One year later, Price appreciates long-awaited Nationwide victory

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LIVERMORE, Calif. -- So maybe this one was pre-ordained. Maybe The Course at Wente Vineyards owed Aron Price one.

Aron Price became the fourth Australian to win on the Nationwide Tour in 2008. (Horner/WireImage)

Inside the Numbers

Price's Final Stats

Category Total Rank Eagles 1 T1 Birdies 12 T16 Pars 50 T6 Bogeys 9 T56 Double Bogeys 0 N/A Other 0 N/A Driving Accuracy 66.1% T13 Driving Distance 302.9 yds. 31 Greens in Regulation 77.8% 1 Putts per Round 31.0 T35 Putts per GIR 1.839 23 Sand Saves 0 N/A

Price, a runner-up in the Livermore Valley Wine Country Championship at Wente Vineyards in 2007, got his payoff Sunday when he improved by one spot in the 2008 edition of the $600,000 event. Price, 25, a native of Sydney, Australia, claimed his first Nationwide Tour victory at the expense of J.J. Killeen, who slept on the lead for three nights but lost when he tugged a par putt on the second playoff late on a cool and windy afternoon.

"I thought sure we were going back down 18 (the playoff hole) again,'' Price said. Then Killeen lipped out, making him a champion.

"I felt like the first time I almost trod on a snake,'' Price said of his reaction. "I didn't want to win that way, but ... that's gonna happen.''

It happened because Price, who started the final round four shots behind Killeen, a rookie making his eighth Nationwide Tour start, held together on the toughest track the players will see all season. He hit solid shot after solid shot in cool and windy conditions, a fact underlined by his status as No. 1 in greens in regulation.

"It was definitely my ball striking that kept me in it,'' said Price, who shot a final-round 72.

Nevertheless, Price was positive he had let the tournament slip away as he missed short birdie putts on the fifth, ninth, 10th and 11th.

"I got really negative walking off the 12th tee,'' he said. "I was telling myself that's why I never win out here.''

Price was three down at the time. He glanced at a leader board after a birdie on the par-5 15th and, much to his amazement, he had the lead.

"I know what can happen on the back nine here,'' he said. "It's important to hang in there. So in that way I had good memories coming into the week. I had a bit of a feeling because I like the course and love playing in the wind.''

Price would have won the event in regulation, but he bogeyed the 18th while Killeen made a heroic par after driving into a hazard. His third with a 6-iron from 178 yards pulled up 12 feet from the hole and he canned it for a clutch par.

Each player made lengthy two-putts for par on the first playoff hole before the abrupt ending as Price became the fourth Australian to win in the first six Nationwide events. His winner's check for $108,000 bumped Price to fourth on the money list with $124,893, but he has learned his journey this season is far from over.

"You can't let down on this Tour,'' he said. "I got a little complacent last year when I had $90,000 early and then won about $10,000 the next three months. You have to keep on pushing.''

The rail-thin Price has been doing that for a decade now. He was a relatively latecomer to golf, concentrating his sporting passion on rugby in his formative years. He didn't pick up a club until his grandfather put one in his hands at the age of 12. He certainly wasn't an overnight sensation. Matter of fact, his first recorded score was a 124 on a par-64 course.

"About a month later I was in the low 90s and completely captivated,'' he said. "I always knew what I wanted to do since I was 15. I didn't want to have a job ever. I just wanted to play golf.''

Price attended the Australian Institute of Sport, where he honed his game to the point that a friend who played collegiate golf at Georgia Southern tipped off Coach Larry Mays that Price was worth a scholarship. Mays checked results and did some additional investigating. He signed Price sight unseen, a move that eventually paid huge dividends.

Price figured he would be at Georgia Southern long before he turned professional, but was in for a rude awakening when he measured his game against other collegians.

"I thought it would be a year or a year and a half, but I quickly realized I had a lot to learn,'' he said. "I always thought I had the ability, but until you break through there always is some doubt.''

Price received a huge confidence boost in the 2003 Western Amateur, where he made his big breakthrough. He thought he didn't have a chance and played relaxed golf. He remembers hamming it up with future U.S. Amateur champion Nick Flanagan in the final round before learning he was four ahead with two holes to play.

"I almost soiled myself,'' he said.

He didn't and he won. He then began winning on the collegiate level, before turning pro in the summer of 2005. He borrowed some money to enter a Gateway Tour event and won right out of the box.

"That was the greatest feeling,'' he said. "I won $35,000 and I never had more than $1,000 in my bank account before that.''

Price played the Nationwide Tour in 2006 and 2007, making enough each season to maintain his playing privileges. But he decided to skip the PGA TOUR Qualifying School in 2007 in order to work on swing changes with his coach Gary Barter.

"I think I had gone backward by 20-30 percent,'' he said. "But Gary told me we could work on stuff that would get me to the PGA TOUR after the 2008 season.''

Another victory would do it, but now Price has his eye on a bigger prize, an immediate performance promotion that comes with three Nationwide Tour wins in a season.

"I've got to win two more,'' he said.