BRIDGEPORT, W.Va. -- Just three weeks after his amazing run at the U.S. Open Championship, Jason Gore struck gold Sunday at the Nationwide Tour’s National Mining Association Pete Dye Classic.

The crowd favorite Gore recorded a 4-under-par 68 to finish the tournament at 17-under-par 271. With his wife, son and parents anxiously watching from the gallery, Gore knocked in a 4-footer for par on the last hole to finish one stroke ahead of Doug LaBelle II (66).

“It was a great day and a special week,” said Gore. “I had a lot of fun out there today. To be able to hug your Mom coming off the 18th green is pretty cool. I’m just glad we ran out of holes there at the end, especially considering how well Doug played today.”

Gore garnered international popularity with his excellent play at last month’s U.S. Open. That adoration carried over to the state of West Virginia this week at the Pete Dye Golf Club.

“It has been quite a month,” said Gore, a native of Van Nuys, Calif. “It has definitely been a learning experience since Pinehurst. Whatever tournament you are playing in at the time is a very important tournament -- whether it is the U.S. Open or the National Mining Association Pete Dye Classic. It was great to pull it off today at a great venue and in a great state.”

The win is the fourth of Gore’s career, to go along with victories at the 2000 New Mexico Classic, 2002 Oregon Classic and the 2002 Albertsons Boise Open. Only four players have won more times on the Nationwide Tour than the former Pepperdine University standout.

With the victory, Gore collects $108,000 and moves up from No. 57 to No. 7 on the official money list with $149,579, moving a step closer to his ultimate goal of making it back to the PGA TOUR. Gore’s last full season on TOUR in 2003 resulted in a 177th place finish on the money list.

“This is where I needed to be,” said Gore, in response to turning down a sponsor’s exemption at this week’s PGA TOUR event. “My goal is to get my card through the Nationwide Tour and to do that I’ve got to be out here every week. It certainly paid off for me this week. This takes a big chunk out of the work that I have in front of me.”

Gore's victory was certainly in doubt on Sunday, as LaBelle eagled the par-5 15th hole to pull ahead by three strokes with just a few holes left to play. Bogeys on the next two holes by LaBelle, coupled with an eagle by Gore on No. 15 were enough to propel Gore into the winner’s circle.

Jason Gore earned his fourth Nationwide Tour title. (Martin/ WireImage)

“Coming in second isn’t too bad,” said LaBelle, who jumps up to No. 37 on the money list. “Jason is definitely playing with a lot of confidence right now. But after missing eight straight cuts, coming in second isn’t too bad for me. I did everything that I wanted to do this week, it is just that one guy shot one lower than I did.”

Gore is off to Hudson, Wisconsin this week looking for his second victory of the season at the Scholarship America Showdown. With Chris Couch (69) finishing fourth this week and reclaiming the top spot on the money list with $307,598, Gore realizes a lot of work is left to do this year.

“It is pretty bottom-line what you have to do out here,” said Gore. “Chris and Troy (Matteson) have set the bar so high that we’ve got to go catch them. But this is a good start for me. This is an exciting time of the year on the Nationwide Tour.”

Final Round News & Notes: As mentioned, Chris Couch takes over the top spot on the money list with $307,598. Troy Matteson, who finished in a tie for 12th place, is in second place with $291,783 … Speaking of Couch, perhaps he should continue to miss cuts. In his four missed cuts this season on the Nationwide Tour, he has come back in his next start with at least a top-4 finish, including two wins, a second and a fourth this week after missing the cut in his last start on Tour at the Northeast Pennsylvania Classic … Todd Pinneo and Brian Henninger managed the only bogey-free rounds on Sunday, bringing the total to 18 for the week.