By Joe Chemycz
PGA Tour Staff
BRIDGEPORT, W. Va. ? Tom Gillis broke from the pack early in the final round of the Nationwide Tour Players Cup and went on to fire a 2-under-par 70 and earn his first Nationwide Tour win.
Gillis, who held a one-shot lead to begin the day, stretched his lead to five shots midway through the round at the Pete Dye Golf Club, saw it drop to two following a double-bogey and then steadied himself down the stretch with four closing pars to win by three strokes over Cameron Percy (68) and Roger Tambellini (68).
Gillis, a 1986 Lake Orion High School graduate who now lives part of the year in Oxford, posted a 15-under 273 total and collected $108,000, vaulting him from No. 108 to No. 10 on the money list
‘This gives me a start to what I want to do, and that’s being in the top 25 and graduate back to the PGA TOUR,? said Gillis, who played on Tour in 2003 and 2005. ‘I wish we were done right now.?
The victory was the first for the 40-year-old Michigan native, but the writing has been on the wall. Gillis, who had conditional status to begin the year, didn’t qualify to play in the Nationwide Tour’s first eight events. The BMW Charity Pro-Am in May was his first start, and a tie for 19th was the result. After that, he made four cuts in four starts and had posted par-or-better scores in 14 of 16 rounds.
‘I felt like I’ve been playing pretty good for the last two months,? he said. ‘I just kept reminding myself to keep my head on, stay calm and let it come to me.?
The win came via a solid putting stroke that produced 29 birdies ? seven more than anyone else in the field ? at a difficult golf course that allowed only 14 sub-par rounds in Sunday’s final round. The scoring average of 74.155 was the highest single-round average in the tournament’s six year history, topping the 72.910 of the opening round in 2006.
‘That’s the mantra of this course,? said Gillis of the layout that yielded 76 eagles but also produced 196 double bogeys and 42 triple bogeys or worse. ‘It’s risk-reward, and that’s why I like it. You’ll never get out of here unscathed.?
Gillis was on cruise control thanks to five birdies in his first 10 holes, and by the time he stepped to the tee at the par-4 11th, the lead was five strokes as the challengers repeatedly succumbed to the course design.
‘I was a little shocked,? said Gillis. ‘I thought there’d be some push from behind me. There wasn’t much going on.?
There was plenty happening, but the majority of it was negative. Kyle Reifers and Jeff Gove both started within a stroke of Gillis but stumbled to 3-over 75s and tied for seventh. Won Joon Lee and Seung-su Han were two back after 54 holes but posted scores of 77 and 78 respectively to wind up tied for 13th and 18th.
Percy bogeyed the final hole to drop to 12 under, while Tambellini needed a birdie-birdie effort to reach a dozen.
Gillis also was hit hard by the hilly layout and opened the door slightly with a bogey at No. 11 and a double-bogey at No. 13, dropping his lead down to two strokes.
‘No matter what happened today, I thought I was going to win,? said Gillis. ‘Even if I had given them all back, I felt like I would win. I never really stressed about it.?
He rebounded with a birdie at the par-5 14th to regain a three-shot margin and maintained it to close the round.
Part of Gillis? calm this week came from perspective ? the result of a tragic automobile accident last weekend that claimed the life of Beth Smith, wife of Nationwide Tour member Chris Smith.
The couple’s two children were seriously injured in the accident near the family home in northern Indiana. Smith, who had missed the cut in last week’s Fort Smith Classic, was traveling when the incident took place.
‘It puts things in perspective,? said Gillis, a father of two and a friend of Smith’s. ‘I was in shock. We all were. All week long, I said I wasn’t going to let one shot bother me. It’s amazing how life can change at a moment’s notice.?
Gillis faced a six-foot putt for par on the final green to win by three but knew he could miss twice and still collect the crystal trophy and a big check.
‘I may have lagged it and just tapped in,? said Gillis. ‘My caddie reminded me we were at 15. He said we weren’t done yet, and I needed to make it for Smitty. There’s no way I was going to miss that putt. There was no way it wasn’t going into the center of the cup. I’m not saying it was fate, but it was only fitting we finished at 15.?