Concord, NC – Drew Weaver of High Point, NC birdied the first playoff hole in the eGolf Tour’s CFAC Classic presented by Sharpie on Friday afternoon to continue his torrid pace over the past three months of golf and claim his first professional title.

 

Weaver entered the final round trailing overnight leader Jason Caron of Jupiter, FL by a single shot following rounds of 64-68—132, but the afternoon would soon become a three-player race between Weaver, Tadd Fujikawa and Fernando Mechereffe.

 

Mechereffe was the first to strike with an outward nine of 5-under 31 in Friday’s final round. The native of Brazil moved quickly up the leaderboard with birdies at 10 and 11 to take the outright lead at 18-under for the event. A bogey at the downhill par-3 12^th would take him back to 17-under and right in the mix with Fujikawa and Weaver.

 

Tadd Fujikawa

Fujikawa, who claimed the eGolf Tour Championship in August, got his final round off to a slow start with only two birdies in his first nine holes and a front-nine 34. On the closing nine at the George Cobb-designed Cabarrus Country Club course, however, he would come alive.

 

Birdies at 10, 11, 13 and 16 pushed Fujikawa to 17-under and in a tie with Mechereffe and Weaver. Pars at the 17^th and 18^th would put him first in the clubhouse at 17-under 199, and he would be forced to sit and wait just to learn his fate.

 

Weaver, playing in the final pairing, would make a key up-and-down birdie at the 11^th to get to 16-under, and would cement his spot in the threesome with a birdie at the 14^th – a hole that would later be a familiar friend.

 

Mechereffe’s bogey at the par-3 12^th would put a clamp on his birdies as well, as the former N.C. State golfer would not record a single birdie after that, opting instead for six consecutive pars to finish at 17-under.

 

“I knew I was close, but I didn’t want to get too wrapped up in looking at the scoreboard,” said Weaver, who arrived at the par-5 18^th in a three-way tie for the lead.

 

Only reachable for players on opposite planets, the 611-yard par-5 18^th at Cabarrus requires a delicate layup shot to avoid a cluster of trees on the left and a menacing bunker on the right. When Weaver’s layup found the aforementioned bunker, it made his chances at birdie that much more difficult. His approach would come up short and left, and when his chip shot slid 5 feet past the hole, he would have to knock in a delicate par save just to hold his spot in the playoff.

 

With a plethora of family looking on and a slight fist pump to verify the putt, Weaver knocked in the par and headed alongside Fujikawa and Mechereffe to begin the playoff.

On the first playoff hole, the par-4 14^th, Weaver made a quick statement when his approach shot found the ever-desirable tap-in range right next to the cup. Fortunately, his approach came from the right side of the hole again, where he had made birdie just an hour earlier. Familiarity breeds success.

 

“I hit a sand wedge from 112 up there to 2 feet, so I knew I had a good chance,” Weaver said. “But with Tadd, you always think his putt is going to go in, and Fernando’s short game is great, so you never know.”

 

Knowing that he had birdie in hand, Weaver could only sit and wait to see if his putt would be for the win, or if it would mean advancing another hole to the par-3 15^th.

 

“I took about 100 deep breaths while they were finishing, so that helped to calm the nerves a little bit,” he said.

 

When Mechereffe’s chip slid past the hole, there was only Tadd left to fear. Standing at 5”1’, Fujikawa is easily one of the best putters on tour, but his birdie try barely missed the hole and left Weaver with an easy 2-foot putt for the win.

 

“It’s huge. I couldn’t ask to be playing any better right now,” said Weaver. “One thing I’ve learned out here is that you can’t get caught up in one week, you just have to build on each day.”

 

Following the completion of a standout amateur career in which he captured the 2007 British Amateur Championship, Weaver entered the 2010 eGolf Tour season (his first as a pro) with expectations of winning early and often. After missing four of his first seven cuts, his adjustment to professional golf seemed to be at a stand still.

 

“I was low, I was pretty much rock bottom,” he said. “But I’ve surrounded myself with good people. Just to get positive words in your ear when you’re not playing well means so much. It really helps you keep your head up.”

