News >> Axley Takes Valero Texas Open

Former Hooters Tour Member Earns First PGA Victory
 
PGA TOUR IMAGESan Antonio, TX (September 24, 2006)…Another week, another Hooters Tour alumni collects a win on the PGA Tour. Former Hooters Tour member Eric Axley, a rookie on the PGA Tour, garnered his first career PGA Tour title Sunday by winning the Valero Texas Open.
 
The Knoxville, Tennessee native fired rounds of 68-63-63-71 for a four day total of fifteen-under par 275, three shots better than Anthony Kim, Dean Wilson and Justin Rose. Axley built a six shot lead early in his round before a double bogey on fourteen cut his lead to only two.
 
"I didn't stick to my game plan. I got aggressive, and I paid for it," Axley said. "It was just a bad decision. It wasn't a driver hole for me today. I just wanted to play one shot at a time and keep it in the fairway."
 
With his win, Axley collects $720,000 and becomes the eleventh first time winner this season on the PGA Tour, joining others like fellow Hooter Tour alum Will MacKenzie.
 
Axley also becomes the youngest at thirty-two years, five months and two days to win the Valero Texas Open and also earns two year exempt status on the PGA Tour and status in the Mercedes Championship in January as well as the season ending Tour Championship.
 
"It's hard to win on any tour," Axley said. "I know a lot of this hasn't hit me yet. But, yeah, it's cool."
 
PGA TOURAxley played the Hooters Tour up until the 2004 season, when he Monday Qualified and won the Nationwide Tour’s Rex Hospital Open. Axley has two career wins on the Hooters Tour.
 
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 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, 2004 Bellsouth winner Zach Johnson 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, 34% of the players that earned their 2006 PGA Tour cards, and 43% 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.