Derek Gillespie Finishes Second at Scottsdale Swing at Eagle Mountain
Tue, 03 Mar 2009 01:36:39
The 23-year-old Cibolo, TX resident carded a final-round 4-under 66 at The Golf Club at Eagle Mountain for a 72-hole total of 19-under 261, two shots better than Derek Gillespie of Oshawa, ON. Chris Greenwood (Valdese, NC) wound up third at 15-under, while Hank Kuehne (Palm Beach, FL) had his fourth consecutive top-five showing, finishing five back of Walker.
Ken Duke of Boca Raton, FL, who shared the lead with Walker as play began Sunday, found the par-4th 17th hole to be his nemesis for the second straight day. Trailing Walker by one stroke, Duke took a triple-bogey on the hole, and then had another two shots tacked on following the round when it was discovered his ball had moved during a practice swing. The 33-year-old had launched his tee shot way right, with the ball coming to a rest under a shrub in the desert. Duke, who double-bogeyed the hole Saturday, ended the event tied for fifth.
But the day belonged to Walker, who withstood a furious charge from Gillespie over the final few holes for his first professional win. The former All-American at Baylor University stayed one step in front over the last few holes despite back-to-back birdies by Gillespie on the 17th and 18th. Walker's approach on the final hole stopped six feet from the cup, putting an end to the drama.
"You look at the scores that have won tournaments out here, I just decided to come in here this week and try to make as many birdies as I can," said Walker, who made the cut at last year's U.S. Open. "I figured Derek may have made one coming in, and then I looked at the leaderboard and knew I had to hit it close. But I didn't want to be smiling on the fairway. I just wanted to get my business done with the putt."
Walker got the business done for most of the week. He hit 62 of 72 greens in regulation and needed just 29.75 putts per round. On Sunday, with the pressure mounting and Duke looking at a makeable birdie putt to pull even, Walker chipped in from 20 yards to maintain his cushion.
With former U.S. amateur stars Steve Scott, Hank Kuehne and Jeff Quinney notching wins in the first three official events of the year, Walker admitted to thinking of the trio as he made his way towards the final green.
"It's funny, as I was coming down, I thought of those guys-Scott, Kuehne, Quinney- those are some pretty big names to be put alongside."
Gillespie, the Tour's 2001 Canadian Rookie of the Year, trailed by four shots as play began before carding the low round of the day. His runner-up result was the best by a Canadian this season.
"You never give up hope, especially when you are only down by four shots," said the 23-year-old. "I was thinking 62 all day long. But I made some good shots, and my putting has really come through these past few days."
Gillespie finished tied for second at last year's season opening Myrtle Beach Open.
When a reporter asked if there was anything more he could have asked for Sunday, Gillespie smiled and said, "One more shot."
Scores and earnings Sunday after the final round of the Canadian Tour's $150,000 CDN Scottsdale Swing at Eagle Mountain played at the 6700-yard, par-70 Golf Club at Eagle Mountain (prize money in Canadian dollars):
1 Walker, Jimmy Cibolo, TX 66-65-64-66_261 -19 $24,000.00
2 Gillespie, Derek Oshawa, ON 65-66-68-64_263 -17 $14,400.00
3 Greenwood, Chris Valdese, NC 65-68-66-66_265 -15 $9,000.00
4 Kuehne, Hank Palm Beach, FL 65-66-69-66_266 -14 $7,200.00
