Price wins on second extra hole, earns tour's biggest check
BRIDGEPORT, WV – The long wait for Rick Price is over. The 40-year old Floridian defeated Chris Anderson on the second playoff hole of the $1 million Nationwide Tour Players Cup and finally punched his ticket to the PGA Tour. Price collected the richest paycheck in the Tour’s 19-year history and, in doing so, guaranteed himself a spot among THE 25 Nationwide Tour money winners who will earn Tour cards in 2009.“This means a lot. It means I get an opportunity to play on the best Tour in the world with the best players,” said Price, who has been to Q-school 19 times since turning pro in 1987. “The bottom line – it’s a dream come true for me.”
It was nearly a nightmare as Price, the first- and third-round leader, squandered a one-shot lead on the final hole, making bogey to close out regulation play at the Pete Dye Golf Club. His even-par 72 left him with a score of 15-under 273. Anderson, who steady in his pursuit of Price the last two days, needed a knee-knocking par putt from seven feet on the 72nd hole to join Price in the first playoff of the Tournament’s five-year history. Anderson’s putt grabbed the lip of the cup and spun all the way around before falling in.
On the first hole of the playoff, both players pulled their second shots on the uphill, 497-yard, 18th. Price needed to choke down onto the shaft of his wedge for his third, which flew some 30 feet past the cup. Anderson’s ball settled into an awkward, downhill lie in the heavy rough near a greenside bunker. With virtually no green to work with, Anderson’s third scooted back across the green. His fourth shot came up 20 feet short.
Price had nearly perfect speed but missed his par attempt and settled for five. When Anderson missed his bogey attempt, Price had earned his second career title. He became only the third player in the Tour’s 19-year history to win a playoff with a bogey. More importantly, he collected the record $180,000 first-place check that jumped him from No. 46 to No. 3 on the money list with $249,283.
“It was nice to win the first time but it’s really nice to win a second time,” said Price. “The win in ’05 (Xerox Classic) was a relief for me because I had somewhere to play. I was struggling in ’05. With this one, I’m probably happier and I can enjoy it more. I didn’t have that sense of urgency this year.”
Maybe he had a sense that something good was going to happen when he holed out from 106 yards for an eagle-2 on his opening hole Thursday morning. He went on to shoot an 8-under 64, grab a two-shot lead, and stamp himself as the man to beat.
With thunderstorms looming and players forced to play in threesomes off the first and tenth tees, Price and Anderson both made birdie on the third hole Sunday, pushing them to 16- and 15-under respectively, and setting the stage for a two-man race. In front of them, none of the challengers did anything dramatic, leaving the pair to settle the issue. Price either held or shared the lead the entire day, though he probably didn’t know it.
Price didn’t pay much attention to what playing partners Anderson and David Branshaw (72-275) were doing, nor did he spend any time looking at the electronic leaderboards scattered around the course.
“I’ve said all week that I just want to play good golf,” said Price. “The rest will take care of itself.”
Price, steady and cool, just kept hitting fairways and greens and making big putts when he needed them. The end result is that Price will become a rookie at the tender age of 40.
“I certainly don’t feel like I’m 40,” said the father of two. “This is how it was supposed to work for me. I’ve been fortunate enough to play well enough to keep my head above water. I’ve been able to play well enough over the years to keep going. I guess I’m just one of the guys who have a really good game that hadn’t gotten out there yet.”
Not anymore.
Anderson’s runner-up check of $108,000 was enough to vault the California-born Floridian from No. 134 to No. 25 on the season money list.
Peter Tomasulo (68), David Hearn (69) and Branshaw tied for third, two shots back while rookie Oscar Bergman (67) and D.J. Brigman (70), shared sixth place.
Fourth-Round Notes – Sunday’s scoring average was 71.565. The scoring average for the week was 71.976.
Here is how this week’s $1M purse changed things for the top players:
Before After
1. Rick Price No. 46 No. 3
2. Chris Anderson No. 134 No. 25
T3. Peter Tomasulo No. 20 No. 11
T3. David Hearn No. 88 No. 42
T3. David Branshaw No. 98 No. 46
T6. Oskar Bergman No. 118 No. 70
T6. D.J. Brigman No. 19 No. 13
Here is how the Nationwide Tour top-10 money list looks like, before and after this week’s results:
Top-10 prior Top-10 after
1. Jarrod Lyle 1. Jarrod Lyle
2. David Mathis 2. Greg Chalmers
3. Darron Stiles 3. Rick Price
4. Greg Chalmers 4. David Mathis
5. Jeff Klauk 5. Darron Stiles
6. Casey Wittenberg 6. Casey Wittenberg
7. Kris Blanks 7. Jeff Klauk
8. Greg Owen 8. Kris Blanks
9. Aron Price 9. Greg Owen
10. Scott Gutschewski 10. Aron Price
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