News >> Phillip Choi wins TimberCreek Golf Classic
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Final Round Update: Ryan Spears finishes second, one stroke back-
Daphne, Ala. – July 29, 2012 – After turning pro following his sophomore season at the University of Florida, Phillip Choi didn’t exactly set the world on fire during his rookie campaign on the NGA TOUR, posting just on top 10 in 12 starts in 2011. However, Choi showed the world this week that his decision to turn pro wasn’t without merit.
The 2011 NCAA All-American posted a tournament-low 63 in the third round to get into contention and shot a 3-under 68 in the final round of the TimberCreek Golf Classic on Sunday to earn his first NGA TOUR victory by one shot over Ryan Spears.
“When I first turned pro, I had a few opportunities to play well, but I didn’t capitalize,” said Choi, who earned 10 top-10 finishes and a victory in his final season as a Gator. “I’ve been working pretty hard on my game and it’s nice to see it paying off.”
Choi of Orlando, Fla., started the final round trailing co-leaders Chris Walling and Jimmy Hazen by one stroke, but two early birdies and a couple of missteps by the leaders gave the former Gator the outright lead by the fifth hole.
“I knew I needed a couple of birdies early to have a chance today,” said Choi, who finished with rounds of 68-70-63-68 for a 15-under 269 total. “I did that, and I knew I was in good shape going into the back nine.”
Choi finished the front side birdie-bogey-birdie to maintain the lead and added another birdie on No. 11 to distance himself from the field. With the lead in hand, Choi played mistake-free golf over the next six holes and went to the final tee needing just a bogey to secure the victory.
After finding the bunker with his approach, Choi safely blasted his bunker shot to within four feet of the hole and two-putted for his first win as a professional.
“I took a couple weeks off [in June] and really worked hard on my game,” said Choi, who earned $22,000. “At the end of those two weeks, I felt like I was playing well enough to do something. This week, my putting was the key, especially when I shot the 63.”
In addition to the healthy winner’s check, Choi will also earn an event exemption into the Web.com Tour’s Mylan Classic, courtesy of the NGA TOUR. Choi has one PGA TOUR start, but this will be his first Web.com Tour event.
“It’s exciting,” said Choi. “I’m thankful for the NGA TOUR and Web.com Tour giving me the opportunity to play. I’m looking forward to it.”
Spears of Del City, Okla., started the day T6 and fired a 4-under 67 on Sunday to put the pressure on Choi, but his 14-under 270 total was one shot shy of forcing a playoff. While he was unable to claim his second NGA TOUR victory, Spears earned his second runner-up finish in as many events and pocketed $11, 442. Spears, a former Wichita State standout and 2011 NGA TOUR Rookie of the Year, finished with rounds of 67,68, 68 and 67.
After losing the lead, Walling of Lake Charles, La., battled back to earn a share of the top spot with an eagle on No. 9, but the momentum was short-lived. The former LSU Tiger posted a two bogeys and a birdie on the backside en route to a final-round 71. Walling finished third at 13-under par.
Jeff Dennis (68), Cedric Scotto (71) and Sam Ryder (71) finished tied for fourth at 11-under par, while Daniel Stone (70), Ken Looper (70) and Hunter Green (72) finished at 10-under par and tied for seventh.
Patrick Wilkes-Krier and Brian Richey both posted final-round 71s and finished T10 at 9-under par, while Nick Rousey (67), Danny Evelyn (66), Zachariah Potter (70), Riley Wheeldon (70) and Jimmy Hazen (76) finished T12 at 8-under par.
For full-field scores, click here.
Third Round Update: Phillip Choi shoots 63 moves into 3rd, 1 shot back-
Daphne, Ala. – July 28, 2012 – Jimmy Hazen shot a 6-under 65 in the third round of the NGA Tour’s TimberCreek Golf Classic on Saturday to join second-round leader Chris Walling atop the leaderboard.
After starting the day T7, Hazen, a former Sacred Heart University golfer from Miller Park, N.Y., carded a front-side 31 to join the fray and added two birdies on the backside to catch Walling for the lead.
“I got off to a good start,” said Hazen. “I hit one in close on No. 1, but I wasn’t able to covert. On holes three, four and five, I hit three shots in there pretty close and was able to knock those down. That gave me some momentum.”