5 Duke, Ken Boca Raton, FL 65-63-67-73_268 -12 $5,450.00
5 Gemoets, Rafael El Paso, TX 68-64-70-66_268 -12 $5,450.00
5 Wisler, Chris Dover, DE 67-67-69-65_268 -12 $5,450.00
8 Enloe, Jason Dallas, TX 67-63-68-71_269 -11 $4,350.00
8 Loar, Edward Dallas, TX 71-64-66-68_269 -11 $4,350.00
8 Tiziani, Mario Chanhassen, MN 65-65-74-65_269 -11 $4,350.00
11 Henderson, Michael Orlando, FL 67-65-69-69_270 -10 $3,300.00
11 McGuigan, Doug Langley, BC 63-69-65-73_270 -10 $3,300.00
11 Quiroz, Alex Mexico 67-67-68-68_270 -10 $3,300.00
11 Smith, Tony Clovis, CA 66-66-71-67_270 -10 $3,300.00
15 Conrad, Bob Seattle, WA 65-64-74-68_271 -9 $2,260.71
15 Grob, Mike Billings, MT 68-68-65-70_271 -9 $2,260.71
15 Kontak, Brian Tempe, AZ 65-66-71-69_271 -9 $2,260.71
15 McMillan, Rob Winnipeg, MB 69-67-69-66_271 -9 $2,260.71
15 Paniccia, Danny Fresno, CA 69-62-69-71_271 -9 $2,260.71
15 Quinney, Jeff Scottsdale, AZ 66-70-70-65_271 -9 $2,260.71
15 Sanders, Andrew Houston, TX 62-68-72-69_271 -9 $2,260.71
22 Fanning, Todd Winnipeg, MB 66-69-69-68_272 -8 $1,615.00
22 Harris, Michael Troy, MI 65-70-71-66_272 -8 $1,615.00
22 Hearn, David Brantford, ON 68-68-67-69_272 -8 $1,615.00
22 Johnson, Mark Helendale, CA 64-66-73-69_272 -8 $1,615.00
22 Johnson, Rob Terre Haute, IN 67-65-70-70_272 -8 $1,615.00
22 Payne, Brian Chicago, IL 66-68-70-68_272 -8 $1,615.00
28 Christensen, Dave Elk River, MN 64-69-70-70_273 -7 $1,248.21
28 Davis, John Scottsdale, AZ 66-65-73-69_273 -7 $1,248.21
28 Ford, Scott Lake Worth, FL 68-65-67-73_273 -7 $1,248.21
28 Heffernan, Wes Calgary, AB 67-66-68-72_273 -7 $1,248.21
28 Mackenzie, Will Greenville, NC 67-64-74-68_273 -7 $1,248.21
28 Masson, Grant Dallas, TX 66-69-70-68_273 -7 $1,248.21
28 Wright, Bryan Stanberry, MO 66-68-68-71_273 -7 $1,248.21
35 Ogrin, David Magnolia, TX 67-65-70-72_274 -6 $1,087.50
36 Barr, Dave Kelowna, BC 66-67-68-74_275 -5 $956.25
36 Conser, Barry Scottsdale, AZ 65-67-74-69_275 -5 $956.25
36 Kirk, Michael South Africa 65-69-71-70_275 -5 $956.25
36 LaBelle, Doug Mt. Pleasant, MI 67-68-72-68_275 -5 $956.25
36 McCann, Brian Mississauga, ON 69-66-71-69_275 -5 $956.25
36 Scott, Steve Wellington, FL 67-68-75-65_275 -5 $956.25
42 Anderson, Chris Covina, CA 66-70-69-71_276 -4 $729.64
42 Bugg, Jace Henderson, KY 63-70-71-72_276 -4 $729.64
42 Johnson, Andy Orlando, FL 68-66-74-68_276 -4 $729.64
42 Oh, James Lakewood, CA 63-69-76-68_276 -4 $729.64
42 Pleis, Steve Parrish, FL 66-68-70-72_276 -4 $729.64
42 Rashell, Rob Scottsdale, AZ 67-66-75-68_276 -4 $729.64
42 Slawter, Mark Raleigh, NC 64-69-73-70_276 -4 $729.64
49 Kovacs, Kyle Sherman Oaks, CA 66-69-71-71_277 -3 $622.50
49 Kral, Scotty Victoria, BC 69-67-72-69_277 -3 $622.50
51 Rocha, Alex Orlando, FL 69-66-72-71_278 -2 $585.00
51 Voska, Kyle Orlando, FL 68-66-74-70_278 -2 $585.00
51 Zwemke, Zane Aurora, CO 70-64-72-72_278 -2 $585.00
54 Gullion, Joey Dallas, TX 66-67-77-69_279 -1 $541.00
54 Mathis, David Raleigh, NC 64-68-74-73_279 -1 $541.00
54 Schultz, Jason Columbia, MO 68-67-67-77_279 -1 $541.00
57 Hend, Scott Australia 71-62-75-72_280 0 $510.00
57 Parry, Bryn Burnaby, BC 69-65-74-72_280 0 $510.00
59 Scott, Drew Pinehurst, NC 66-70-73-72_281 1 $492.00
60 Anderson, Stuart Strathmore, AB 66-65-74-77_282 2 $390.00
60 Gutschewski, Scott Omaha, NE 64-69-69-80_282 2 $390.00
62 Ilic, Eric Ocala, FL 67-67-79-73_286 6 $300.00
62 Landon, Kyle Casper, WY 69-66-76-75_286 6 $300.00
64 Woods, Eric Newport Beach, CA 70-66-74-77_287 7 $300.00
65 Harrison, Roger Calgary, AB 64-71-81-80_296 16 $300.00
"
