.

Sim spoke with the Associated Press about his recent success and highlighted that it has taken a lot of pain to get to this point.

A stress fracture in his spine affected his play in 2007 and 2008. He played through the injury in 2007, managing 17 PGA starts, making nine cuts and earnings of $399,900. In 2008, he played in just seven PGA events and was sidelined most of the last half of the season before finishing in a tie for seventh and a tie for 18th in his final two tour events of the year.

The injury doesn't seem to be bothering him now, though.  He leads the Nationwide Tour in all four major statistical categories - including scoring average, putting per green, and wins.