Walling of Lake Charles, La., started the day with the lead, but his 1-over 36 on the outward nine left the former LSU Tiger playing catch-up on the backside. Walling was up to the test, posting three birdies, including two in the last three holes, on the inward nine to reach 13-under par and join Hazen in a tie for first.
Phillip Choi of Orlando, Fla., made the largest jump on Moving Day. The former All-American at the University of Florida posted nine birdies and one bogey at TimberCreek Golf Club on Saturday en route to a tournament-low 63. Choi jumped from T22 into third place at 12-under par with the 8-under round.
Hunter Green of Dayton, Tenn., and Sam Ryder of Longwood, Fla., will begin the final round T4 at 11-under par. Green posted a 5-under 66, while Ryder shot a 3-under 68 in the third round of play.
Chris Wolfe (69), Ken Looper (69), Derek Rende (68), Patrick Wilkes-Krier (69), Rick Cochran III (71) and Brian Richey (70) will start the final round of play tied for eighth at 9-under par.
Eric Axley (67), Cedric Scotto (67), Kelvin Day (68), Jeff Dennis (69), Michael O’Neal (69) and defending champion Hudson Johnson (70) are T13 and 8-under par going into the Sunday’s final round.
For full-field scores, click here.
The final round of the TimberCreek Golf Classic will start at 7 a.m. on Sunday. As always, admission is free to the public.
Second Round Update: Rick Cochran III 2nd, two shots back-
Daphne, Ala. – July 27, 2012 – Chris Walling of Lake Charles, La., backed up his opening-round 66 with a 6-under 65 in the second round and was atop the leaderboard of the NGA TOUR’s TimberCreek Golf Classic when play was halted at 8 p.m. on Friday evening.
Walling played his first five holes of the second round 1-over par, but the former LSU Tiger battled back with seven birdies over his final 13 holes to reach 11-under par for the tournament. Walling held the clubhouse lead by two strokes when play was suspended.
Rich Cochran III of Paducah, Ky., also completed his round before the horn sounded and turned in a 5-under 66 at TimberCreek Golf Club on Friday. Cochran, a former Middle Tennessee State alumnus and nephew of PGA TOUR winner Russ Cochran, is 9-under par going into the weekend.
Brian Richey (68), Sam Ryder (66), Chris Wolfe (67) and Fairhope’s Jacob Collinsworth (67) were 8-under par and tied for third at the conclusion of play.
After shooting 6-under 65s in the first round, co-leaders Patrick Wilkes-Krier and Jimmy Hazen carded 1-under 70s on Friday and slipped into a tie for seventh with Ryan Spears (68), Ken Looper (67) and defending champion Hudson Johnson (69) at 7-under par.
Former Louisiana Tech standout Clinton Shepard’s 64 was the lowest round completed on Friday and left the West Monroe, La., resident tied for 12th with Derek Rende (69), Anthony Broussard (67), Riley Wheeldon (70) and Jeff Dennis (68) at 6-under par.
For full-field scores, click here.
After a weather delay mid-afternoon, the second round was suspended due to darkness with several groups still on the course. The second round will resume at 7 a.m. on Saturday. Following the second round, the field will be cut to the low 55 players and ties. The third round of the TimberCreek Classic will start after the completion of the second round.
First Round Update: Defending champion Hudson Johnson 1 back-
Daphne, Ala. – July 26, 2012 – Patrick Wilkes-Krier fired a 6-under 65 in the opening round of the NGA TOUR’s TimberCreek Golf Classic on Thursday and held a one-shot lead when play was suspended.
Wilkes-Krier of Orlando, Fla., went bogey-free around TimberCreek Golf Club in the opening round and poured in six birdies to take the clubhouse lead. The Ball State alumnus is coming off a career-best T2 finish in the NGA Classic at Achasta Golf Club last week.
“I tried to stick to the same mindset I had last week, which was really not to focus on score and results,” said Wilkes-Krier, the 2011 NGA TOUR’s Most Improved Player. “It worked out today to a pretty good degree, so I was pretty pleased with the round.”
Defending TimberCreek champion Hudson Johnson was likely pleased with his round as well. The Vanderbilt alumnus from Longview, Texas, posted a 5-under 66 and was tied for second with Riley Wheeldon (Comox, Canada), Michael O’Neal (Jacksonville, Fla.), Brian Richey (Lakeland, Fla.) and Adam Hogue (Lakewood Ranch, Fla.) when play was halted on Thursday evening.
