Gunner Wiebe, playing out of Bel-Air Country Club in Los Angeles, grinded out an even-par 72 in Sunday’s final round to earn a two-shot victory in the 44th National Car Rental Assistant PGA Professional Championship at PGA Golf Club’s Wanamaker Course in Port St. Lucie, Fla.
It seems like the Wanamaker Course played a little tougher than it had the first three days and nobody was able to make a run at Wiebe, who had taken a three-shot lead into the final round after bettering par in each of the first three rounds to get it to 10-under-par.
The even-par 72 put up by Wiebe, the son of Mark Wiebe, a two-time PGA Tour winner and the winner of The Senior Open Championship in 2013, in the final round gave him a 10-under 278 total. The 31-year-old Wiebe earned the top prize of $12,000 and punched his ticket to next spring’s PGA Professional Championship, which will be back at the PGA Golf Club.
The NCR Assistant PGA Professional Championship is supported by Srixon, Cleveland Golf, XXIO, Asics and John Deere.
Jin Chung, an assistant pro at Chateau Elan Golf Club in Braselton, Ga., finished two shots behind Wiebe at 8-under 280 after closing with a final round of 1-under 71. The 32-year-old Chung was on the leaderboard throughout the weekend after earning a share of the opening-round lead with a sparkling 5-under 67.
Overbrook Golf Club assistant pro Ashley Grier, the Philadelphia Section PGA’s top female player, finished strong with a 2-under 70, giving her book-end 70s around respective second- and third-round scores of 76 and 77 for a 5-over 293 total that left her in the group tied for 34th place.
Grier was the only one of the contingent of five players representing the Philadelphia Section to survive the 36-hole cut and play the weekend.
The 36-year-old Grier was one of three women in the field. She couldn’t quite catch Brittany Kelly of Woodland Country Club in Carmel, Ind. for low-lady honors. The 32-year-old Kelly closed with a 3-over 75 to land in the group tied for 22nd place at 1-over 289.
Starting off the 10th tee, Grier birdied the 12th and 16th holes around a bogey at 14 to head to the front nine of the Wanamaker Course at 1-under for the round. Grier birdied the first hole, but bogeys at four and five dropped her back to even for the round. But Grier recorded back-to-back birdies at the sixth and seventh holes to finish in red figures for the round.
Wiebe figured out that par was his friend on this day. He made a birdie at the sixth hole and bogeyed the eighth to make the turn at even-par for his round. He bogeyed the 10th hole, got it back to even with a birdie at 13 and rattled off five straight pars to close the deal.
“I’m super relieved, that’s the biggest thing I feel,” Wiebe told the PGA of America website. “I’m just relieved It’s over. I was running out of gas. I couldn’t be more excited. It’s the biggest tournament I can play in anymore. To be able to win is super special.”
Two other players who were on the leaderboard all weekend, Aaron Purviance, playing out of Red Ledges in Heber City, Utah, and Greg Koch of the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club in Grande Estates, Fla., finished in a tie for third place at 6-under 282, two shots behind Chung.
The 24-year-old Purviance had shared the opening-round lead with Chung with a matching 67, finished up with a 1-over 73. The 35-year-old Koch matched par for the second straight day to get his piece of third place.
Timothy Wiseman, playing out of the pro shop at Old Capital Golf Club in Corydon, Ind., matched par in the final round with a 72 to finish alone in fifth place at 5-under 283.
Tony Perla, the former head pro at LedgeRock Golf Club, closed with a 3-over 75 to end up among the group tied for 59th place at 11-over 299. Perla is an assistant pro at Canoe Brook Country Club in Summit, N.J.
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