Players love Daniel Island venue

As good as it gets. That appeared to be the consensus opinion when participants in the Nationwide Tour Championship were asked about Daniel Island Club.

"The golf course (Ralston Creek) is in great shape. The greens are perfect. They have a new clubhouse here. They have a lot of members so you get a lot of support from the area," tournament leader Michael Sim said Thursday following his course-record 64.

"This is a good venue for the Tour Championship. It doesn't get any better."

Former Clemson golfer Kevin Johnson, who had two Nationwide victories this season, compared this week's tournament to a PGA Tour event.

"This is as good as I've played," said Johnson, playing in his sixth Nationwide Tour Championship. "This is special, the way they're treating us. The courtesy cars are BMWs. It's like a nice Tour event. I'm happy they have a tournament. I don't know if I'm expecting (the royal treatment), but they've done everything."

Johnson gave a pat on the back to tournament director Kevin Canning "even though he's a Gamecock."

Stuff the bus

Student Transportation of America Education Foundation, the host organization for the Nationwide Tour Championship, and IC Bus, are holding a "stuff the bus" campaign at the tournament. A school bus will be stationed in the spectator parking lot with spectators asked to bring new or gently used school supplies, including backpacks, pencils, crayons, notebooks, binders and notebook paper. The donations will benefit District 23 schools, including C.C. Blaney Elementary, E.B. Ellington Elementary, Minnie Hughes Elementary, Jane Edwards Elementary, Baptist Hill Middle School and Baptist Hill High School.

A long walk

At 7,446 yards, the Rees Jones-designed Ralston Creek course at Daniel Island Club is the ninth-longest course played in Nationwide Tour history and the third longest among courses hosting the Nationwide Tour Championship. The longest Nationwide course is Kinderlou Forest, home of the South Georgia Classic, which plays 7,781 yards.

Chip shots

The average score for Thursday's opening round was 71.362, with 38 of the 58 players here posting rounds of par-72 or better. The highest score was 77 by Rich Barcelo … Blake Adams, No. 3 on the money list and No. 2 on the Nationwide Tour in driving distance for the season, averaged a first-round high of 301 yards on the two measured drives, five yards in front of No. 2 Derek Lamely … Won Joon Lee, the Nationwide Tour's long-drive leader for the season with an average of 313.3 yards, averaged only 289.5 Thursday.

Sim was 25th, averaging 279.5 yards.