LSU alum wins in 1^st NGA start-

Haines City, Fla. - January 26, 2011 - Rookie Ken Looper was planning to start his professional career in late February at the NGA Pro Golf Tour’s “Members Only Shootout.”

But after some prodding from his LSU teammate and 2011 NCAA Golf Championship medalist John Peterson, Looper decided to make his pro debut in this week’s Bridgestone Winter Series event at Diamondback Golf Club. And he’s glad he did.

Looper, who filed his entry just five hours before the deadline, got off to a quick start in his inaugural event and never slowed down, shooting 68-67 in the first two rounds and capping off the event with a 4-under 68 en route to a two-shot win over Daniel Mazziotta and Jeff Corr.

“The win does a lot for me,” said Looper, who finished with a 13-under 203 total. “It boosts my confidence a lot by knowing that I can actually hang with these guys. I’ve only played in one professional event before in my life, and that was as an amateur. I didn’t know how I would stack up against the competition, but I guess I stack up pretty well.”

Entering the final round one shot behind second-round leader Mazziotta, Looper, a three-time collegiate winner, birdied the first hole to grab a share of the lead and took the outright lead with a birdie on No. 5. However, Mazziotta, a former Florida Gulf Coast University standout, rallied back to with a pair of birdies to retake the lead at the turn.  

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Five NGA winners finish Top 25 at Torrey Pines-  

La Jolla, Calif. - January 30, 2012 - Former NGA Pro Golf Tour player John Rollins was the highest-finishing alumnus of the more than 60 that participated in the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines.

Rollins, who played on the NGA Tour in 1998, shot rounds of 70-65-68-71 for a 14-under 274 total and finished solo third. Rollins started the day five shots off the lead and looked to be in contention after reaching 2 under through the first six holes, but the Virginia Commonwealth standout played his final 12 holes 1-over par to miss out on joining a playoff with Brent Snedeker and Kyle Stanley by two shots.

Martin Flores, a 2008 NGA Tour member, also carded a final-round 71 on the South Course. Flores finished with rounds of 65-67-75-71 for a 10-under 278 total to earn a share of eighth with alum Rod Pampling, who also fire a final-round 71.

Bill Lunde, a four-year veteran of the NGA Tour, shot a 3-under 69 in the final round to move up 21 spots on the final day. With the sub-70 round, Lunde finished at 9-under par and moved from T34 into a tie for 13^th.

NGA champions and PGA Tour winners Scott Piercy, Bubba Watson and Stewart Cink also finished T13. Cink shot the low round of the group, carding a 2-under 70, while Watson shot a 1-under 71 and Piercy shot a 1-over 73.

Fellow NGA/PGA winners Keegan Bradley and Camilo Villegas made it five NGA Tour winners in the top 25 by finishing T22 at 8-under par.

Alums Brendon de Jonge and James Driscoll finished T27 at 7-under par, while past players Michael Bradley, Chris Riley and 2010 member Roberto Castro finished at 6-under par and T33.

For full-field results, click here.  

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Eastern Michigan Alum uses 40-foot bomb to claim first win-

Calabash, N.C. - January 19, 2012 - Every up-and-coming golfer looks for a watershed moment that lets them know they can compete at the highest levels of golf. Rookie Martin Jeppesen had his on Thursday.

Jeppesen of Ypsilanti, Mich., shot a 4-under 68 in the final round of the NGA Pro Golf Tour Carolina Winter Series event at Farmstead Golf Links to force a playoff with Nationwide Tour member Darron Stiles and birdied the first extra hole to earn his inaugural professional victory.

“I will remember this the rest of my life,” said Jeppesen, an Eastern Michigan alumnus. “It’s a great feeling to get a win, and it means even more to do it against a guy like Darron. I mean he’s fully-exempt on the Nationwide Tour.” 

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 All-NGA Final Paring Ends with Wilson's 5th PGA Win- 

La Quinta, Calif. - January 22, 2012 - For much of the final round of the Humana Challenge, the question wasn’t if a NGA Pro Golf Tour alumnus would win the PGA Tour event, but rather which one.

 Halfway through Sunday’s final round, five former NGA Tour players found themselves tied for the lead. But as the holes dwindled, 1998 NGA Pro Golf Tour players Robert Garrigus and Mark Wilson made it a two-way race.

In the end, Wilson birdied the final hole of regulation to claim his fifth PGA Tour victory and his fourth in the calendar year. The three-time NGA Tour winner finished with rounds of 66-62-67-69 for a 24-under 264 total.

Playing in the final group with Wilson, Garrigus trailed the leader by one shot heading into the par-5 18^th hole. Unfortunately for Garrigus, his eagle try narrowly missed the cup and so did his comeback, leaving him in tie for second with alum John Mallinger at 22-under par 

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Domenico Geminiani, 15, finishes T29-

Sorrento, Fla. - January 18, 2012 - Standing on the first playoff hole with PGA Tour veteran Danny Ellis and Nationwide Tour veteran Rob Oppenheim, rookie T.J. Bordeaux struggled to look calm.

“I know they could see me squirming,” said Bordeaux. “I don’t care; I was nervous.”

However, those nerves were replaced with elation after Bordeaux birdied the second playoff hole to win the NGA Pro Golf Tour Bridgestone Winter Series event at Red Tail Golf Course on Wednesday.  

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Florida Southern Alum Torches Field, Southern Dunes for 1st win-

Haines City, Fla. - January 12, 2012 - Lakeland’s Brian Richey went wire-to-wire to win the NGA Pro Golf Tour’s Bridgestone Winter Series event at Southern Dunes Golf and Country Club.

The former PING Division II All-American at Florida Southern opened the three-round event with a 6-under 66 and never looked back, recording a tournament-low 63 in the second round before finishing off the tournament - and the field - with a 5-under 67 in Thursday’s final round. Richey finished with a 20-under 196 total en route to a seven-shot win over Jim Renner and David Johnson.

“I’m riding high right now,” said an elated Richey. “Twenty under is pretty ridiculous. I think I missed the last four cuts before Christmas, so I took a little break. And then I came out here this week and I was in la-la land.”

Perhaps low-low land is a better description. Richey, whose previous best finish on the NGA Pro Golf Tour was a T13, shot or matched the low round of the day in all three rounds. But even though he was 15-under par after two rounds, Richey wasn’t able to cruise to his first victory.  

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Bradley picks up sixth CWS win, third at Black Bear-

Longs, S.C. - January 12, 2012 - Former College of Charleston standout Kyle Bradley survived a playoff with Nemanja Savic to win the NGA Pro Golf Tour Carolina Winter Series event at Black Bear Golf Club on Thursday afternoon.

After finishing the event with matching 11-under 205 totals, Bradley and Savic both birdied the first extra hole and missed the green on the second playoff hole. Bradley was able save his par, while Savic failed to convert his 10-foot par putt, giving the former Cougar his sixth CWS win.

“I didn’t have a lot of expectations entering this week because I haven’t played much since [PGA Tour] Q-School,” said Bradley, who earned $4,520. “But I’ve always played well at Black Bear, and I’m very comfortable with the layout.”