Reigning NGA TOUR Rookie of the Year Ryan Spears of Del City, Okla., carded a 4-under 67 and finished the day tied for seventh with Paul Apyan (Chattanooga, Tenn.), Jonathan Fly (Memphis, Tenn.), Derek Rende (Soddy Daisey, Tenn.) and South African Leroux Ferreira.
Ken Looper (Mandeville, La.), Jeff Dennis (Jacksonville, Fla.), Cory Hale (Edmond, Okla.), Erick Justesen (Morgan Hill, Calif.), Kyle McCarthy (Denver), Kelvin Day (London), Matt Fast (Hattiesburg, Miss.) and Lion Kim (Lake Mary, Fla.) fired 3-under 68s in the opening round to earn a share of 12th place.
For full-field scores, click here.
After a weather delay mid-afternoon, the first round was suspended due to darkness at 8:30 p.m. (ET) with several groups still on the course. The first round of the TimberCreek Golf Classic will resume at 7:30 a.m. As always, admission is free to the public.
Stacked field to battle for spot in Mylan Classic-
Myrtle Beach, S.C. – July 24, 2012 – After winning the inaugural TimberCreek Golf Classic last season, Hudson Johnson looked around and realized the gravity of the situation.
“I didn’t know a lot of people out here at the start of the year,” said Johnson, a rookie on the NGA TOUR in 2011. “But as the season has gone on and you see all these guys moving on to the [Web.com Tour], you start to realize how good these guys are. Now that I’ve won out here, it gives me a lot of confidence. I mean Keegan Bradley won out here two years ago and now he’s a major champion. It’s sick. I don’t know how you can do better than the NGA TOUR for experience.”
One look at last year’s top finishers at TimberCreek Golf Club in Daphne, Ala., proves Johnson’s statement wasn’t hyperbole, as five of the top 11 finishers in the 2011 event are now members on the Web.com Tour. But even with ascending players not returning, this year’s TimberCreek Golf Classic field will still pack a punch, especially with a Web.com Tour exemption on the line.
The highest finishing NGA TOUR member will earn an event exemption, courtesy of the NGA TOUR, into the Web.com Tour’s Mylan Classic, which runs from Aug. 27 - Sept. 2, 2012.
With the extra incentive in place, this year’s field will feature six players inside the top 10 on the money list, a large contingent of past Web.com Tour and PGA TOUR players and a gaggle of up-and-coming stars.
Rich Cochran III, a Middle Tennessee State alumnus from Paducah, Ky., is the highest-ranked NGA TOUR money earner in the field. Cochran, the nephew of PGA TOUR champion Russ Cochran, won the Cherry Blossom Classic earlier this season and enters the TimberCreek Classic fourth on the money list. The field will also contain 2012 winners Ken Looper, Jay Woodson, Tyson Alexander, Anthony Broussard and defending TimberCreek champion Hudson Johnson.
Johnson, a former Vanderbilt star from Longview, Texas, won the season-opening Members Only Shootout; Looper, a former LSU standout from Mandeville, La., won the Golden Hills Classic; Woodson, a former James Madison stalwart from Richmond, Va., won the ComSouth Classic; Alexander, a former University of Florida product from Gainesville, Fla., and Broussard, a North Texas alumnus from Beaumont, Texas, won the Texas Honing Open.
Former Web.com Tour members Travis Bertoni, Zack Sucher, Scott Weatherly and Todd Bailey, multi-time NGA TOUR winners Michael Welch, Mark Blakefield and former University of Alabama All-American Nick Rousey will also tee it up in the TimberCreek Golf Classic.
The event will also be a homecoming of sorts for former University of South Alabama player Daniel Burns. The Daphne, Ala., golfer finished second in last year’s event and returns to his old stomping ground this week.
Also scheduled to play are: Erick Justesen, who played in the 2012 PGA Tour’s Northern Trust Open; T.J. Bordeaux, a 2011-12 BWS winner and four-time Big West All-Conference selection at the University of Pacific; Lion Kim, a 2011-12 BWS winner and two-time All-American selection from the University of Michigan; Oscar Stark, a former NAIA National Champion and 2011 All-Nicklaus team member from Oklahoma Christian; and Patrick Wilkes-Krier, the NGA’s 2011 Most Improved Player.
