News >> Harmon Cashes In At Buffalo Run Casino Classic

The Buffalo Run Casino Classic
Presented Peoria Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma
Peoria Ridge Golf club
June 17-20, 2010
 
Matt Harmon pictured above
Miami, OK (June 20, 2010)… Former Michigan State golfer Matt Harmon of Grand Rapids, Michigan posted a three-under 69 at Peoria Ridge Golf Club in the final round of The 2010 Buffalo Run Casino Classic presented by Peoria Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma to capture his second NGA Hooters Tour title of the season and fourth of his career.
 
Harmon started the day in 1st at twenty-two-under par after carding rounds of 66-62-66. Playing in the final group with Kyle Ellis (Senatobia, MS) and Will Dodson (Dallas, Texas), the former Spartan started off the same way he had the previous three days with a birdie on the first hole. After making a par on the second hole, Harmon made the only mistake of the week on the third hole.
 
 With heavy rains soaking the course early in the week, NGA Hooters Tour officials played preferred lies for the first three days but conditions were better and preferred lies was taken out for the final round.
 
“I told myself on the first two holes of the round not to pick up my ball but on the third hole I got a mud ball and I wasn’t thinking and just picked it up,” said Harmon of his only bogey of the week. “It was a bonehead mistake but lucky for me it didn’t cost me.”
 
After the bogey, Harmon made four straight pars before he birdied the par 5 eighth hole to turn at one-under par 35 with a five stroke lead heading into the final nine holes.
 
“Coming into today with a six stroke lead my game plan was to birdie all the par 5’s and try not to make mistakes on the other holes, said the four-time NGA Hooters Tour winner. “I felt like if I put that pressure on Kyle (Ellis) it would be too much for him to have to overcome.”
 
Harmon’s game plan worked out as he added two more birdies on his inward nine on both the par fives to finish with a three under par 69 and a four day total of twenty-five-under par 263 and the $30,000 first place check.
 
 “After last week’s final round I was spraying the ball all over the place but my good friend Charlie (Waddell) gave me some advice this week on Tuesday and it just clicked for me.”
 
Kyle Ellis pictured above
Harmon’s twenty-five-under par 263 total was five better than Ellis. Ellis, a former standout at Ole Miss, had the odds stacked against him on Sunday, trailing Harmon by six strokes after he posted rounds of 67-67-66 to open his tournament. He started off hot with two birdies over his first three holes to cut Harmon’s lead to three but a disappointing bogey dropped him back to two-under par 34 at the turn.
 
Ellis once again cut into Harmon’s lead after he made three birdies on the first five holes on the back nine before a three putt on the par 5 fifteenth hole and a bogey on the seventeenth hole dropped him back to five down with one to play. After closing par, Ellis had a final round four-under par 68 and four day total of twenty-under par 268 and his first runner-up finish of the season. Ellis earned $15,799 for his finish.
 
Former Tennessee golfer Philip Pettitt Jr. closed with a final round best eight-under par 64 and finished tied for third with Daniel Wax of California.
 
Former Wichita State golfer Cameron Bishop of Tulsa headed up the Oklahoma contingent in the Buffalo Run Casino classic this week after he posted a four day total of seventeen-under par 271 and finished T-5. Other Oklahoman’s that made the cut included: former Dell City native Ryan Spears (272), former Oklahoma State golfer Tyler Leon (273), former Oklahoma golfer Tyler Rody (276), Craig Van Horn (280), Stafford Gray (280), Robert Streb (281), Ryan Henry (284) and Rhein Gibson (288).
 
With his victory Sunday, Harmon moves into first place on the season long money list with $79,765 in earnings but more importantly he moves into first place in the Race For The PHS Wichita Open Nationwide Exemption. The Race For The PHS Wichita Open Exemption will be given to the NGA Hooters Tour member that accumulates the most money in the Bentonville, Arkansas, Miami, Oklahoma, Pearland, Texas and Victoria, Texas events. With two events complete Harmon has earned $31,523 and leads second place golfer Mike Lavery by more than $1,500.
 
The NGA Hooters Tour will take two weeks off before swinging back into action July 5-11 in Pearland, TX at Golfcrest Country Club for the Texas Honing Open.
 
HOOTS: The NGA Hooters Tour would like to thank Chief Froman, Tournament Coordinator Annette Black and all of The Peoria Tribe Indians of Oklahoma for bringing the Tour back to Oklahoma for the eighth straight season. The tournament, as always was a first class event on a first class course. The tour would also like to thank head professional Keith Neal and his staff as well as head superintendant Milton Hale and his staff for their countless hours of work to get the course in great shape after all the weather that came through the Miami area earlier in the week.