Pooler, GA – Roberto Castro of Alpharetta, GA was one of many competitors in this week's Savannah Quarters Classic who was happy to hear the event had been shortened to 54 holes. With his grandparents' 50th anniversary celebration tonight in Atlanta, Castro was elated to find out he would be able to attend. Weather delays and a crushing two-hour frost delay on Saturday morning forced tour officials to shorten the event – which was just fine with him. A dramatic birdie on the final hole gave him his fifth career eGolf Tour title and allowed him so head north to Atlanta to continue the party.

The day began with a third-round restart after weather delays earlier in the week threw the tournament schedule off kilter. Castro, playing in the day's final pairing with Will McGirt and Jonathan Fricke, began the resumption of his third and final round on the par-5 third at Savannah Quarters Country Club, having only completed two holes the night before.

Roberto CastroThrough nine holes, the former Georgia Tech "All American" held a one-shot advantage over 36-hole leader McGirt thanks in part to a 2-under 34 on the outgoing nine. On the back nine of the Greg Norman-designed course, Castro built on his lead with a birdie-par-bogey-birdie start that netted him a two-shot lead over McGirt, who managed only four pars in that same stretch.

Playing one group ahead was longtime Nationwide Tour player Scott Parel of Augusta, GA. After beginning the day one shot behind McGirt, Parel went out in even-par 36, but managed to get to 1-under on his round through four holes on the back nine. Approaching the island green of the par-3 15th, Parel sat one shot behind Castro, but made bogey and dropped to two shots back. He wouldn't be the only player with drama on the 15th.

Two shots up on McGirt and one up on Parel, Castro stared down the island green hole and opted to play aggressive, much to the detriment of his scorecard.

"I hit a dead solid shot on 15, absolutely perfect, and it went in the water, so all of a sudden I've made double-bogey," said Castro. "Will makes a 50-footer on that same green, so it was a three-shot swing."

Indeed, standing on the tee of the par-4 16th, McGirt had re-claimed his lead and found himself one up on Castro and two up on Parel.

Matching pars for all three players on No. 16 took both of the final pairings to the reachable par-5 17th. Parel, playing in the group ahead, made a routine birdie to get within one of McGirt.

After two solid tee shots, McGirt and Castro both had a go at the green, with McGirt leaving it in the greenside bunker and Castro snap hooking it in the pond left of the green.

Advantage McGirt.

William McGirt"He hits it in the bunker and is going to make par at worst, so I go for it from 245 (yards) and snap-hook it in the water," said Castro, who managed to keep his wits about him despite the pulled approach. "I hit a wedge to 30 feet and watched him two putt, so I'm thinking ‘If I make this, its fair game. Anything can happen on the next hole.'"

Standing over the par putt, Castro had plenty of experience to draw on. A stellar college career at a NCAA powerhouse, four career titles on the eGolf Tour including one in Savannah, and a stellar short game.

Bottom of the cup.

Castro's surprising par at No. 17 took the final threesome to the par-4 18th. With McGirt up by one at 7-under for the event, and Castro one back along with Parel in the clubhouse, it was the proverbial game of last man standing.

McGirt opted to tee off with a 3-wood on the 450-yard hole and blocked it right in the rough, well back of the standard approach area for the field. Castro, seizing an opportunity, laced his driver down the middle and set up a possible birdie finish.

"He hit a poor tee shot, and I hit it down the middle and thought I could make birdie," Castro said. "Will told me that his driver always found the fairway bunker, so I guess that was the reasoning behind the 3-wood."

When McGirt's approach landed short and left of the green, Castro jumped on his opportunity with a short iron approach to 10 feet.

McGirt, a former Wofford College golfer and amateur star, is known on the tour for having a wonderful short game. Unfortunately, wonderful deserted him on Saturday afternoon.

A bladed chip shot rolled over the green on 18, and a comeback chip narrowly missed the hole, leaving him a tap-in bogey and leaving the door open for Castro.

"I had a good read on it and managed to roll it in," said an elated Castro, who showed an unusual burst of emotion on the final green. "A 10 footer to win on No. 18 is awesome. I've never done that before."

Scott ParelA fist pump and a slap of the putter head were the exclamation points on a lengthy and tiring week for Castro, and the rest of the field. The win was his third in the last calendar year, the fifth of his eGolf Tour career, and his second in the Savannah, GA area following a win at The Championship at Savannah Harbor last August.

"It was a crazy day, just a crazy week," said Castro, whose rounds of 70-69-70—209 made him one of only two players in the field to card three rounds under par. "For how hard it played, I really played a boring tournament – I played bogey free on the really windy day, and then just played solid the other days."

In arduous conditions, heroes tend to fall by the wayside and players who opt for steady-yet-unspectacular golf tend to stick around. In the end, the shortening of the event was a blessing for Castro, who would quickly move north for his grandparents' 50th anniversary celebration.

"It's the first time in 10 years that my whole family is in town," Castro said after his round. "It would have been painful to miss it. Thankfully I'm only four hours from home."

For his win, Castro collected $34,459 and ascended to the top spot on the tour's 2010 money list after just two events with $37,004.

McGirt and Parel each collected $16,036 for their T2 finishes. The runner-up effort was McGirt's best finish on tour since a T2 at the Southern Open in 2007. That same year, McGirt notched his first and only win at the Cabarrus Classic and finished No. 2 on the season-ending money list.

Finishing solo fourth was past tour champion and former Western Junior and Western Amateur champion Jhared Hack of Sanford, FL. Hack finished two shots back at 5-under 211 and picked up $10,527 for his efforts.

• A special thanks goes to the members of Savannah Quarters Country Club and The Club at Savannah Harbor for allowing the tour to use their fantastic facilities for the week. The tour would also like to thank Savannah Quarters Director of Golf Brian Glasco, Savannah Harbor Club Manager Dana Schultz, Savannah Harbor Director of Sales Peyton Grimes, and their respective staffs for their help in arranging this tournament and assisting the tour during the week. With numerous frost delays and weather issues this week, the biggest thank you arguably goes to Savannah Quarters Head Golf Course Superintendent Stephen Hendrix, Savannah Harbor Head Golf Course Superintendent Lynn Childress, and their crews for presenting two outstanding golf courses and working around the clock to assist the tour staff with their courses.
• After two weeks along the coast, the tour will take two weeks off before kicking off the first Charlotte-area event of 2010 at the Cabarrus Classic on March 17-20. The Cabarrus Classic will be contested at Cabarrus Country Club (Concord, NC) and River Run Country Club (Davidson, NC).