Matt Davidson

Davidson Outlasts Curl to Win Tour Championship

Gordonsville & Wintergreen, VA – At the beginning of 2008, Matt Davidson had one goal in regards to his golf game – recovery. While thousands of other players view recovery in the sense of a flop shot or a par from the trees, Davidson simply wanted to recover from surgery for a torn labrum in January. A clean bill of health brought him back to competition in June and a stealth-like putter brought him $34,000 and the EGOLF Tarheel Tour Championship today in Virginia after a final-round 72 gave him a two-shot victory.

Davidson entered the final round of the EGOLF Tarheel Tour Championship tied for the lead with Jeff Curl of Ellington, CT and sharing a three-shot advantage over the rest of the field. While Curl had won the week prior at the Walnut Creek Open in Goldsboro, NC, Davidson’s last win was the 2004 Southern Conference Championship, when he was a senior at Furman University. However, amateur golf is a far cry from professional golf, especially to Davidson.

“Out here, you can’t afford to have one bad round. You have to keep going low every day, or else someone is going to catch you,” said Davidson, who grew up in New Jersey but now calls Chapel Hill, NC home.

The final round began with weather much like you would expect a mid-October day in the mountains of Virginia to feel – cold and colder. Temperatures in the low 40s greeted players on a Spring Creek Golf Club course that was already taking prisoners with fast greens and near-impossible hole locations.

"Davidson and Curl were in the final pairing with Steve Gangluff and quickly found birdies hard to come by. A bogey at the par-5 second by Davidson and a double-bogey six at the par-4 fourth by Curl set the early stage that would feature few red numbers. Davidson’s mishap spurred a streak of nine straight pars, while Curl’s was followed with a five-hole par stretch that came to a halt with a bogey at the par-4 10th. The two players would trade birdies at the par-5 12th, which left Davidson with a two-shot lead and six holes to play; however, an errant tee shot by Curl at the par-4 14th opened a door that was meant to be shut.

“I blocked everything today and pushed my tee shot way right. After I moved a couple of branches, I just lashed at it and made a miraculous bogey,” said Curl, who suddenly found himself three down with four to play after Davidson notched a routine par.

More steady pars by Davidson, coupled with a well-timed birdie by Curl at the treacherous par-3 17th, brought the twosome to the par-5 18th, where Curl had the length to get home in two and possibly make up his two-shot deficit.

“It looked like he had a hybrid in there at the last, but I think he caught it heavy and in turn had to pitch on and try to make a long birdie putt,” said Davidson.

After Davidson rolled his birdie try up to three feet, Curl’s putt narrowly missed and in turn left a docile tap in for Davidson, whose mini-fist pump was the most emotion he had shown all week.

“This is huge for me. With Qualifying School around the corner, to beat a field like this and really grind it out and win means everything,” Davidson quipped as he looked down at a check featuring the numbers “$34,000” in large font.

For Curl, it capped off a great two weeks and left him wondering what could have been.

“My back actually held up okay today despite the cold, but I just didn’t play well,” Curl said, referencing a sore upper back that required some work from his caddie at times this week.

When asked about his shoulder surgery and current health, the usually reserved Davidson shed a shy smile and muttered that it felt a lot better now. Maybe this was the real bill of health he was waiting on.

Ted Brown of nearby Richmond, VA birdied the final hole to finish solo third, one-shot clear of falling into a three-way tie.

Bobby MacWhinnie put aside thoughts of an otherwise disappointing day to birdie the final three holes and card a 1-under 71 to finish T4, tied with Gangluff. Gangluff’s day was highlighted by ups and downs as his card featured an impressive five birdies, but four bogeys and a crushing double-bogey left him on the outside looking in.

By day’s end, the real winner was the Spring Creek Golf Club course as Josh Geary was the only player in the field who managed to break 70 with a round of 4-under 68.

The EGOLF Tarheel Tour would never have its success without the support of the host clubs. The tour would like to thank Director of Golf Jack Snyder, Head Golf Professional Kevin Haney and Golf Course Superintendent Brian Vincel and their respective Spring Creek staffs for hosting another fantastic event. The Stoney Creek Golf Club at Wintergreen Resort was a wonderful addition to the tour this week, and that certainly would not have been possible without the help of Director of Golf Sean Taylor, Head Golf Professional Geoff Redgrave, Wintergreen Resort Superintendent Fred Biggers and Stoney Creek Superintendent Kevin Moore, as well as their staffs, in putting on a great tournament.

This was the final event on the 2008 EGOLF Tarheel Tour. We would like to thank all of our players and fans for making this tour such a success as we enter our eighth season in 2009. Memberships for next year are now being accepted. Please visit www.tarheeltour.com for more information and developing news.

View the Tarheel Tour Championship results here

Davidson Outlasts Curl to Win Tour Championship

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