Salisbury, NC – Just two months ago, Tommy Biershenk of Boiling Springs, SC was working a side job in between tournaments on the eGolf Tour. Helping a friend on his farm was a way for him to add a few dollars and make ends meet. A final-round 62 in the eGolf Tour's Bolle Classic on Saturday made that job somewhat irrelevant, as Biershenk finally broke through for a win, capping off one of the best stretches of tournament golf anywhere.

Caddy congratulates Tommy BiershenkBiershenk entered the final round at the Country Club of Salisbury trailing overnight leader Drew Weaver of High Point, NC by two shots. Fellow playing partner Lee Williams on Alexander City, AL was alone in second, one shot behind Weaver and one clear of Biershenk. The three players would trade blows for much of the opening nine, but it was Williams who seized the lead at the halfway point.

An outward nine of 4-under 31 gave the former Auburn University star a one-shot cushion over Biershenk, who opened with 31 himself. Weaver struggled on his opening nine with a 1-under 35 and quickly wound up three shots behind Williams with just nine holes to play in the tournament.

When Biershenk birdied Nos. 10 and 11, a two-shot swing over Williams gave the former Clemson University "All American" a one-stroke cushion with seven holes to play. For the time being, it appeared as though a duel between Biershenk and Williams had been set up, with Weaver still searching for answers in the final threesome.

Drew Weaver"I just wanted to go give myself opportunities on the back nine, and then I birdied 10 and 11 to get to 6-under and had some momentum going," said Biershenk, one of the tour's most popular players. "I was having fun out there."

A birdie by Williams at the par-4 12th would briefly tie him with Biershenk. Surprisingly, all three players would record pars on the reachable par-5 13th, but then Biershenk and Weaver would birdie the par-3 14th. The entire threesome would birdie 15, setting up a dramatic three-hole finish.

Trailing Biershenk by a shot, Williams hit his approach to the par-4 16th long and out-of-bounds. Biershenk finally had the cushion he needed, or at least he thought he did.

When Weaver birdied 16 to get within two shots of Biershenk, it was his third consecutive birdie. When the former Virginia Tech star stiffed it on 17 for yet another birdie, it was time to pay attention.

"I was thinking ‘He's not doing all that well today,' so I was really focused on Lee. Then he hit it out-of-bounds on 16, and I had to focus on Drew," said Biershenk, taken aback by the clinic Weaver was putting on. "He came from nowhere to put pressure on me and force me to try and make another birdie."

Lee WilliamsStanding on the tee of the par-4 18th, Biershenk led Weaver by a single shot with a relatively benign hole in front of them and a devilish front-right hole location tempting them. First to play from 130 yards, Biershenk's approach with a pitching wedge narrowly missed the hole and nestled down 5 feet from the cup. After running to the top of the fairway to get a better view of his approach, Biershenk was in prime position to see Weaver's shot from the same distance land 1 foot from the cup, and stop. A possible two-putts-for-the-win scenario had evacuated Biershenk's head. He now had to make it to avoid extra holes.

"That putt was not easy," said Biershenk, who admitted to owning a shaky putter in the past. "It was outside the right edge, and with my putting, I just had to trust it and take care of business."

With fans looking on, Biershenk calmly rolled in the winning putt as his caddie – and little brother – Nicky let out a small cheer for the family. The win was the third of his eGolf Tour career and first since the 2008 season.

Biershenk's final-round 62 set a 72-hole eGolf Tour scoring record at 26-under 258. In his last three tournaments, Biershenk has recorded T3, T2 and 1st-place finishes. During that stretch, he accumulated 12 consecutive rounds in the 60s and was an unbelievable 61-under par. With his winner's check of $34,140, Biershenk moved ahead of Jason Kokrak to overtake the tour's money list with 2010 earnings of $75,385.

"I've been putting myself in position to win golf tournaments. I've been posting some good numbers, but these kids out here are tough," said the 37-year-old Biershenk. "These fields are so good; I certainly didn't think I'd have to shoot 62 to win."