The first round of the TimberCreek Golf Classic will begin at 7:30 a.m. on Thursday, July 26. As always, admission is free to the public.
The NGA Pro Golf Tour is the No. 3 Men’s Professional Golf Tour in the United States after the PGA and Web.com Tours and is the No. 1 recommended developmental tour by more PGA and Web.com Tour Professionals.
The NGA has helped hundreds of professionals acquire their PGA TOUR, Euro, Web.com, and Champions Tour cards. In fact, NGA alumni have won an incredible Fifteen (15) “Major” Championships.
NGA Alumniinclude: 2012 Masters champion Bubba Watson; 2011 PGA Championship winner Keegan Bradley; 2010 PGA TOUR Player of the Year and 2003 US Open Champion Jim Furyk; 2009 British Open Champion Stewart Cink; 2009 U.S. Open Champion Lucas Glover; 2007 Masters Champion Zach Johnson; 2003 PGA Champion Shaun Micheel; 2003 British Open Champion Ben Curtis; two-time U.S. Open Champion Lee Janzen; British Open and PGA Champion John Daly; British Open Champion Tom Lehman; PGA Champion David Toms; 2003 Tour Championship Winner Chad Campbell; 2010 NGA Player of the Year Michael Thompson; 2011 PGA TOUR winners Sean O'Hair, Scott Piercy, Scott Stallings, Mark Wilson, Gary Woodland and many, many more.
At this year’s PGA Tour Qualifying School, 52% of those earning full exempt status on the PGA TOUR and 67% of those earning full exempt status on the Web.com Tour were past NGA Professionals. Another 16 NGA Professionals advanced to the PGA TOUR for 2012 by finishing inside the Top 25 on the Web.com Tour money list, including 2011 NGA members Ted Potter Jr., Russell Knox and Billy Hurley III.
The NGA Pro Golf Tour, established in 1988, predates the Web.com Tour as the longest running developmental tour in golf and is the “Official Partner of the 2012 Reno-Tahoe Open.”
For more information on the NGA or the NGA Pro Golf Tour, please visit our website at www.NGATOUR.com or contact our Tour Office at (800) 992-8748.
Final Round Update: Ryan Spears finishes second, one stroke back-
Daphne, Ala. – July 29, 2012 – After turning pro following his sophomore season at the University of Florida, Phillip Choi didn’t exactly set the world on fire during his rookie campaign on the NGA TOUR, posting just on top 10 in 12 starts in 2011. However, Choi showed the world this week that his decision to turn pro wasn’t without merit.
The 2011 NCAA All-American posted a tournament-low 63 in the third round to get into contention and shot a 3-under 68 in the final round of the TimberCreek Golf Classic on Sunday to earn his first NGA TOUR victory by one shot over Ryan Spears.“When I first turned pro, I had a few opportunities to play well, but I didn’t capitalize,” said Choi, who earned 10 top-10 finishes and a victory in his final season as a Gator. “I’ve been working pretty hard on my game and it’s nice to see it paying off.”
Choi of Orlando, Fla., started the final round trailing co-leaders Chris Walling and Jimmy Hazen by one stroke, but two early birdies and a couple of missteps by the leaders gave the former Gator the outright lead by the fifth hole.
“I knew I needed a couple of birdies early to have a chance today,” said Choi, who finished with rounds of 68-70-63-68 for a 15-under 269 total. “I did that, and I knew I was in good shape going into the back nine.”
Choi finished the front side birdie-bogey-birdie to maintain the lead and added another birdie on No. 11 to distance himself from the field. With the lead in hand, Choi played mistake-free golf over the next six holes and went to the final tee needing just a bogey to secure the victory.
After finding the bunker with his approach, Choi safely blasted his bunker shot to within four feet of the hole and two-putted for his first win as a professional.
“I took a couple weeks off [in June] and really worked hard on my game,” said Choi, who earned $22,000. “At the end of those two weeks, I felt like I was playing well enough to do something. This week, my putting was the key, especially when I shot the 63.”
In addition to the healthy winner’s check, Choi will also earn an event exemption into the Web.com Tour’s Mylan Classic, courtesy of the NGA TOUR. Choi has one PGA TOUR start, but this will be his first Web.com Tour event.
