Steven Bowditch wins Soboba Golf Classic
Steven Bowditch won the Soboba Golf Classic at the Country Club at Soboba Springs in San Jacinto California yesterday. Winning after five years, Bowditch closed the game with three under 68 and won the $1 million tournament.
The Australian born player played to reach the top of the leader board on Saturday and then had a marvellous 18th hole to reach the finish line on Sunday.
Along with carding a 68, he made a course record with a 19- under 265 on Sunday as well. The Soboba Classic is one of the two late-season one million dollar tournaments on the schedule of the Nationwide Tour. It also includes $180,000 purse for the winner,
which was obviously taken by Bowditch.
Daniel Summerhays, who also shot 3 under, was second place with 16 under and received $108,000. Brendan Steele, who started the day with five shots back, bogeyed three of the seven holes and didn’t really have a comeback after this poor performance. He shot
par at 71 and finished at 11 under and took $16,500 home.
Brendan Steele used to play on this course during his school years when he was a student at Hemet High. He had good support of family and friends in the gallery. The player had a bumpy start on Sunday but then carded 10 back to back pars and then eagled
the final hole.
Steele was only able to get one birdie in the round. Later, he said that he wouldn’t have minded any type of birdies and he just wanted more of them. Steele came open about his issue of hitting the ball right and how he doesn’t do well when he hits the
ball like that. The good news that Soboba brought for Brendan was that he moved up three spots on the money list and is now at number 34.
The winner of the tournament had 96 putts in the four rounds and was only one short of the record for fewest putts in a tournament. Bowditch was hence very close to breaking the record set by Grant Waite in the 2004 Miccosukee Championship.
In Saturday’s third round, Bowditch again caught attention when he shot an 8-under 63 which also included tying for the Nationwide Tour record for fewest putts in a round with 18.
“Yesterday was really the round that put me in position, but I putted great and today I played better," said Bowditch. Before this victory, Bowditch had won Jacob's Creek Open Championship in Adelaide, Australia five years back. Steve said that those times
have been the best times of his life.
"It feels better once you've accomplished something and to lose it and then go back on it, I feel a good sense of achievement and it's fantastic”, said the winner.
With his triumph yesterday, he made quite a change to the Tour Money list. Steve, who was on number 76 on Thursday at the start of the Classic, is now at number 11. Good news for Bowditch is that the players in the top 25 on the money list earn respectable
spots on next year’s PGA Tour.
Steve didn’t really have a hard time winning on Sunday. He carded a birdie in the first hole and then from 75 feet he eagled on the par-5
sixth and then went on to 19 under. After that, he didn’t come down from 18 under.
He didn’t make many putts but didn’t really miss any either. Steve thinks that the short game is really the tactic to winning when one has a lead. He was out on the watch all throughout the game to make sure he was still leading.
Bowditch really seemed to disagree with the fact that the players don’t lookout for the leader board during the game. Talking about himself, the winner stated that he was watching every step. He said it was good seeing the board like this instead of scrolling
down on the internet.
All in all, it was a thrilling competition. All the players tried their best, and Steve Bowditch got the most glory, something he truly deserved.
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