Leishman dominates, wins WNB Classic by 11
MIDLAND, Texas -- The Permian Basin produces one-fifth of the nation’s total petroleum and natural gas output. On Sunday, for the tenth time in 17 WNB Golf Classics, the Basin produced another first-time winner on the Nationwide Tour.Australia’s Marc Leishman (68) blew the field away with a stellar performance during an extremely windy week, where 35 mph gusts occurred regularly at the Midland Country Club, shooting an incredible 21-under-par 267 and equaling the Nationwide Tour’s largest margin of victory of 11 shots held by Chris Smith (1997 Omaha Classic). The tournament record of 24-under was threatened when Leishman reached 23-under with four holes to play but bogeys at 15 and 18 halted his progress.
Dallas resident, Keoke Cotner (68) finished alone in second at 10-under 278, his best performance of the year.
Jacksonville, FL resident and fellow Australian, Aron Price, (72) finished third at 9-under 279.
Darron Stiles (70), Spencer Levin (72) and Aussie’s Greg Chalmers (68) and Won Joon Lee (71) finished at 8-under-par, tied for fourth.
“I was determined to get off to a good start,” said Leishman, who did just that with a birdie at the par-5 2nd hole and an eagle at the 4th. “When I made the eagle at four I was able to play more conservative.” The tall Aussie, who spends his time in America at girlfriend Audrey’s Virginia Beach home, used a 2-iron off the tee after establishing the large lead.
“It was a really handy club to have in the bag this week,” said Leishman.
The $94,500 winner’s check vaulted the tall Australian 37 spots on the money list to 19th. With only three events left on the Nationwide Tour schedule Leishman is in a great position to finish in THE 25 at year’s end and earn his way to the PGA TOUR.
Cotner was the first alternate and didn’t get into the tournament until Wednesday. He was on site for a practice round on Tuesday but decided to drive home to Dallas that evening. Upon arrival he was informed he would replace Chris Riley in the field so he drove back the next morning – a 10 hour round trip. Cotner made the most of his opportunity, scoring above par on only seven holes all week.
“I’ve played at Midland every year so I’m pretty familiar with it,” said Cotner. “The wind was howling but the difference for me this week was I didn’t make as many bogeys.”
“I don’t know the guy,” said Cotner, when asked what he thought of Leishman’s performance. “I can’t believe it, incredible, amazing – that guy is playing some really good golf. I peeked at the board a few times to see if he was backing up a little – because you never know – it aint over til it’s over. I wish I didn’t do that because there’s enough to think about, especially in these conditions.”
Price’s practice time at home with Vijay Singh the past two weeks is paying dividends.
“My game was good this week but nowhere near as good as Marc’s,” said Price, a good mate of Leishman’s. “He has been a really good player for a long time. He just needed to get out here, settle in, and find his way. He’s obviously doing a good job of that.”
Chalmers has been a model of consistency this season, with a win at the Henrico County Open and nine more top-10s from 22 starts. His final round 68 equaled Leishman, Cotner and Fran Quinn for low round of the day and elevated him to 3rd on the money list.
Stiles, now No. 5 on the money list, played here for the first time and loved the course but hopes to stay out on the PGA TOUR, where he is headed next year.
Levin’s impressive recent form continued with his tie for fourth earning a fourth consecutive top-10 finish. The Sacramento, CA native has shot higher than 70 just three times in his last 20 rounds.
Michael Boyd (79) and Cameron Percy (75), playing in the final group with Leishman, finished tied for 15th and 8th respectively.
Brendon de Jonge (75) remains at the top of the Nationwide Tour money list with $393,148, almost $20,000 ahead of Jarrod Lyle. Six players have surpassed $300,000 at this point in the season.
Leishman now has to re-set his goals.
“Winning again would be good,” he joked. “It’s windy in Miami isn’t it? I love playing in the wind.”
There’s no doubt about that!
Final Round News & Notes: Jason Enloe withdrew before the start of the final round…Bubba Dickerson (73) played the par-5 fourth hole 6-under-par for the week. Dickerson got to 8-under for the tournament but dropped five shots over the final five holes to finish T27…Rich Barcelo (72) birdied five of six holes from Nos. 11-16…Oskar Bergman (69) had the only bogey-free round of the day…The scoring average for the final round was 73.191, while the average for the week was 72.515, the fourth highest average in tournament history…The Nationwide Tour heads east for the Chattanooga Classic presented by Black Creek, the 28th tournament of the 30 event season, where Brendon de Jonge looks to extend his lead on the money list.
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