“It’s exciting,” said Choi. “I’m thankful for the NGA TOUR and Web.com Tour giving me the opportunity to play. I’m looking forward to it.”
Spears of Del City, Okla., started the day T6 and fired a 4-under 67 on Sunday to put the pressure on Choi, but his 14-under 270 total was one shot shy of forcing a playoff. While he was unable to claim his second NGA TOUR victory, Spears earned his second runner-up finish in as many events and pocketed $11, 442. Spears, a former Wichita State standout and 2011 NGA TOUR Rookie of the Year, finished with rounds of 67,68, 68 and 67.After losing the lead, Walling of Lake Charles, La., battled back to earn a share of the top spot with an eagle on No. 9, but the momentum was short-lived. The former LSU Tiger posted a two bogeys and a birdie on the backside en route to a final-round 71. Walling finished third at 13-under par.
Jeff Dennis (68), Cedric Scotto (71) and Sam Ryder (71) finished tied for fourth at 11-under par, while Daniel Stone (70), Ken Looper (70) and Hunter Green (72) finished at 10-under par and tied for seventh.
Patrick Wilkes-Krier and Brian Richey both posted final-round 71s and finished T10 at 9-under par, while Nick Rousey (67), Danny Evelyn (66), Zachariah Potter (70), Riley Wheeldon (70) and Jimmy Hazen (76) finished T12 at 8-under par.
For full-field scores, click here.
Third Round Update: Phillip Choi shoots 63 moves into 3rd, 1 shot back-
Daphne, Ala. – July 28, 2012 – Jimmy Hazen shot a 6-under 65 in the third round of the NGA Tour’s TimberCreek Golf Classic on Saturday to join second-round leader Chris Walling atop the leaderboard.
After starting the day T7, Hazen, a former Sacred Heart University golfer from Miller Park, N.Y., carded a front-side 31 to join the fray and added two birdies on the backside to catch Walling for the lead.“I got off to a good start,” said Hazen. “I hit one in close on No. 1, but I wasn’t able to covert. On holes three, four and five, I hit three shots in there pretty close and was able to knock those down. That gave me some momentum.”
Walling of Lake Charles, La., started the day with the lead, but his 1-over 36 on the outward nine left the former LSU Tiger playing catch-up on the backside. Walling was up to the test, posting three birdies, including two in the last three holes, on the inward nine to reach 13-under par and join Hazen in a tie for first.
Phillip Choi of Orlando, Fla., made the largest jump on Moving Day. The former All-American at the University of Florida posted nine birdies and one bogey at TimberCreek Golf Club on Saturday en route to a tournament-low 63. Choi jumped from T22 into third place at 12-under par with the 8-under round.
Hunter Green of Dayton, Tenn., and Sam Ryder of Longwood, Fla., will begin the final round T4 at 11-under par. Green posted a 5-under 66, while Ryder shot a 3-under 68 in the third round of play.
Chris Wolfe (69), Ken Looper (69), Derek Rende (68), Patrick Wilkes-Krier (69), Rick Cochran III (71) and Brian Richey (70) will start the final round of play tied for eighth at 9-under par.
Eric Axley (67), Cedric Scotto (67), Kelvin Day (68), Jeff Dennis (69), Michael O’Neal (69) and defending champion Hudson Johnson (70) are T13 and 8-under par going into the Sunday’s final round.
For full-field scores, click here.
The final round of the TimberCreek Golf Classic will start at 7 a.m. on Sunday. As always, admission is free to the public.
Second Round Update: Rick Cochran III 2nd, two shots back-
Daphne, Ala. – July 27, 2012 – Chris Walling of Lake Charles, La., backed up his opening-round 66 with a 6-under 65 in the second round and was atop the leaderboard of the NGA TOUR’s TimberCreek Golf Classic when play was halted at 8 p.m. on Friday evening.
Walling played his first five holes of the second round 1-over par, but the former LSU Tiger battled back with seven birdies over his final 13 holes to reach 11-under par for the tournament. Walling held the clubhouse lead by two strokes when play was suspended.Rich Cochran III of Paducah, Ky., also completed his round before the horn sounded and turned in a 5-under 66 at TimberCreek Golf Club on Friday. Cochran, a former Middle Tennessee State alumnus and nephew of PGA TOUR winner Russ Cochran, is 9-under par going into the weekend.
