Fiese Hangs On To Win At Olde Sycamore

Mint Hill, NC- D.J. Fiese faltered early in Friday’s final round of the Olde Sycamore Open, but regained his composure down the stretch to grab his first Tarheel Tour win and the first place check of $15,000.

Fiese began the day with a seemingly insurmountable 5-shot lead thanks to opening rounds of 65-62. The only player within shouting distance was Alex Hamilton who started the day at 12-under par thanks in part to a course record 61 in Thursday's second round. Still, when Fiese looked at the leaderboard on the 15th tee he saw that he was trailing by a shot after Rob Oppenheim birdied the par-5 18th to post a 9-under par 63, erasing an 11-shot deficit. At the time Fiese was 3-over par for the day after a slow start and a triple bogey on the short par-4 11th. Fiese knew that it was time to turn it around, "I said to myself, it's time to turn it on, and start playing the aggressive golf that got me the lead in the first place."

A nifty par save at the 15th and a birdie at 16 gave Fiese a share of the lead standing in the middle of the 18th fairway, 235-yards from the hole on the reachable par-5. The Smyrna, GA native then hit the shot of the tournament, a three wood that settled in the back fringe 20-feet behind the hole. Fiese’s chip settled 3-inches from the hole, and the subsequent tap in pushed him to 16-under par and his first Tarheel Tour title.

"I've won twice on the Hooters Tour, but those were both come from behind wins with no pressure. This was different. I had a hard time sleeping last night. Mentally it was really difficult for me to play with such a big lead. This win really means a lot to me," said the relieved Fiese.

Oppenheim, playing in his first Tarheel Tour event, started his day at only 6-under par, but caught fire in the final round making 10-birdies and almost stealing the tournament. "It started out like any other round. (Playing partner) Jeff Curl shot 30 on the front side and made it look so easy, I just sort of drafted off of him and before I knew it I was standing over a 4-footer on the final hole to shoot 63 and take the lead," stated the Andover, MA native. Oppenheim's round left him tied for second place with a payday of $6850.

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Oppenheim finished tied with 2006 Rock Hill Open champion Alex Hamilton. The former University of South Carolina Gamecock suffered a bit of a hangover after Thursday’s course record 61, opening his final round with a front nine 37. Hamilton was able to recover on the back however, and a two-putt birdie on the final hole left him with a 69 and a tie for second with Oppenheim.

Rohan Allwood continued his hot play of late carding a final round 67 to finish alone in fourth place at 13-under par. Allwood's finish was worth $4500. The native of Australia has now made 8-consecutive cuts after failing to play the final day in each of the first three events of the 2007 Tarheel Tour season.

The Tarheel Tour will now take a week off before heading to nationally heralded Musgrove Mill Golf Club, August 1-3.