Friday, October 3, 2003
Friday, October 3, 2003 |
|
Schreyer does 'Tin Cup"; imitation on way to tour title Clinging to a one-shot lead and facing a 236-yard uphill shot over three gapping bunkers, Dave Schreyer of Peachtree City never even considered laying up on the 512-yard par-five 18th hole. And partly because of that decision, he won the $200,000 Naturally Fresh Points Hooters Tour Championship at the Palmer Course at Starr’s Mill with a closing 69 and four-day total of 17-under-par 271. Just before he decided on a club for the shot, his caddy told him, “Tin Cup baby,” referring to the movie where Kevin Costner decided to gamble on the final hole of the U. S. Open and ended up making a 10 on the hole. But unlike the movie, Schreyer’s three-wood cleared the bunkers and came to rest 20 feet below the hole. A routine two-putt birdie put Schreyer into the winner’s circle for the third time this year and the $40,000 first-place check cemented his second-place finish on the money list, $2,662.33 behind Jake Reeves, who finished second today, two shots behind the winner. For the front nine Sunday, it looked as if Schreyer and fellow area pro Javier Sanchez would fight it out for the title. They started the day tied for the lead at 14-under and were in the same place nine holes later. Reeves, who has earned a reputation as a great come-from-behind finisher, posted a two-under-par 34 on the front nine to move within a shot of the leaders. Sanchez, who shot even par Sunday and finished alone in third, fell out of the lead early on the back side, but Reeves birdied 11 and 12, and when Schreyer faced a buried lie in a bunker on 14 and had his only bogey of the back nine, the two were tied at 15 under par. That tie wouldn’t last long. Reeves bogeyed 16 but managed to stay within one shot with a birdie on 17. That put Schreyer on the 18th tee with a one-shot lead, and after Reeves struggled for a closing par, the stage was set for the movie script finish. “This caps a great season for me,” Schreyer said later and quickly added, “I hope the season is not over for me at Q School,” the PGA Tour’s qualifying event that begins next month. Earlier this year, Schreyer became only the 11th player to shoot in the 50s in a professional event when he shot 59 in the Hooter’s Tour stop in Norman, Okla. His other two wins this year came in Chesterfield, Va., and Farmington, Ark. At the end of the year awards banquet, Schreyer and Reeves shared Player of the Year honors, while Kyle Owen was named Most Improved Player and Nick Cassini garnered Rookie of the Year. Jean Paul Hebert recieved the Golf Achievement Award, which is presented to the player who best personifies the professional golfer.
|
Back to the Sports Home Page