Cannon Wins At Northstone

Huntersville, NC- Tarheel Tour all time leading money winner Matt Cannon fired a final round 65 to edge David Sanchez by a shot to win the Northstone Open and the $16,000 first place check Friday.

Cannon’s three-day total of 20-under par matches the Tarheel Tour’s all time scoring record set earlier in the season by Shaun Norris at the Southern Open. Cannon, a member at the Northstone Club thrilled the locals in attendance finishing the week with 18-birdies and an eagle. More impressive than the birdie barrage was the fact that Cannon was the only player in the field to finish the event without a single bogey on his scorecard. “The golf course played shorter than usual and the greens were receptive. I knew that there were a lot of birdies out there, so I figured if I could eliminate bogey or worse I would be right there at the end,” said the first two time winner on the Tarheel Tour this season.


As impressive as the onslaught of birdies was, the key to winning the event was Cannon’s par save on the tricky par-3 17th after Sanchez hit his approach to 2-inches. “I had a two-shot lead going into that hole and it really would have hurt my momentum to head to the last hole tied instead of leading.”

Sanchez was able to tap in for birdie on 17, but his 15-footer on 18 to force a playoff came up short and Cannon’s title was secured. Cannon’s victory was the 16th in his illustrious Tarheel Tour Career, and pushed him ahead of William McGirt into first place on the 2007 money list with $66,215 in 14-events.

Sanchez has had a difficult season thus far in 2007. The 2005 Tarheel Tour leading money winner earned his Nationwide Tour card at q-school last fall but has struggled for the most part this season. He has come back to the Tarheel Tour to once again prepare for q-school and should certainly take some confidence away from his performance this week. The NC State alumnus fired rounds of 66-66-65 and earned $9000 for his second place finish.

Fernando Mechereffe fired a bogey free final round 65 to finish alone in third place at 18-under par. A teammate of Sanchez’s at NC State, Mechereffe fired a scorching 31 on the front side, briefly tying Cannon for the lead, but had to settle for the $6000 third prize after his putter betrayed him on the closing holes. The finish was Mechereffe’s first top-20 of the season and should give him some momentum heading into the home stretch of the 2007 season.

2006 Coulter Real Estate Classic winner Stephen Poole finished alone in fourth place this week with a three day total of 17-under par. The former Clemson Tiger earned $4500 for his efforts this week. The fourth place finish was the Greer, SC native’s best finish of the 2007 season.

The Tarheel Tour would like to thank Head Professional Courtney Ford and his staff for all of their help in making the Northstone Open another successful Tarheel Tour event. The tour would also like to thank golf course superintendent Darrin Speirings and his staff for providing a beautifully manicured golf course this week. A special thanks also goes to Northstone’s General Manager Lou Rosenbloom for all of his help in bringing the Tarheel Tour back to the Northstone Club.