With four top-5 finishes and six top-20 finishes on the year, Biershenk was knocking on the door all season long, frequently threatening to win but never quite sealing the deal.

"I've got a lot of confidence right now. This little stretch right now is the best I've ever played, bar none," said Biershenk. "I played (the) Nationwide (Tour) for five years or so, won all over, but this is the best it's been. I'll tell you what though, it's been tough."

Tough would be an understatement for Biershenk, who spent the majority of the winter working on a friend's farm and spells between tournaments doing the same in order to help make ends meet.

"Two months ago I was spending as much money as I was making, so I wasn't making any money," said Biershenk. "These past few weeks helped out a lot, that in and of itself takes a lot of pressure off you."

With financial pressures mounting, Biershenk began his side job as a way to end boredom through a difficult winter in which practice conditions in Upstate South Carolina were far from ideal. A harsh winter blanketed the southeast and left more players indoors than out – not something Tommy Biershenk could easily swallow.

"You sit around playing golf for a living, and in the winter when it's cold, you have to do something. I can't just lay around the house all day," he said.

With over $58,000 earned in his last three starts alone, Biershenk just might be able to take a hiatus from his backup job on the farm. It seems as if golf is paying just fine these days.

"We might have to take a little break from that, I'm alright for a while," he said with a laugh.

With his second-place finish, Weaver collected $16,975 and moved up to No. 14 on the money list with earnings of $29,694. The finish marked his second consecutive top-10, dating back to a T6 effort in his last start at the HGM Hotels Classic two weeks ago.

After a standout amateur career in which he captured the 2007 British Amateur Championship, Weaver seems to have finally settled into his professional career. There aren't many professional rookies who could lose hold of a lead and battle back like that, but there is a little bit of grit and determination inbred in all successful match play golfers – a fact not lost on Biershenk.

"Man, he just wouldn't go away," said Biershenk of Weaver's charge. "That kid just stripes it. That was pretty fun out there."

Williams, who recorded a double-bogey at 16 after his approach wound up out-of-bounds, finished in solo third and earned $13,563 on the week. After holding the 36-hole lead at 14-under 128, Williams likely would have thought closing rounds of 67-67 would do the trick, but perfect greens and flawless scoring conditions made red numbers the norm over the final 36 holes.

Finishing solo fourth was former Nationwide Tour player Edward Loar of Dallas, TX. Loar posted rounds of 67-65-66-66—264 to collect the best finish of his eGolf Tour career.

The shot of the day came from Tommy Schaff of Savannah, GA, who recorded a rare double-eagle on the par-5 15th en route to a final-round 69.

• With the victory, Tommy Biershenk earned a spot in the Nationwide Tour's Price Cutter Charity Championship presented by Dr Pepper on August 12-15, 2010. The exemption marks the third of four Nationwide Tour spots granted to the eGolf Tour for 2010, with the first coming at the South Georgia Classic in April (Jason Kokrak) and the second coming at the BMW Charity Pro-Am in May (Clint Jensen). Biershenk played the Nationwide Tour full time from 2000-2003, finishing as high as 29th on the money list in 2000. It will mark his second Nationwide Tour start this year after finishing T32 at the BMW Charity Pro-Am, thanks in part to a third-round 62.

• A special thanks goes to C.C. of Salisbury Head Golf Professional Randy Padavick, Sapona C.C. Head Golf Professional Marshall Stott, and their respective staffs for coordinating this event and hosting the tour and our players for the week. Players raved about both courses this week, and that is the result of countless hours of work by the host superintendents and their crews. Thank you to Salisbury Head Golf Course Superintendent Ron Bivins, Sapona Head Golf Course Superintendent Keith McKenzie and their crews for their efforts in presenting two fantastic courses.

• The tour will move east to the greater Pinehurst, NC area next week for the second annual Bushnell Championship, contested at Little River Resort (Carthage, NC) and Southern Pines Country Club (Southern Pines, NC) on June 23-26.