Conover, NC – Chris Thompson of Lawrence, KS entered the final round of the eGolf Tour's HGM Hotels Classic at Rock Barn with a share of the 54-hole lead and a close friend on the bag. After 18 holes of a toe-to-toe match with his final-round playing partners, Thompson only needed a par at the par-5 18th to close out his first win in nearly a year and collect the largest paycheck of his 10-year professional career.

David SteeleThompson began the final round of the inaugural $235,000 event in a tie for the 54-hole lead with David Steele of Naples, FL. Through three rounds, the twosome had managed to put themselves one shot ahead of the field at 17-under 198 on the Robert Trent Jones Course at Rock Barn Golf Club. Playing alongside Thompson and Steele was longtime eGolf Tour player Tommy Biershenk of Boiling Springs, SC, who had already notched two top-5 finishes in his last three starts. Biershenk began the final round one shot out of the lead, but quickly made a final-round move.

Birdies at Nos. 2, 4, 7 and 8 took Biershenk from the role of hunter to the player being hunted. At 4-under for his round and 20-under for the event, the former Clemson Tiger standout had pulled one shot ahead of Thompson (2-under for his round) and two clear of Steele (1-under for his round) through eight holes.

With 13 birdies and two eagles in his last 44 holes, Thompson stood on the tee of the par-3 ninth knowing that he was playing great golf, so his newfound deficit to Biershenk didn't provide much worry.

"Tommy played great on the front, so I was just trying to hang in there," said the 33-year-old Thompson. "I was able to birdie No. 9 to get back to him a little, so that was a big turning point."

Thompson's birdie at the ninth would be followed by a Biershenk bogey at the par-4 10th, and in the span of 25 minutes the former Kansas University "All American" had regained the one-shot advantage he enjoyed earlier in the day.

"It was a dog fight, it was tough. We were all within a few shots of each other all day, and I was fortunate enough to hit a few good shots down the stretch," said Thompson, who played the Nationwide Tour full time in 2007 and 2008.

Birdies by Biershenk and Steele at the par-5 14th would tie the former for the lead with Thompson and bring the latter back into the fold, trailing the leaders by one shot.

Tommy BiershenkAll three players birdied the par-4 16th, which would allow for the tournament to be played out on the watery par-3 17th at Rock Barn's classic Jones Course.

Standing on the tee of the 190-yard hole, Steele would have the honor and watch helplessly as his tee shot – and his title hopes – drifted right out into the lake that surrounds the front and right sides of the diabolical green.

Biershenk would follow with a pulled tee shot that found a greenside bunker and left the former Nationwide Tour player with little-to-nothing in terms of an approach towards a pin resting cautiously on the front left part of the green.

Miscues by his playing partners opened the door for Thompson, who laced a 6-iron to 12 feet behind the pin to put himself in the driver's seat with just two holes to play.

A stellar bunker shot by Biershenk off of a downhill lie to 15 feet set up a possible dramatic par putt, but he would get overly aggressive and run his attempt at three approximately 4 feet past the hole. When Thompson's birdie try missed, Biershenk stood over a bogey putt to stay within one, but pushed it right of the hole for an untimely double-bogey.

Thompson, after battling for most of the day, was now two up with one to play – every pro's ideal scenario.

"It's a huge difference, especially with 18 being a par-5. I wasn't expecting to go two up, I thought I'd have a one shot lead," said Thompson. "It's always nice to be two up, that way I could play conservatively and try to make four, but probably not worse than five. Tommy would have to make eagle to beat me."

Thompson would go on to play the 18th conservatively and watch as Biershenk's eagle attempt from a greenside bunker missed, thus giving him two putts for the win.

When the winning putt fell, it was a big sigh of relief that was let out of Thompson, who estimated it to be his sixth career win – but his first in nearly a year. The winner's check for $33,852 was the largest of his career, and something that didn't go without notice.

"I'd be lying if I said the money wasn't important. The main reason guys play this tour is the money, the courses, and how well it's run," said Thompson, who has a 2-year-old son and another child on the way this Thanksgiving. "The money is good, and if you get a chance to win, it feels good to take advantage of that chance."

Biershenk, with his third top-5 in four starts, threatened to win yet again for a third time on the eGolf Tour (two career wins in 2005 and 2008). His final-round 69 would leave him in a tie for second and give him $14,217 for his efforts on the week.

A good-natured Southern boy, Biershenk has been spending time between events working on a friend's farm, so he realizes as much as anyone how special another win would be.

"It's tough man. I still can't believe I double-bogeyed 17," he said after his round. "Chris played great though, he was going to be tough to catch regardless of what I did."

Tying Biershenk for second was Ryan Gildersleeve of Clearwater, FL. Gildersleeve carded the day's low round, a 7-under 65, to move from T12 up to T2 and post the early clubhouse number. The finish was his third top-10 of the 2010 season, and could have possibly been his first career win had it not been for a bogey at the reachable par-5 14th during the final round.

Steele, who went on to make a double-bogey on 17, finished in solo fourth at 18-under 269. The part-time caddie at Old Collier Golf Club in Naples, who just made the first cut of his eGolf Tour career last week, earned $9,517 for his play at Rock Barn.

For Thompson, it was a special week for a variety of reasons. The win was obviously the biggest of them, but his parents were also able to come watch their son close out the largest title of his pro career. In addition, he had a familiar face on the bag during the final round that certainly helped push him towards victory.

Thompson and eGolf Tour member Ryan Vermeer were teammates for three seasons on the Kansas golf team. With both players earning multiple "All America" accolades during their respective stints, they combined to make KU one of the country's best golf programs in one of the least golf-friendly climates.

After college, they each turned professional and spent mixed years on the Nationwide Tour and on various mini tours in the United States. Vermeer is the planner, and Thompson is always along for the ride.

"We travel together a lot," said Thompson. "It seems as if I always follow him around wherever he goes. He usually sniffs out the best places to play, so I just go along with it."

When Vermeer missed the cut this week with rounds of 68-72, Thompson needed to only look across the hotel room to find the ideal caddie for Saturday's final round.

"He's a great green reader and knows my game so well, he really helped me out a lot," said Thompson.

The two stay heavily involved in the Kansas program, often practicing at nearby Alvamar Country Club alongside the Jayhawk golf team. The majority of the fun comes at Lawrence Country Club, where they are regulars in the various member games. Perhaps that is why the final-round caddie experience was so unique.

"He usually jokes, in a situation like this, that it's very rare for him to ever root for me," said Thompson. "We'll play with the guys out at Lawrence C.C. and we're never on the same team. It's pretty fun when we can actually pull for each other."

And with that, Thompson hopped in Vermeer's SUV to head back to Lawrence for some much-needed family time, most importantly, with his son Henry.

"He's just over 2 years now, so he's at that fun age. I can't wait to get home," said Thompson. "The best part of this will be seeing him tomorrow."

• The tour would like to thank Rock Barn Director of Jeff Isenhour, Head Golf Professional Jack Fleissner and their staff for all of their efforts in making this first-year event such a success. The biggest star of the week was arguably Golf Course Superintendent Tony Denton and his crew for producing fantastic putting surfaces on both the Jones and Jackson courses, especially after the harsh winter suffered throughout the greater Hickory, NC area. Last but certainly not least, the tour would like to thank the members of Rock Barn for allowing the tour access to the courses this week.

• The tour will take next week off before heading back to the greater Charlotte area for the Bolle Classic, contested at C.C. of Salisbury and Sapona C.C. on June 16-19.