Ted Brown

Brown Claims Southern Open With Closing 62

Concord, NC- Richmond, VA resident Ted Brown birdied his final four holes en route to a back nine 29 and a final round course record 10-under-par 62 to erase a four shot deficit and win the Tarheel Tour’s Southern Open Saturday afternoon at Cabarrus Country Club.

The Virginia Commonweath University product posted a 16-under-par total nearly an hour ahead of the leaders and watched as the final groups were unable to match his score. “I didn’t really look at the leader board, but when I got to 12-under for the tournament with five holes to play, I figured I was in the hunt. With, the leaders having so many birdie holes left, I knew I needed to keep making birdies to have a chance” Said Brown.

For Brown, the win was the first of his career on the Tarheel Tour and the first place check of $22,000 was the largest of his career. Brown, who is a native of Canada, picked up his third top ten of the season. A sixth place finish at the Pete Dye Classic a few weeks ago was his previous best finish on the Tarheel Tour. This week’s win propelled Brown into eighth place on the current money list with $35,057 in earnings. Brown plans to play next week in his home state’s premier event, the Virginia State Open, before he returns to Tarheel Tour action at the Lake Hickory Open at Catawba Springs in two weeks.

Pete Dye Classic Champion Ryan Blaum, who played just two groups ahead of Brown, fired a 9-under-par 63 which tied the course record for about twenty minutes. More importantly, the Duke University alum, grabbed a share of second place and $10,100 for his efforts.

36-hole co-leader Jeff Curl fired a 5-under-par 67 to share second place with Blaum. The former UNC-Charlotte standout reached 15-under-par after 13 holes but was unable to birdie any of his final five holes. In the end, the Ellington, CT resident needed to hole a twenty-foot chip shot, which he narrowly missed, to force a playoff.

Pete Dye Classic runner-up Joel Hendry made a huge jump up the leader board with a 9-under-par 63 to claim a share of fourth with Tarheel Tour money leader David Robinson and Aiken, SC native Dane Burkhart. All three players earned $5,333 for their efforts. Robinson failed to capture his third win of the 2008 season, but his total earnings of $69,908 leads Andy Bare by nearly $20,000 in the race for the 2008 money title.

Defending Southern Open Champion Shaun Norris closed out the defense of his title with a 7-under-par 65 in the first group out Saturday morning to sneak into the top ten with a tie for ninth place.

Warm temperatures and a lack of wind contributed to the best scoring of the week as those players making the cut averaged just 70.04 strokes in Saturday’s final round.

The Tarheel Tour would like to thank Cabarrus Country Club Head Professional Ken Guilford, Head Golf Course Superintendent Tim Davis and their staffs for helping put on another great Tarheel Tour event at Cabarrus Country Club. The Tarheel Tour returns to action next Wednesday with the first round of the inaugural River Hills Open at River Hills Country Club in Lake Wylie, SC.

News and Notes

Andy Bare continued his superb play of late with three straight 68’s to record his fourth straight top-10 finish. Bare is currently second on the 2008 money list with $49,141 in total earnings.

Joel Hendry continued his trend of hot and cold play. The native of Scotland has played in nine events on the Tarheel Tour in 2008. He has missed three cuts, but has finished in the top-10 in all six events in which he has played the final day. Hendry’s final round 63 gave the former New Mexico lobo his third top-4 finish of the season and his second in a row.

Ryan Blaum recorded 20-birdies over the 54-hole event to lead the field. The former Duke University star has earned $42,100 in only three Tarheel Tour events over the past 10-months and has never finished lower than his tie for second this week.

Jeff Curl played his final 51-holes without making a bogey this week. The former UNCC 49er made 14-birdies in that span on his way to his second place finish. Curl recently won the Portland Open by four shots over Tarheel Tour player Kyle Gallo.

Former U.S. Amateur runner up Luke List fired a final round 68 to finish in a tie for seventh. It was the former Vanderbilt Commodore’s best finish in two seasons on the Tarheel Tour.

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