Former Hooters Tour Member Captures Title
Palm Coast, FL (November 2, 2008)…With a key birdie putt on the final hole Sunday, former Hooters Tour member Ryan Palmer captured his second career PGA Tour title at the Ginn sur Mer Classic. (picture courtesy of Greenwood/Getty images)
Palmer carded rounds of 67-71-72-71 for a four day total of seven-under par 281 and a one stroke victory over fellow alums Vaughn Taylor, Michael Letzig and George McNeill as well as Ken Duke and Nicholas Thompson.
"I kept getting ahead of myself. I always get ahead of myself thinking what am I going to say in my interview, what am I going to say on TV? How will I react if I win this golf tournament? Every time I kept thinking about it, no, no, shake it off. This is the main shot. I kept grinding it in my head. It paid off. It really kept me in the present,” said Palmer.
With the victory, Palmer’s $828,000 first-place check moves him into the top 125 on the season long money list on the PGA Tour and also gives him a two year exemption on tour. With a second place finish on Sunday, Hooters alum Vaughn Taylor secured his spot in the top 125 and will remain on the PGA Tour for 2009.
Palmer last player the Hooters Tour in 2002, when he made three of three cuts and made $7,377.50.
The NGA/Hooters Tour is the 3rd largest men’s 72-hole professional golf tour in the country behind the PGA and Nationwide Tours, and boasts alumni like 2007 Masters champion Zach Johnson, 2003 PGA champion Shaun Micheel, 2003 British Open champion Ben Curtis, 2003 US Open champion Jim Furyk, British Open and PGA champion John Daly, two-time US Open winner Lee Janzen, British Open champion Tom Lehman, as well as PGA champion David Toms, Tour Championship winner Chad Campbell and back to back Reno Tahoe Open winner Vaughn Taylor to name just a few. All told, the NGA/Hooters Tour alumni have an incredible nine Majors to their credit. The NGA Hooters Tour has helped more than 100 golf professionals acquire their PGA, Nationwide and Champion’s Tour card. In fact, 42% of the players that earned their 2008 PGA Tour cards, and 47% of the players that earned full exempt status on the Nationwide Tour started their careers on the NGA Hooters Tour.
For more information about the NGA Hooters Tour, please check out our website at www.hooterstour.com or contact the Tour office toll free at 800-992-8748.