Brian Richey (68), Sam Ryder (66), Chris Wolfe (67) and Fairhope’s Jacob Collinsworth (67) were 8-under par and tied for third at the conclusion of play.
After shooting 6-under 65s in the first round, co-leaders Patrick Wilkes-Krier and Jimmy Hazen carded 1-under 70s on Friday and slipped into a tie for seventh with Ryan Spears (68), Ken Looper (67) and defending champion Hudson Johnson (69) at 7-under par.
Former Louisiana Tech standout Clinton Shepard’s 64 was the lowest round completed on Friday and left the West Monroe, La., resident tied for 12th with Derek Rende (69), Anthony Broussard (67), Riley Wheeldon (70) and Jeff Dennis (68) at 6-under par.
For full-field scores, click here.
After a weather delay mid-afternoon, the second round was suspended due to darkness with several groups still on the course. The second round will resume at 7 a.m. on Saturday. Following the second round, the field will be cut to the low 55 players and ties. The third round of the TimberCreek Classic will start after the completion of the second round.
First Round Update: Defending champion Hudson Johnson 1 back-
Daphne, Ala. – July 26, 2012 – Patrick Wilkes-Krier fired a 6-under 65 in the opening round of the NGA TOUR’s TimberCreek Golf Classic on Thursday and held a one-shot lead when play was suspended.
Wilkes-Krier of Orlando, Fla., went bogey-free around TimberCreek Golf Club in the opening round and poured in six birdies to take the clubhouse lead. The Ball State alumnus is coming off a career-best T2 finish in the NGA Classic at Achasta Golf Club last week.“I tried to stick to the same mindset I had last week, which was really not to focus on score and results,” said Wilkes-Krier, the 2011 NGA TOUR’s Most Improved Player. “It worked out today to a pretty good degree, so I was pretty pleased with the round.”
Defending TimberCreek champion Hudson Johnson was likely pleased with his round as well. The Vanderbilt alumnus from Longview, Texas, posted a 5-under 66 and was tied for second with Riley Wheeldon (Comox, Canada), Michael O’Neal (Jacksonville, Fla.), Brian Richey (Lakeland, Fla.) and Adam Hogue (Lakewood Ranch, Fla.) when play was halted on Thursday evening.
Reigning NGA TOUR Rookie of the Year Ryan Spears of Del City, Okla., carded a 4-under 67 and finished the day tied for seventh with Paul Apyan (Chattanooga, Tenn.), Jonathan Fly (Memphis, Tenn.), Derek Rende (Soddy Daisey, Tenn.) and South African Leroux Ferreira.Ken Looper (Mandeville, La.), Jeff Dennis (Jacksonville, Fla.), Cory Hale (Edmond, Okla.), Erick Justesen (Morgan Hill, Calif.), Kyle McCarthy (Denver), Kelvin Day (London), Matt Fast (Hattiesburg, Miss.) and Lion Kim (Lake Mary, Fla.) fired 3-under 68s in the opening round to earn a share of 12th place.
For full-field scores, click here.
After a weather delay mid-afternoon, the first round was suspended due to darkness at 8:30 p.m. (ET) with several groups still on the course. The first round of the TimberCreek Golf Classic will resume at 7:30 a.m. As always, admission is free to the public.
Stacked field to battle for spot in Mylan Classic-
Myrtle Beach, S.C. – July 24, 2012 – After winning the inaugural TimberCreek Golf Classic last season, Hudson Johnson looked around and realized the gravity of the situation.
“I didn’t know a lot of people out here at the start of the year,” said Johnson, a rookie on the NGA TOUR in 2011. “But as the season has gone on and you see all these guys moving on to the [Web.com Tour], you start to realize how good these guys are. Now that I’ve won out here, it gives me a lot of confidence. I mean Keegan Bradley won out here two years ago and now he’s a major champion. It’s sick. I don’t know how you can do better than the NGA TOUR for experience.”One look at last year’s top finishers at TimberCreek Golf Club in Daphne, Ala., proves Johnson’s statement wasn’t hyperbole, as five of the top 11 finishers in the 2011 event are now members on the Web.com Tour. But even with ascending players not returning, this year’s TimberCreek Golf Classic field will still pack a punch, especially with a Web.com Tour exemption on the line.
