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By Dave Lagarde
PGATOUR.com Correspondent

BOISE, Idaho -- They are walking, talking, swinging and yes, on occasion, swigging advertisements for all that is good about the Nationwide Tour.

Jim McGovern and Ben Bates are good friends on the Nationwide Tour. (WireImage)

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• Bates' player page • Bates' 2007 stats • McGovern's player page • Video: McGovern has share of lead in Boise

So put easygoing old friends and road roomies Jim McGovern and Ben Bates on a leaderboard together, haul each into a Media Center after a solid round and sit back and listen as they fill up notebooks. This harmonic convergence happened for the first time in a very long time following the third round of the Albertsons Boise Open presented First Health last week.

They are truly nice guys and originals, these two engaging and talkative forty-somethings; a pair of grizzled professionals who can draw uncanny parallel lines between their personal lives as well as their careers that have spanned close to 30 years of chasing dreams and a little white, often uncooperative, ball.

Bates is married with three kids. McGovern is married with four.

Bates turned pro in 1984, McGovern in 1988.

Bates owns two Nationwide Tour victories, McGovern three.

Each played in the four surviving Ben Hogan Tour tournaments in Knoxville, Tenn., Wichita, Kan., Springfield, Mo., and Boise, this season. In fact, McGovern missed only one of the first 30 in 1990 while Bates got a gold star for perfect attendance.

Each has made his way to the PGA TOUR by finishing among the money-list graduates on the Nationwide Tour, Bates in 1997 and McGovern in 1990.

Bates has played 121 tournaments on the PGA TOUR without a victory. McGovern has competed in 352, winning the 1993 Shell Houston Open.

"We like all the same things,'' Bates said. "Our kids are about the same age. We appreciate a nice, cold Bud after a round, and we don't like to talk golf away from the course.''

Each is a certified lifer, who would love to play golf for a living until they find themselves on the wrong side of a divot. Yet each has contemplated seeking other employment recently as they have struggled to excel in ruthless competition.

Bates' best finish so far this year was T11 at last week's Albertsons Boise Open. (WireImage)

Bates, a native of Quincy, Fla., and McGovern, who hails from Teaneck, N.J., first crossed paths at the inaugural Ben Hogan Tour (now the Nationwide Tour) event held Feb. 2-4, 1990 in Bakersfield, Calif.

"We didn't know each other from Adam,'' Bates said.

But a strong bond formed immediately, not only between Bates and McGovern but also among more than a score of other pioneers on a start-up tour. They played together, traveled together, roomed together, ate together, swapped yarns together and had more than a few beers together that fateful first season.

"We weren't married, didn't have any kids or much money and weren't playing for much (purses were $100,000) either,'' Bates recalled. "This was all new to all of us. There were about 30 guys who hung together. We had a blast.''

The group soon settled into a routine when they arrived in a new city for a new event. Someone scouted a motel. Someone purchased a barbecue pit. Someone had a boom box. Someone had an ice chest. Everyone filled it with beer. The day would end with something sizzling on the grill near the motel pool while bottles and cans chilled in the ice chest.

"We would stay out there until it was time to go to bed,'' McGovern said.

The tournament would end. They players would pack up and depart, always leaving the grill behind for some lucky scavenger.

My, oh my how things have changed in almost 18 years. Prize money has increased more than six-fold, and the talent level now is off the charts, leading many to argue that the Nationwide Tour might be the second best professional circuit in the world, one that draws the most talented upcoming players from around the globe.

"Back then, there probably were 20-25 guys capable of winning every week,'' McGovern said. "Now there are 150.''

Bates said of his peers, "They've all got game. Anyone who comes out here to watch these players understands that.''

McGovern's best finish so far this year was T2 at the Movistar Panama tournament. (WireImage)

The reason is players have a blueprint for success. Consequently, they are much more serious in their approach to their business in 2007 than they were in back in the old days of 1990. The majority is health conscious and closely monitors diets. Players have swing instructors and mental coaches, plus many consult with personal trainers.

This particular, relatively new aspect of pro golf tickles Bates, who obviously subscribes to the adage that there is no teaching an old dog a new trick.

"These young kids,'' he said, laughing. "I'll come in after a round, and someone will be pumping weights. The practice range used to be empty after rounds way back when. Not any more. They're out there beating balls. These guys are acting like it means something.''

One thing about the Nationwide Tour steadfastly remains the same and likely will until the very last putt drops. It is the friendliest circuit on Earth.

"Some things have changed in 18 years, sure,'' McGovern said. "But this Tour still goes to smaller towns. The players all see each other and stay at the same motels. We go to dinner together and will hang out. That's not the way it works on the PGA TOUR. Out there it's very business-like.''

Bates, who has made more Nationwide Tour cuts (202) than any other player, naturally would like at least one more shot at The Big Show before he fades into the sunset. But if the opportunity never comes, so be it.

"I love this Tour,'' he said of the Nationwide Tour.

It was easy to tell he meant it.