Bogey-free 63 gives Williamson the win in Fort Smith Classic  PGA TOUR Staff FORT SMITH, Ark. -- Jay Williamson closed with a bogey-free 7-under 63 on Sunday to capture his first Nationwide Tour victory at the $525,000 Fort Smith Classic Presented by Stephens Inc.  Jay Williamson was bogey-free over his last 53 holes. (Mike Ehrmann/WireImage)
The 40-year-old native of St. Louis, Mo., posted his fourth consecutive round in the 60s (69-66-66-63) to edge Justin Bolli (70) and Garrett Willis (66) by a single stroke. "This means a ton," said Williamson, who wins in his 60th career start on the Nationwide Tour and 339th start in a PGA TOUR-sponsored event. "Seeing your name on top of the leaderboard is always a nice thing. I just turned 40 and this really isn't a Tour for 40-year-olds. Obviously winning is a tremendous boost to my career." Williamson was solid throughout the week, playing the final 53 holes of the tournament without a bogey -- with his last mistake coming on his first hole on Friday. "I played well all week," said Williamson, who hit 12 of 13 fairways and 15 of 18 greens in regulation. "I finally played well on Sunday, too. I've had three or four opportunities this year on Sunday to not necessarily win but make a good check and I haven't been able to capitalize. It feels good to finally get it done." The win was worth $94,500 for Williamson, moving him into The 25 at the 10th position with $111,518. The victory also ended any doubts that he was finally healthy after having to go through two knee surgeries during his career -- which began during his rookie season on the PGA TOUR in 1995. "For the first time in 10 years I have no status on the PGA TOUR," said Williamson, who lists following the stock market as a hobby. "But I'm finally healthy. Being 100 percent is nice, especially playing against these young guys." Bolli had entered the final round with a three-stroke lead, but couldn't get anything going early, making five straight pars out of the gate and an even-par 35 on the front nine. A birdie on the par-3 17th hole temporarily moved him into a tie with Williamson, but an errant approach shot into a greenside bunker led to a disappointing bogey on the final hole. The runner-up finish was the second in three weeks for Bolli, who also finished second at the Athens Regional Foundation Classic. "I was trying to get aggressive from the fairway," said Bolli, who moves to No. 8 on the money list. "I wanted to stick it on the last hole and win the tournament. Today was win or bust, especially after starting with a three-shot lead. I have no regrets; it was just bad execution." There was no gloating from Williamson as he heard the moans from the 18th green as Bolli's 10-foot par putt slid by the hole. "I hate to see a guy bogey the last hole for me to win," said Williamson. "But I feel like I deserved to win the tournament this week." Australian Jason Day set the early tone when he made the turn at 9 under for the tournament. He then birdied five consecutive holes on the back nine and six of the first seven to pull within one of the leaders at the time. Day's 20-footer for birdie on the final hole would have tied the course record, but a missed four-footer on the comeback putt led to his only bogey of the day. He still managed a career-best 8-under 62 in a PGA TOUR-sponsored event, topping his 6-under 64 in the second round of the 2006 U.S. Bank Championship in Milwaukee. "I had nothing to lose today and everything to gain," said Day, who now has two top-10 finishes in 2007. "I wanted to win this one bad. The Nationwide Tour teaches you how to win, and I feel like I have the game to win out here soon. But this week I made too many mistakes. The best players in the world aren't making as many mistakes as I am right now." Day finished tied for fourth place along with Tee McCabe, two strokes behind Williamson. As for the champion, he is looking forward to delivering a gift to his daughter, Whitney, as soon as he gets home. "My little girl is seven and all she has wanted is a trophy," he said. "I'm glad I did that for her this week." Final-Round News & Notes: Lift, clean and place was in effect for the fourth consecutive day. ... The first-round leader has never gone on to win the Fort Smith Classic in 10 tries. ... Justin Bolli is now winless in the three tournaments he has held the 54-hole lead. The third-round leader has now won just four of nine tournaments on Tour this season. ... Jay Williamson becomes the sixth first-time winner of the Fort Smith Classic, joining such names as Masters champion Zach Johnson (2003), Tim Clark (2000) and Mark Hensby (1998). ... Jay Williamson was the only player without a bogey on Sunday, bringing the total for the week to 20. ... The toughest hole this week was the par-4 fifth hole with a 4.213 average. The par-5 sixth hole was the easiest at 4.348. ... The final-round scoring average was 69.030, bringing the cumulative average for the week to 69.280. ... The Nationwide Tour takes a week off before teeing it up for the BMW Charity Pro-Am at The Cliffs on May 17-20. Last year, 2006 Nationwide Tour Player of the Year Ken Duke claimed his first Tour win by a stroke over Jess Daley. Copyright 2007 PGATOUR.com. All rights reserved. |
