PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – Nov. 9, 2004 – Jimmy Walker, a two-time winner this season, has been named the Nationwide Tour Player of the Year in a vote of his peers. He'll receive the Jack Nicklaus Trophy in recognition of this honor.

The leading money winner on the Tour with $371,346, the 25-year old Walker will be taking his skills to the PGA Tour next season. He is the 15th player to earn Nationwide Tour Player of the Year honors and 10 of the previous 14 have gone on to win on the PGA Tour.

The San Antonio, Texas, resident won the season-opening BellSouth Panama Championship and then came back and won the first domestic event of the year, the Chitimacha Louisiana Open. He came close to winning two other times during the year, recording second-place finishes at the Virginia Beach Open and the Albertsons Boise Open.

In addition to those strong outings, Walker put together a season that saw him finish in the Top-10 on seven occasions and make the cut in 20 of 25 starts. He was second on the Nationwide Tour in the all-around stats category and was fifth in scoring average with a 70.06 mark. He tied for fifth in birdies per round (4.27), was tied for sixth in putting (1.744) and ninth in driving distance at 308.6 yards.

"It's a great honor to be named Player of the Year. When you look at the previous winners and see the great things they've accomplished, you know this a special honor," said Walker. "What makes it really special is to play all year with a bunch of guys and have them recognize you. It makes me feel really good to be recognized by my peers."

This past season was the former Baylor All-American's second full year on the Nationwide Tour. He finished 31st on the money list in 2003 after playing a few events in 2001 and 2002. He will be a rookie on the PGA Tour in 2005 and will be fully exempt as the Nationwide Tour's leading money winner this season.