Nate Nichols Earns His Sixth Professional Victory on Southport, IN Course2 June 2007 - Southport, IN - Nate Nichols' home course is Columbus, Ind., but the beautiful 54-hole facility in Southport, Ind., just south of Indianapolis, has been a second home to the young professional putter. The Columbus resident won the first tournament of the weekend as the Northern Putting Tour resumed play at Southport.
Nichols fired a 79, 29 under par, to claim a three-stroke win in the Terry Ferguson Classic. It was his sixth pro tourney win at Southport and second on the Course 3 layout. It is also the second time Nichols has won a tournament named after Ferguson, the course owner. Nichols shot a 27 to begin the tourney, putting him one stroke behind co-leaders Harry Sykes and 2006 World Match Play Champion Peter Neumann at 26. Nichols improved with a 26 in the second round, tying Neumann for the lead with a 53. Sykes added a 28 to be in at 54, and three players were at 55 to set up a potentially exciting finish. Things became tighter when John Ventura, playing in the first group, made a big run in the last round. He shot a 26 to finish at 82, although that included a 5 on the tricky 17th hole. However, Nichols would continue his solid play in the final round, rallying for a 26 after acing just two of his first seven holes. His 79 easily held up, as the other contenders faltered in the final round. Tim Greenert, 2005 ProPutters.com Classic champion, was the only player at 55 or better entering the final round to break 30, shooting a 29. The best round of the day belonged to PPA Hall of Fame member Roger Beckerman. Playing in the last group, he was in at 60 after two rounds but stormed in with a 22 to finish in a tie for second at 82. Neumann’s final 83 was good for fourth. Greenert and Sykes tied for the last cash spot with an 84. Beckerman and Neumann claimed spots for the NPT match play finals. Beckerman took the momentum from his strong finish into match play, beating Nichols in the final. In the amateur division, it was Scott McCutchen of Greenfield, Ind. winning his first tour event in four years. A part-time player on the NPT, McCutchen fired a 26 in the final to post an 85, coming from three strokes behind to earn the win. Josh Garrison, the two-round leader at 56, tied for second with an 86 with 2006 NPT Medal Play Champion Anthony Russell. McCutchen swept the day's action, beating Garrison in the match play final. Garrison claimed his match play spot for the NPT finals. Scores and tournament recap provided by James Weber and Peter Neumann. |
Professional Division of the 2007 Terry Ferguson Classic
(Southport, IN - Course # 3 - 2 June 2007)
Round Expense Match NPT Player 1 2 3 Total Money Play
Spot 1 Nate Nichols 27 26 26 79 $ 160.00 2 - 1 2 John Ventura 28 28 26 82 $ 90.00 0 - 1 Roger Beckerman 29 31 22 82 $ 130.00 4 - 0 Yes 4 Peter Neumann 26 27 30 83 $ 75.00 2 - 1 Yes 5 Harry Sykes 26 28 30 84 $ 27.50 0 - 1 Tim Greenert 27 28 29 84 $ 27.50 0 - 1 7 Jerry Pinotti 29 26 30 85 $ 10.00 2 - 1 8 Shawn Gilliland 29 30 27 86 0 - 1 9 Kevin Lacey 29 26 32 87 1 - 1 10 Charlie Greenwalt 30 28 30 88 0 - 1 11 Jim Cruse 30 29 32 91 1 - 1 12 Rick Alessi 30 33 31 94 1 - 1 13 Mark Hasty 28 36 31 95 0 - 1 14 Paul Pastilong 31 33 34 98 0 - 1 Amateur Division of the 2007 Terry Ferguson Classic
(Southport, IN - Course # 3 - 2 June 2007)
Round Expense Match NPT Player 1 2 3 Total Money Play
Points Spot 1 Scott McCutchen 31 28 26 85 $ 25.00 3 - 0 2 Josh Garrison 25 31 30 86 $ 25.00 2 - 1 288.2 Yes Anthony Russell 32 29 25 86 $ 20.00 0 - 1 248.2 4 John Watkins 31 29 27 87 $ 10.00 1 - 1 223.0 Rick Ossenfort 28 29 30 87 0 - 1 6 Barb Mingo 32 26 31 89 1 - 1 173.2 7 Kyle Poole 31 30 29 90 1 - 1 158.6 8 Ted Cain 35 27 31 93 0 - 1 9 David Phillippi 34 29 36 99 1 - 1 106.2 10 Dustin Lytle 33 32 35 100 0 - 1