Weekend Update: Three eGolf Tour Players Notch Top-10 Finishes at U.S. Open
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The par-4 18th at The Olympic Club
By Stewart Moore
San Francisco, CA – At the 112th U.S. Open at famed Olympic Club, Michael Thompson (T2), Casey Wittenberg (T10) and Kevin Chappell (T10) each posted top-10 finishes to lead the way for all former eGolf Tour players competing in the national championship.
Thompson, the event’s Cinderella story following a day one 66 that gave him a three-shot lead through 18 holes, closed with rounds of 75-74-67 to finish at 2-over 282 and tied for second alongside 2010 U.S. Open champion Graeme McDowell.
Thompson’s Sunday 67 – the low score carded in the final round – pushed the former University of Alabama star into contention with his 282 total serving as low clubhouse score for the better part of an hour. When winner Webb Simpson got up-and-down on the 72nd hole to post 1-over 281, Thompson was left with his T2 finish on the week.
The finish marked Thompson’s second top-10 of the 2012 PGA TOUR season, dating back to a T6 effort at the Sony Open in Hawaii. The second-year TOUR member is currently 39th on the money list with earnings of $1,215,966.
Wittenberg, who played alongside Tiger Woods in Sunday’s final round, overcame a third-round 77 with weekend rounds of 70-67 to grab his T10 finish. Wittenberg’s 3-under 137 weekend tally was the second-lowest in the field, falling one shot shy of the mark set by Simpson, who closed with rounds of 68-68—136 to win.
The T10 continued a stellar 2012 campaign for the Memphis native. In March, Wittenberg closed with rounds of 63-65 to win the Nationwide Tour’s Chitimacha Louisiana Open, and the event’s $90,000 first-place prize. The former Oklahoma State star is currently 10th on the Nationwide Tour money list with earnings of $132,019. The top 25 players on the season-ending Nationwide Tour money list will earn their 2013 PGA TOUR cards.
Chappell posted rounds of 74-71-68-72—285 to finish T10 on the week, in turn marking his second straight top-10 at the U.S. Open (T3, 2011 U.S. Open). The finish was his first top-10 of the year, bettering a prior-best-effort of T24 recorded at both the Northern Trust Open and Arnold Palmer Invitational. Chappell and Lee Westwood are the only two players to post top-10 finishes in each of the past two U.S. Opens.
Current eGolf Tour member Morgan Hoffmann posted rounds of 72-74-73-70—289 to finish T29 on the week. The former Oklahoma State star earned $53,168 for his play on the week, which marked his second career U.S. Open start dating back to a missed cut at the event’s 2010 edition.
Other eGolf Tour players to make the cut at Olympic include Blake Adams (T21), Scott Langley (T29), Jesse Mueller (T51), Jeff Curl (T56), Darron Stiles (T59) and Keegan Bradley (T68). For complete results from the U.S. Open on www.usopen.com, please click here.