 

A decent showing at the Grand Harbor Open in May gave way to a T6 finish at the HGM Hotels Classic at Rock Barn the very next week – his first top-10 of the season. From there, Weaver would post four top-6 finishes in a five-tournament stretch, including two runner-up finishes. The second of those runner-up efforts came just two weeks ago at the tour’s Manor Classic in Farmville, VA. Just putting himself in position to win was a lot for Weaver, who admits that the British Amateur title overshadowed the fact that he really hadn’t won that much on any level.

 

“I really haven’t won much. Certainly a lot of good things will come out of this,” Weaver said. “I’ve been working very hard and putting in a lot of long hours, and obviously it’s a good time of year to be playing well, so that’s great.”

 

The time of year Weaver refers to is the fall, which signifies the changing of leaves and the onset of PGA TOUR Qualifying School, where over 1,200 golfers will attempt to qualify for the 2011 PGA and Nationwide Tours.

 

For Weaver, the $17,000 first-place check helped to solidify all of the hard work that went into the 2010 season, but he refused to accept all the glory, instead opting to share it with those who mean the most to him.

 

“I wouldn’t be here without the support of my family, my swing coach, my agent and my sports psychologist,” he said. “I have great support and it means a lot to finally get one done.”

 

Fujikawa and Mechereffe each earned $9,250 for their T2 finishes.

 

After a mediocre start to the season, Fujikawa has now collected three top-4 finishes in his last five starts on tour – a stretch in which he has not finished out of the top 15 a single time.

 

Fernando Mechereffe

For Mechereffe, the T2 was his third top-5 of the year and his third consecutive top-10 dating back to the Tour Championship.

 

Finishing tied for fourth, two shots behind the playoff at 15-under 201, were Nos. 1 and 2 on the money list, Jason Kokrak and Tommy Biershenk, and Chris Epperson. Each player earned $5,666 for their efforts.

 

Kokrak, who won the tour’s Cabarrus Classic at Cabarrus C.C. earlier this year, posted a bogey-free 63 on Friday to card the day’s low round. The long-hitting former Xavier University standout birdied the last three holes en route to collecting his sixth top-5 of the season. With two wins in 2010 alone, Kokrak has now amassed over $110,000 in single-season earnings.

 

The harshest story might be that of Epperson, who had a magical round going through 15 holes. After an eagle-birdie-birdie-birdie start, the Hilton Head Island, SC native added birdies at Nos. 8 and 9 to turn at 7-under 29, and 14-under for the event. Birdies at 11, 12, 14 and 15 moved the easy-going Epperson to 11-under on his round and firmly in contention for the tournament.

 

“I was trying not to think about it too much, but I just couldn’t get it to the house,” said Epperson after his round.

 

Bogeys at 16, 17 and 18 left a sour note on an otherwise remarkable day for Epperson. His final-round 64 was a personal low, but will always be remembered for what could have been more than what was.

 

The CFAC Classic presented by Sharpie is the second of four fall events on the eGolf Tour that comprise the inaugural “Race to Morocco.” The top 20 members from each event will earn points that will accrue throughout the four tournaments. At the conclusion of the Race to Morocco, the leading point earner will receive an exemption into the European Tour’s King Hassan II Trophy in Agadir, Morocco next March. The exemption is provided courtesy of the The Association du Trophee Hassan II de Golf (ATH).

 

·The tour would like to thank Cabarrus Country Club Head Golf Professional Ken Guilford and his staff for their help in conducting this tournament. Special thanks to Cabarrus Head Golf Course Superintendent Tim Davis and his crew for putting in long hours to prepare each course for tournament play this week. With 89 days of 90 degrees or higher, and no significant rainfall since August 2^nd, Davis and his crew are to be commended for presenting a great conditioned course in the most difficult of times. A special thanks goes to the members of Cabarrus for allowing the tour to use their facility for the week.

 

The tour moves to the coast for the St. James Classic in Southport, NC next week for the St. James Classic, contested at The Reserve Club at St. James on September 29 – October 1.