June 24, 2013
THE FLATS – Former Georgia Tech All-American Chesson Hadley was already in good position on the Web.com Tour money list to earn a PGA Tour card next year. He all but clinched it Sunday when he birdied the final hole to capture the title at the Rex Hospital Open in his hometown of Raleigh, N.C.
Hadley, the 2010 Atlantic Coast Conference champion as a senior at Georgia Tech, waited out a two-hour rain delay Sunday to complete a 7-under-par round of 64, overcoming a four-stroke deficit to win. The three-time All-American had opened with a 63, but found himself in fourth-place after 54 holes. He finished with a 19-under-par total of 265 at the TPC Wakefield Plantation course.
“I never thought about winning this tournament,” Hadley told PGA Tour.com. “I didn’t think I had a chance. I just wanted to hold things together, try to make a few birdies and hope I could take a step closer to the big goal, which is playing on the PGA TOUR.”
A first-place check for $112,500 pushed his season total to $249,784, which will be more than enough to secure a spot among the 25-leading money winners from the Web.com Tour’s regular season. Hadley has posted top-10 finishes in four of the last five weeks on the tour and has leaped from No. 88 to No. 3 on the money list in that span.
Read PGATour.com coverage here
Read Raleigh News & Observer coverage here
ANDREWS TAKES RUNNER-UP SPOT AT NORTHEAST AMATEUR
Bo Andrews nearly pulled off a second big victory over the weekend for a Tech player from Raleigh, firing a 7-under-par 62 Sunday to take runner-up honors in the Northeast Amateur at Wannimoisett Country Club in Rumford, R.I.
Andrews’ score Sunday was one stroke shy of the course record and the lowest final round ever shot in the event, but Alabama’s Cory Whitsett was up to the challenge, posting his own 6-under 63 to win by two. Whitsett finished with a 10-under-par total of 266, Andrews 8-under 268.
The fifth-year senior’s performance highlighted a successful weekend for the Tech contingent – Ollie Schniederjans shot a third-round 65 to help him finish eighth (even par 276), while Richard Werenski tied for 12th and Anders Albertson tied for 22nd.
Close to home, rising senior Drew Czuchry tied for 10th place at the Greystone Invitational in Birmingham, Ala. Czuchry shot a 68 in the second round and led after 36 holes, but finished six shots off the pace. Fifth-year senior Seth Reeves tied for 21st.
FIVE IN FIELD FOR DOGWOOD INVITATIONAL
Anders Albertson, Michael Hines, Seth Reeves, Ollie Schniederjans and Richy Werenski are all in the field for this week’s Dogwood Invitational, which begins Wednesday and concludes Saturday at Druid Hills Golf Club in Atlanta.
The Dogwood has been a staple of the summer amateur schedule since 1941 with one extended exception (1974-93). No Tech player has won the event since Charlie Harrison in 1966.
HEPPLER NAMED GCAA EAST REGION COACH OF THE YEAR
Georgia Tech head coach Bruce Heppler has been named East Region Coach of the Year by the Golf Coaches Association of America, one of six coaches across the country so honored. Heppler led the Yellow Jackets to their 14th NCAA Championship appearance this year, finishing second in the 54-hole stroke-play portion and advancing to the semifinals of match play.
Tech won two events this year, tying top-ranked California for the title at the PING/Golfweek Preview Invitational and winning outright the United States Collegiate Championship, both of which featured loaded fields.
Heppler joined Yale’s Colin Sheehan, Alabama’s Jay Seawell, Illinois’ Mike Small, Missouri’s Mark Leroux and Cal’s Steve Desimone as regional coaches of the year. Desimone was named national coach of the year by the GCAA.
