GLEN ALLEN, Va. -- Last year, Australian Nick Flanagan came from behind to win the Henrico County Open. The victory was the first of three Nationwide Tour titles he earned in 2007 on his way to his 2008 PGA TOUR card.

Australians are ruling the Tour this year, with four Aussies winning the first seven events. Of those winners, Jarrod Lyle and Ewan Porter are playing in this week's tournament in the Richmond, Va., suburb of Glen Allen.

It was also 10 years ago at the Henrico County Open that Notah Begay III became the first Nationwide Tour player to break 60. Begay fired a 13-under 59 (32-27) at The Dominion Club in 1998 in a round that included nine birdies and two eagles.

International players are making a record run at Nationwide Tour titles this year. Through the first seven events, four players born outside the United States, all from Australia, have claimed victories. Jarrod Lyle (Mexico Open), Ewan Porter (Moonah Classic), Gavin Coles (Chitimacha Louisiana Open) and Aron Price (Livermore Valley Wine Country Championship) have each registered wins. The quartet captured their wins in the first six events.

There has never been a more concentrated group of international winners in Nationwide Tour history. In 2004, Euan Walters (Australia/Jacob's Creek Open Championship), Gavin Coles (Australia/New Zealand PGA Championship), Daniel Chopra (Sweden/First Tee Arkansas Classic) and Ryuji Imada (Japan/BMW Charity Pro-Am) all won in the first seven events on the calendar. In 2006, it took eight tournaments to get the first four international winners.

Golf Channel's domestic coverage of the Nationwide Tour begins this week at the Henrico County Open. This is the first of 13 U.S. events, plus one in Canada, Golf Channel will air between now and the season-ending Nationwide Tour Championship at TPC Craig Ranch in early November.

This year marks the Tour's 16th year in the greater Richmond, Va., area. The tournament first began in 1993 when Angel Franco became the first player in Tour history to win as a Monday qualifier while also making his first career start. Franco led by one after 54 holes at The Dominion Club and needed only a final-round 71 to win by two shots.

First-round leaders have never won this event. The closest any first-round leader has come to winning came when Hugh Royer III (1995), Olin Browne (1996), Jeff Julian (1997) and Steve Runge (2000) all finished third.

Daniel Chopra also bettered the Tour's record for most strokes under par when he finished 30-under par while winning the tournament in 2004. Chopra took advantage of four days worth of lift, clean and place conditions and posted rounds of 66-63-65-65. His score broke the mark of 26-under set by Chris Smith at the 1997 Omaha Classic. Chopra hit 61 of 72 greens in regulation and recorded birdies on 17 different holes. Nathan Green, who had only one bogey all week, tied for second with Franklin Langham.

After several years of low scores, The Dominion Club has toughened up the past two years. From 2002 to 2005, the course was ranked No. 25, 26, 32 and 30, respectively, among the toughest on Tour. In 2006, the par-72 layout played to a scoring average of 73.428 and was rated No. 4 on Tour. Last year, the course ranked No. 10 on Tour with a scoring average 72.285.

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