Scott Sterling wins Jacobs Creek Open Championship  PGA TOUR staff Adelaide, SA -- Scott Sterling can't remember the last time he made so many long putts in a tournament. The Louisiana resident dropped a half dozen 25-40 foot birdie putts over the final two days of the Jacob's Creek Open Championship but it was a testy three-footer on the 72nd hole that ultimately proved to be the difference maker. Sterling and a vocal home crowd watched in disbelief as 21-year old David Lutterus missed a six-foot par putt on the final hole of regulation, leaving the door open for the 36-year old to make his par and claim his first Nationwide Tour title. 
Sterling posted a final-round 71 to finish at 12-under-par 276 on the Kooyonga Golf Club, one better than Lutterus (72), who is a member at the course and received a sponsor's exemption into the event that has been co-sanctioned by the Nationwide Tour and the PGA TOUR of Australasia for the past six years. Marc Leishman (69) and Brendan Jones (71) shared third place, two shots back. Craig Parry (71), Brett Rumford (71) and Peter Senior (74) tied for fifth, three off the pace. "It's just unbelievable," said the low-key Sterling after collecting $108,000 for the win. "With the first one you always have some doubts because you haven't done it before. Overall I was pretty calm but standing over that last one, I was the most nervous I'd been all day. I could feel it in my hands." Sunday's final round began with 18 players within four shots of each other and the pack tightened on every hole as temperatures approached 100 degrees and the 15 mph winds seemed to switch directions constantly. At one point on the back nine, five players shared the lead, but it was Sterling's conservative play and Lutterus' swash-buckling attack that propelled the contrasting pair to the front. The two stood on the final tee of the 370-yard dogleg left, par-4 deadlocked at 12-under. Sterling stuck to his game plan and knocked a 4-iron into the fairway. Lutterus stuck to his as well and waited for the green to clear before pulling out driver. "I've never hit anything but driver on that hole," he said. "I always seem to make three or four. Besides, I don't know even know what the second shot is like from way back there." Lutterus, who made pars and birdies from water hazards, under trees and just about everywhere else, pushed his tee shot well right and into a sandy waste area, forcing tournament officials to move a promotional display car which was in his path. Lutterus' second shot went over the green and his chip shot third nearly struck the pin before settling a half-dozen feet away. Sterling, meantime, came up 55 feet short of the pin when the swirling winds knocked his ball down and left him another test of nerves. "Over the weekend my putter was unbelievable," said Sterling, who spent the 2006 season on the mini-tours regaining his confidence. "My touch was pretty good. I don't think I've ever made that many long putts in a tournament." The day looked like it might be over quickly for Sterling after bogeys on two of his first four holes dropped off the lead and put him into a pack of contenders which seemed to grow by the minute. After a bogey on the par-4, 11th, his only three-putt of the week, Sterling regained the momentum with three consecutive birdies, the last coming from, naturally, 40 feet. "I might have gotten too excited after that one," said Sterling after a rare fist-pump. "I had to go and calm myself down because I knew the golf tournament was far from over." Sterling then played a magnificent bunker on the par-3, 15th, leaving him inches shy of a birdie. A missed 20-footer for birdie at the par-5, 16th was countered by Lutterus' 12-foot birdie putt to square the pair at 12-under. The two players made pars at the 17th, though Sterling's two-putt from off the green, 50 feet away, was much tougher than it looked. That set the stage for the final-hole drama. "I played with David for the past two days and I knew he'd hit driver there but I had to play my game on 18 because I don't hit it as far as he does," said Sterling. "I kept hanging in there after that tough start and just dug down today. When I made that putt I didn't know what to do. It's a great feeling to win and, unless you're Tiger Woods, you don't do that too many times." The Nationwide Tour moves to Christchurch, New Zealand next week for the HSBC New Zealand PGA Championship at Clearwater Resort. Final-Round Notes: Gabriel Hjertstedt had a pair of eagles Sunday. Hjertstedt eagled the par-5 2nd and the par-5 9th holes...Jason Caron also had two eagles on Sunday, making this the second time he has had a pair of eagles in the final round here. Caron eagled the par-5 9th and 16th in the final round in 2004. Today, his eagles came at the par-5 2nd and 9th holes...Chris Nallen suffered a disastrous 10 on the par-4 8th hole. Nallen was 8-under and among the leaders when he missed the green with his second shot. The former University of Arizona star took four chips to get on the green. During one of his shots, he moved a rope that was in the path of the ball as it rolled back towards him and was assessed a two-stroke penalty. Nallen rebounded with a birdie on the next hole...Players who were bogey-free on Sunday: none...Of the 63 players in the field, only 17 posted sub-par scores Sunday. There were only three players who broke 70 -- Jimmy Walker (68), Nick Flanagan (69) and Marc Leishman (69)...Sunday's scoring average of 74.032 was the highest scoring round of the four this week. The cumulative scoring average was 72.208. |
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