Robert Streb wins the Mylan Classic with final-round 64
Going into Sunday’s fourth round, the Mylan Classic at Southpointe Golf Club was a logjam with at least a dozen players with a chance to win.
You would not be able to tell that after the fourth round where Robert Streb ran away with the victory following a seven under par 64. The victory was a four-shot win over Matt Weibring, second round leader Brad Fritsch and third round leader Cliff Kresge.
Inside the round: Robert Streb
Streb’s round started at 9:50 due to potential bad weather that never occurred. He would birdie the first hole.
The next birdie came on the fourth hole and Streb would add another in the sixth hole.
He gave one back on the seventh hole before coming to his turning point, the par-5 540-yard eighth hole.
The eighth is a definite birdie hole with a fairway shot with water to the left and by the green. As a result, the front of the green slopes towards the water.
Streb would not have this issue though as he birdied the hole.
“My putt crashed into the hole,” Streb said. “I kind of got it going and at 14 I pulled the nine iron to three feet and at that point I felt pretty good.”
Streb would birdie the ninth hole and from there was guilty of a bit of scoreboard watching.
Streb did note he was nervous from the 10th hole until the 12th hole but was able to shake those nerves in birding the 14th and 16th holes.
It was a mere formality when he walked up the 18th green where he tapped in for par to win the Mylan Classic and the $108,000 first prize.
“This is awesome. I finally won somewhere other than my home course,” Streb said. “It was nice to be able to win somewhere else.”
Streb’s two previous professional victories were in the Oklahoma State Open at Oaktree in Edmond.
This was Streb’s second 64 of the tournament as he shot the same score in the second round. He also moved from 23rd to fourth on the money list. The top 25 on the money list will be on the PGA Tour next year, so Streb has basically assured himself that he will play at the game’s highest level in 2013.
Streb by the numbers:
Shot 18 under, a tournament record
Goes from No. 23 to No. 4 on money list
13th first time winner in 20 events on tour
6th rookie to win on tour this year
13 of 14 fairways in the final round
13 of 18 greens in the final round
24 putts in the final round
Wheatcroft’s struggles a part of ‘worst year’
Local favorite Steve Wheatcroft had a rough start in his fourth round.
Paired with Brad Adamonis and Steve Allan, Wheatcroft started on the 10th hole. This should have been a welcome sight for Wheatcroft who was 11 under on the back nine and seven over on the front nine heading into the round.
It was more encouraging when hit a solid drive, but he short-sided himself on his approach leaving an awkward third shot with a very small body of water next to him; he took his right shoe off to better balance himself. From there, his putter let him down big time and he would triple bogey the hole.
Upon talking to Wheatcroft, it was clear he was a bit down on his round and put himself in a few other tough spots including a wide left drive on the eighth hole, his 17th of the day where he hit the tee shot wayward and his recovery shot was way long and to his right.
He was clearly frustrated and the sloppy play on the 10th hole has seemed to represent his year in a nutshell.
“The putter’s terrible,” Wheatcroft said. “It’s just embarrassing when you hit 15 greens in a round and you’re shooting three over par. This year’s been such a horrible year in every way. I’m hitting the ball better than I’ve ever hit it and it’s the worst year I’ve ever had on any tour.”
Wheatcroft encountered trouble on the back nine for the first time in the tournament, shooting two over par with two birdies, five pars, a bogey and a triple bogey. He would add a bogey on the final hole to finish the tournament at one under par, a tie for 47th place.
“Today I did not hit approach shots the way I wanted,” Wheatcroft said. “I missed everything today. I made one little putt on 15 and I just had to roll it up and down on 11. So I really didn’t make anything.”
Of note:
. Tournament officials announced that the Mylan Classic will return next year.
. Attendance for the tournament was announced to be over 21,000, slightly down from last year.
. Third round leader Cliff Kresge on Streb: “Not much you can do. When a guy plays like that. He was just too good.”
. An update on second round leader Brad Fritsch: he played the weekend at two under par and finished tied for second place. Before leaving, the Ottawa Senators fan reiterated his “Penguins suck” line with a coy “Go Sens.” More laughter ensued.
. Last place in the tournament of those who made the cut was Jeff Quinney who shot four over overall.
Final Leaderboard:
1. Robert Streb -18
T2. Brad Fritsch -14
T2. Cliff Kresge -14
T2. Matt Weibring -14
5. Ben Kohles -13
6. Nicholas Thompson -12
T7. Justin Hicks -11
T7. John Chin -11
T7. Will MacKenzie -11
T7. Dawie van der Walt -11
T7. Kevin Kisner -11
Updated Money List (Top 25 get into the PGA Tour)
1. Casey Wittenberg $312,428
2. Luke List $309,196
3. Ben Kohles $286,875
4. Robert Streb $253,491
5. Paul Haley II $252,726
6. Andres Gonzales $229,072
7. James Hahn $221,850
8. Lee Williams $205,341
9. Justin Hicks $204,273
10. Darron Stiles $200,911
11. Andrew Svoboda $182,806
12. Cameron Percy $180,118
13. Brian Stuard $176,482
14. Jim Herman $172,908
15. Shawn Stefano $172,715
16. Hudson Swafford $170,758
17. Nicholas Thompson $165,446
18. Scott Gardiner $164,860
19. Paul Claxton $159,594
20. Joseph Bramlett $155,850
21. Alex Aragon $154,338
22. Luke Guthrie $152,963
23. Doug LaBelle II $150,395
24. Camilo Benedetti $147,261
25. David Lingmerth $141,043