Perfect Porter returns to Nationwide Tour
By John Bush, PGA TOUR Staff
FINGAL, Victoria, Australia -- Australian Ewan Porter grabbed the lead of the Moonah Classic on Thursday and never looked back, holding at least a share of the lead all four rounds and then cruising to victory at the co-sanctioned event on the Nationwide Tour and PGA Tour of Australasia.
The 25-year-old native of Cronulla, Australia fired a final-round 6-under 66 to finish 13-under 275, seven strokes ahead of a pair of Americans -- D.J. Brigman (70) and Tee McCabe (71). The winning gap equals the third largest in Tour history -- eclipsed only by Chris Smith's 11-stroke win at the 1997 Omaha Classic and Chris Nallen's eight-shot victory at the 2004 Gila River Golf Classic.
"I'm over the moon right now," said Porter, who hit 10 of 14 fairways and 14 of 18 greens in regulation. "Under the circumstances, it was the round of my life."
While some predicted nerves may come into play for Porter during the final round, he was anything but unsteady. After a par on the opening hole, Porter notched three consecutive birdies on Nos. 2-4 to leave little doubt of the final outcome. Insurance birdies were added on Nos. 11 and 12 to build the lead to five shots at the time.
"I was so relaxed out there today," said Porter. "I just felt like it was my tournament to win." A birdie on the final hole gave Porter the round of the week and the seven-stroke victory -- leading to praise from his fellow competitors.
"I had a great week," said runner-up McCabe. "But I had no chance to win this tournament with the performance that Ewan turned in. For him to shoot 6-under today is just phenomenal. I played the same course that he did and in the same conditions, and he smoked me."
Brigman added, "I kept looking back, and Ewan kept pulling away. He stayed aggressive all day and didn't give us a chance to put pressure on him. My hat is off to him. He played like the leader of a golf tournament is supposed to play."
The win -- the first of Porter's career -- comes in his 25th career start and guarantees full status on the Nationwide Tour through the 2009 season. He'll make the most of his newfound status on Tour, as he had already planned to move to Scottsdale, Ariz., in a few weeks' time.
"This is going to change my life," said Porter, who collects $153,000 (AUD) for the win. "It is a big load off my shoulders. I didn't know what I was doing the rest of the year. I was just hoping to get as many invitations from around the world as possible. I'll sit down soon and reassess my plans for the rest of the year."
Porter is hoping for better results this time around, as his only previous season on the Nationwide Tour in 2005 led to just three made cuts in 17 starts and a final ranking of 213th on the final money list -- far from the goal of finishing in "THE 25" that he'll be aiming for this season.
"I'm so much more prepared this time around," said Porter. "The great thing now is that I can set out a schedule for the year. In 2005, I had to play in as many tournaments as I could get in, and I got burned out."
Porter becomes the second Australian to win this season, joining Mexico Open winner Jarrod Lyle. His win is the 33rd (by 22 players) by an Aussie throughout the 19-year history of the Nationwide Tour -- both Tour highs among international players.
It was a trying week for the 156 professionals participating this week, as sustained winds of 20-25 mph and gusts reaching 45 mph battered the par-72 Moonah Links. The result was a cumulative scoring average of 74.588, with just nine players finishing under par.
"I wanted the conditions to be like this because I am used to playing in them, especially being from Sydney where we cop some pretty windy weather," said Porter, who nearly withdrew before the third round when he injured his neck in a pre-round workout. "The majority of Australians play in conditions a lot more. I thought that as tough as possible would be good for me."
With a jolt of confidence, Porter is now off to India for next week's Johnnie Walker Classic. "It will be a celebration at 40,000 feet," said the newly-crowned Nationwide Tour winner.
Final Round News & Notes: Tee McCabe's runner-up finish was aided by a tournament-high four eagles this week, including two on the par-5 18th hole ... Champion Ewan Porter's previous best finish on the Nationwide Tour was a 48th-place effort at last week's rain-shortened HSBC New Zealand PGA Championship ... The final-round scoring average was 74.473 ... The Nationwide Tour takes a month off before playing the first event on American soil at the Chitimacha Louisiana Open, an event won in 2007 by Skip Kendall.
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