The highest finishing NGA TOUR member will earn an event exemption, courtesy of the NGA TOUR, into the Web.com Tour’s Mylan Classic, which runs from Aug. 27 - Sept. 2, 2012.
With the extra incentive in place, this year’s field will feature six players inside the top 10 on the money list, a large contingent of past Web.com Tour and PGA TOUR players and a gaggle of up-and-coming stars.
Rich Cochran III, a Middle Tennessee State alumnus from Paducah, Ky., is the highest-ranked NGA TOUR money earner in the field. Cochran, the nephew of PGA TOUR champion Russ Cochran, won the Cherry Blossom Classic earlier this season and enters the TimberCreek Classic fourth on the money list. The field will also contain 2012 winners Ken Looper, Jay Woodson, Tyson Alexander, Anthony Broussard and defending TimberCreek champion Hudson Johnson.Johnson, a former Vanderbilt star from Longview, Texas, won the season-opening Members Only Shootout; Looper, a former LSU standout from Mandeville, La., won the Golden Hills Classic; Woodson, a former James Madison stalwart from Richmond, Va., won the ComSouth Classic; Alexander, a former University of Florida product from Gainesville, Fla., and Broussard, a North Texas alumnus from Beaumont, Texas, won the Texas Honing Open.
Former Web.com Tour members Travis Bertoni, Zack Sucher, Scott Weatherly and Todd Bailey, multi-time NGA TOUR winners Michael Welch, Mark Blakefield and former University of Alabama All-American Nick Rousey will also tee it up in the TimberCreek Golf Classic.
The event will also be a homecoming of sorts for former University of South Alabama player Daniel Burns. The Daphne, Ala., golfer finished second in last year’s event and returns to his old stomping ground this week.
Also scheduled to play are: Erick Justesen, who played in the 2012 PGA Tour’s Northern Trust Open; T.J. Bordeaux, a 2011-12 BWS winner and four-time Big West All-Conference selection at the University of Pacific; Lion Kim, a 2011-12 BWS winner and two-time All-American selection from the University of Michigan; Oscar Stark, a former NAIA National Champion and 2011 All-Nicklaus team member from Oklahoma Christian; and Patrick Wilkes-Krier, the NGA’s 2011 Most Improved Player.The first round of the TimberCreek Golf Classic will begin at 7:30 a.m. on Thursday, July 26. As always, admission is free to the public.
The NGA Pro Golf Tour is the No. 3 Men’s Professional Golf Tour in the United States after the PGA and Web.com Tours and is the No. 1 recommended developmental tour by more PGA and Web.com Tour Professionals.
The NGA has helped hundreds of professionals acquire their PGA TOUR, Euro, Web.com, and Champions Tour cards. In fact, NGA alumni have won an incredible Fifteen (15) “Major” Championships.
NGA Alumniinclude: 2012 Masters champion Bubba Watson; 2011 PGA Championship winner Keegan Bradley; 2010 PGA TOUR Player of the Year and 2003 US Open Champion Jim Furyk; 2009 British Open Champion Stewart Cink; 2009 U.S. Open Champion Lucas Glover; 2007 Masters Champion Zach Johnson; 2003 PGA Champion Shaun Micheel; 2003 British Open Champion Ben Curtis; two-time U.S. Open Champion Lee Janzen; British Open and PGA Champion John Daly; British Open Champion Tom Lehman; PGA Champion David Toms; 2003 Tour Championship Winner Chad Campbell; 2010 NGA Player of the Year Michael Thompson; 2011 PGA TOUR winners Sean O'Hair, Scott Piercy, Scott Stallings, Mark Wilson, Gary Woodland and many, many more.
At this year’s PGA Tour Qualifying School, 52% of those earning full exempt status on the PGA TOUR and 67% of those earning full exempt status on the Web.com Tour were past NGA Professionals. Another 16 NGA Professionals advanced to the PGA TOUR for 2012 by finishing inside the Top 25 on the Web.com Tour money list, including 2011 NGA members Ted Potter Jr., Russell Knox and Billy Hurley III.
The NGA Pro Golf Tour, established in 1988, predates the Web.com Tour as the longest running developmental tour in golf and is the “Official Partner of the 2012 Reno-Tahoe Open.”
For more information on the NGA or the NGA Pro Golf Tour, please visit our website at www.NGATOUR.com or contact our Tour Office at (800) 992-8748.
