Paul Haley II lands Chile Classic Presented by Pacific Rubiales on Nationwide Tour in just third start
Pulling in mammoth rounds of eight-under 64, on consecutive days before heading into the final round, there were no doubts that the Nationwide Tour rookie Paul Haley II is all set to bag his maiden tour title in just the third start of the season.
His final day performance was not as majestic as his earlier performances over the weekend, but a strong five-under 67 was good enough to overpower the rest of the field at the Chile Classic Presented by Pacific Rubiales.
The 24-year-old Haley said, "I expected to come out here and play well but nobody expects to win in their third professional start".
He went on, "I felt like if I could just hit a fairway I'd be okay, I was hitting my irons fairly well and my putter felt great all day. I figured if I could somehow get a ball in the fairway, the birdies would eventually come".
A graduate in Business studies from the distinguished Georgia Tech, Haley started off his Nationwide Tour career just this season.
His blistering performance has rocked the tour members right from the beginning of the year.
He finished for a joint 33rd at the Pacific Rubiales Colombia Championship presented by Samsung, his first appearance on the tour earlier in the year.
He missed the cut at the Panama Claro Championship, the second event on the tour and has now emerged as the winner at the third appearance on the tour.
Haley was happy with his overall performance amid the grizzled vets of the tour and said,
"I played incredible golf for 72 holes. My putter was the key all week. When that last one went in, it was just euphoria. I'm always going to remember my first trip to this great country".
Haley started off the day with a birdie on the opening hole, sending shivers in the field. He remained level-par for the rest of the seven holes until he carded another on the ninth before making the turn.
He made the turn to card two more birdies on the back nine, before he stumbled on the first bogey of the day at par-four, 16th.
He called off the day with two consecutive birdies on the closing holes to lift the title with a wide margin of three strokes.
Joseph Bramlett finished as the runner-up with an aggregate of 19-under, 269.
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