One of the claims to fame for the
Children’s Hospital Invitational is that it
is a Nationwide Tour event that includes
collegiate players in its field.
So, it was fitting Sunday in Columbus, Ohio, that University of Georgia
golfer Harris English remained hot to
come away with the title.
English sank a 10-foot birdie putt on
the 18th hole of the Ohio State University Scarlet Course for the win. Another
collegian, NCAA individual champion
John Peterson of Louisiana State,
finished one stroke back in a tie for
second with Tour regular Kyle Reifers,
who picked up the $144,000 first prize.
Peterson led English by one stroke
heading into the event’s final day. And
he led English and Reifers by that
same slim margin as he and English
approached the 18th hole in the last
group of the day. Peterson’s drive there
was behind a tree at the turn of the
439-yard, dogleg par 4, while English
cleared the tree and left only a 50-yard
approach. English’s wedge shot left him
10 feet for the winning putt.
English’s 1-under-par 70 on Sunday
– his only round of the weekend not in
the 60s – left him at 14-under 270 for
the tournament. Earlier this season at
the Nationwide’s Stadion Classic, the
Bulldog senior had tied for 18th place at
his school’s home course in Athens, Ga.
HEBERT UP TO THE CHALLENGE AGAIN
Frenchman Benjamin Hebert com-
pleted the most sensational seven days
in his professional career by winning
his second Chal-
lenge Tour event in
the space of a week
at the English Chal-
lenge on Sunday.
The man from
Bordeaux provided
the perfect follow-up to his maiden
victory in Switzerland last week by
taking home the € 25,600 first prize on
offer at the Stoke by Nayland Hotel,
Golf & Spa after a final round of 2-un-
der-par 70 left him two strokes clear of
Benjamin Hebert
countryman Victor Riu at the top of the
final leaderboard.
Starting the day in a tie for the lead
with England’s Lloyd Kennedy, Hebert
was coolness personified as he resisted
the advances of home hero Jamie Moul,
Welshman Garry Houston and his good
friend Riu before making crucial birdies
on the 15th and 16th holes to establish
a four-shot lead and a fairly simple victory march to the clubhouse.
to read more.
STEWART WINS FIRST EUROPRO TITLE
Scotland’s Duncan Stewart compiled a
sizzling final round of 65 to win the EuroPro Tour’s ABC Solutions UK Championship by a single shot in Crewe on Friday.
Starting the day four shots off the lead
at 2 under at Wychwood Park Golf Club,
Stewart raced through the field with his
7-under-par round. He birdied the first
three holes then picked up shots at the
seventh, 12th, 15th, 17th and 18th, his
solitary bogey coming at the ninth.
Stewart, from Grantown on Spey
in the Cairngorms, finished 9 under
overall for the three rounds, having
opened with 69 and 73. He had to wait
anxiously in the clubhouse for others to
finish, and for a while it looked as if his
total would not be enough, as overnight
co-leader Alex Belt got to 11 under with
four holes to play.
FINN CLAIMS ASIAN TOUR TITLE
Rookie Joonas Granberg produced a
stellar final round of 6-under-par 66 to
become the first Finnish player to win on
the Asian Tour at the Worldwide Holdings Selangor Masters on Saturday.
Granberg, who set a new course-re-cord 62 in the opening round, edged Thai
teenager Panuphol Pittayarat by one
stroke with his 15-under-par 273 winning total at the Kota Permai Golf and
Country Club in Malaysia. The 24-year-
old pocketed $60,902.
Overnight leader Pittayarat, 18, underlined his massive potential by taking
the runner-up spot with a battling 71
while Adam Groom of Australia shared
third place with Filipino veteran Antonio
Lascuna on 275.
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NELSON WINS EGOLF EVENT
With a 40-foot birdie putt at the 72nd
hole, and a tap-in par on the fourth
playoff hole, Ryan Nelson, of Dickin-
son, Tex., picked up his first career win
and the $26,000 first-place prize on
Saturday afternoon at the eGolf Tour’s
inaugural Scratch Golf Championship.
CRESPI TOPS ALPS TOUR FIELD
Italian Marco Crespi closed with a
67 to win the Alps Tour Le Fonti Open
Friday in Bologna, Italy. The 34-year-old
finished with a 12-under total but had
to wait until France’s Clément Gallois
bogeyed the 18th to give Crespi his
fourth Alps Tour victory.
GERBER WINS ON BIG EASY TOUR
Divan Gerber birdied the 18th hole
to finish on 6-under par and won the
R100,000 Maccauvlei event on the
Sunshine Big Easy Tour presented by
Stonehage.
Gerber made a 20-foot putt on the
final hole for a tournament total of 138,
one shot clear of Ockie Strydom, Louis
Calitz and Lyle Rowe, who shared sec-
ond.
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