Denver, NC – From 2006 through 2008, Clint Jensen abandoned the game of professional golf in hopes of finding a better life in the working world. What he found was an appreciation for fatherhood and a desire to leave the desk and head back to the golf course, all in hopes of chasing down the PGA TOUR dream. A final-round 69 at the Cowans Ford Open on Saturday put him one step closer to that dream and one step further away from the frustrations the game used to present.

Jensen, the tournament's 36- and 54-hole leader, entered the final round with a commanding three-shot cushion over playing partners Roberto Castro (Alpharetta, GA) and Josh Persons (Fargo, ND). A professional since 1998, Jensen revealed that it was the first time he could remember having a lead going into the final round of a professional tournament.

"Every time I've won, it has been in come-from-behind fashion, so it was new territory for me today," said Jensen. "I was a little nervous to start."

Roberto CastroIf he was indeed nervous, it certainly didn't show early on. The former University of Tulsa standout recorded birdies at Nos. 1 and 2 to open up a five-shot lead over Castro, and would watch it soar to six after Castro bogeyed the third to fall to 1-over on his round.

With a six-shot lead, Jensen was coasting towards his second eGolf Tour win when Castro decided to make things temporarily interesting.

"I was feeling pretty good, and then Roberto chipped in for eagle on No. 5 and then birdied No. 6 and 7, and all of a sudden my six-shot lead was down to two," said Jensen, who compounded things with a three-putt bogey at the par-3 seventh – his first bogey of the week.

After making the turn with a two-shot lead at 22-under for the event, Jensen expanded his advantage yet again with a birdie at the arduous par-4 10th. A birdie by Castro at the par-4 12th would drop the lead back down to two, but it would never go any lower.

"I made a 20-footer for birdie on 13 after missing short ones on 11 and 12, so I felt pretty good after that," said Jensen, a competitor in last year's U.S. Open at Bethpage Black. "From there I thought I could get one more birdie and be good."

Instead of one more birdie coming in, Jensen added a bogey at the par-5 15th when his tee shot found the creek just right of the fairway. Fortunately for him, Castro posted a bogey of his own at 15 and would add another at the par-3 17th to give Jensen a four-shot lead on the tee of the par-5 18th.

A closing par was all that was needed for Jensen to get his first win of the 2010 season and the second eGolf Tour title of his career following a maiden victory at last year's Southern Open. With the win, Jensen collected $34,233 and moved to No. 7 on the tour's money list.

Jensen's year began with two mediocre finishes followed by back-to-back missed cuts, and he quickly decided it was time to take a break and re-work his swing at home in Jupiter, FL.

A month spent altering a longtime outside takeaway resulted in a T8 finish at last week's River Hills Classic and the win this week at Cowans Ford. It was certainly time well spent, but it wasn't his first time taking a break from tournaments. In fact, it pales in comparison to the time spent from 2006 to 2008, where tournament golf was a distant thought.

After suffering the frustration felt by millions of a game meant to be enjoyed, Jensen called it quits in 2006 and thought his career was done.

"I took almost two years off. I was hitting it all over the map and it just wore on me," said Jensen, who competed in the 2005 U.S. Open prior to his hiatus. "I would go to a tournament and do the same thing over and over again – it felt like beating my head against a wall."

As with many developmental tour players looking for work, the pickings can be slim when your resume consists of tournament finishes as opposed to actual experience in corporate America. Sadly, a final-round 60-anything doesn't register with Wall Street.

"I tried to figure out something else to do and I couldn't find anything I wanted to do," Jensen said. "I worked at a golf course for a little bit, but that didn't last. Then I had my first little girl and that changed everything."

That little girl, who will turn three this month, finally provided a bit of needed perspective for Jensen. No longer was life about birdies and the recent lack of them, or a backswing only Jim Furyk would love. Golf could finally move down the totem pole from the top spot, and that was possibly the best thing that ever happened to his game and his career.

Fernando Mechereffe"I had a new outlook the second time around as a parent. I had a little girl at home, so I enjoyed going to tournaments, but I also loved coming home regardless of how I played," said Jensen, now 35 and the father of two after welcoming a second baby girl in late 2008. "I didn't think about golf when I was home, so it didn't feel like such a grind. It was great to finally have some balance."

That balance seems to be paying dividends as Jensen has fast moved to the category of one of the eGolf Tour's best players. While everyday golfers joke about the effects of parenthood on a scorecard, Jensen can honestly say parenthood saved what looks to be a very promising career.

For Castro, a final-round 69 gave him, surprisingly, the first runner-up finish of his eGolf Tour career. A former Georgia Tech "All American," Castro has six career wins (including this year's Savannah Quarters Classic) but had not been the bridesmaid one time in a career dating back to 2007.

With the finish, Castro earned $17,020 and moved to No. 2 on the 2010 money list with earnings of $55,961. Jason Kokrak remained in the top spot with $59,033 in five starts this year.

Eric AxleyBrazilian Fernando Mechereffe, who resides in Charlotte, finished in solo third with rounds of 68-67-65-69—269. After recording a hole-in-one in Friday's third round to vault into contention, Mechereffe made an early final-round charge when he turned at 4-under 32. A back-nine string of eight pars cut short by a bogey at the 18th took the former N.C. State star down a few spots and back into third by himself. The finish was his best of the 2010 season and marked his third top-5 effort on the eGolf Tour in the last year.

Eric Axley (Knoxville, TN) and Rob Grube (Palo Alto, CA) finished in a tie for fourth at 18-under 270 and earned $9,379 each for their efforts.

Axley, winner of the 2006 Valero Texas Open on the PGA TOUR, was making his second consecutive start on the eGolf Tour following his debut as last week's River Hills Classic. The lefthander overcame a double-bogey at the par-3 third with a torrid back-nine stretch featuring an eagle and three birdies on his last seven holes to close with a 5-under 67.

• A special thanks goes to Cowans Ford Head Golf Professional Adam Robinson, NorthStone Director of Golf Courtney Ford, and their respective staffs for coordinating this event and hosting the tour and our players for the week. Both courses were in fantastic shape for tournament week, and that is the result of countless hours of work by the host superintendents and their crews. Thank you to Cowans Ford Head Golf Course Superintendent Mitch Clodfelter and NorthStone Head Golf Course Superintendent Darren Spierings for their efforts. Last but not least, thank you to the members of Cowans Ford and NorthStone for allowing the tour to use your golf courses for the week.

• The eGolf Tour will be off for the next to weeks before heading south to Greenwood, SC for the inaugural Grand Harbor Open at The Patriot Golf Club and The Links at Stoney Point on May 26-29, 2010.

• With his win, Jensen won an exemption into the Nationwide Tour's BMW Charity Pro-Am, contested next Thursday through Sunday at three courses in the Upstate of South Carolina and western North Carolina. The exemption marks the second of four Nationwide Tour spots granted to the eGolf Tour for 2010, with the first coming two weeks ago at the South Georgia Classic and awarded to Jason Kokrak. It is the second time Jensen has earned a Nationwide Tour exemption via an eGolf Tour win. His win at the 2009 Southern Open came with a spot in the Price Cutter Charity Championship presented by Dr Pepper. His start at the BMW Charity Pro-Am will be the eighth career Nationwide Tour start for Jensen.