Pine Mountain, GA – Through 53 holes of the PGA TOUR’s McGladrey Classic last week, Alex Hamilton found himself at 9-under for the event and suddenly in contention for the title, trailing the leaders by only a handful of shots. A tough Saturday finish and a final-round 72 would dampen his title chances, but it nevertheless gave the former University of South Carolina star the confidence to know he belonged on golf’s highest platform. At the eGolf Tour’s inaugural Callaway Gardens Championship on Thursday, Hamilton used a stellar 8-under 64 to make up a four-shot deficit in the final round to claim his second tour title.

Entering the final round at Callaway Gardens’ heralded Mountain View course, Hamilton trailed a quartet of overnight leaders following opening rounds of 69-66—135. Neil Johnson, Tim Schaetzel, Derek Gillespie and Jack Newman were tied for the lead at 11-under 131 prior to the start of the round, but the day would quickly turn into the Alex Hamilton show.

Birdies on his first two holes set in motion a stunning final round amidst strong winds on a golf course that hosted the PGA TOUR’s Buick Challenge for 12 years. A three-putt bogey at the par-5 sixth quickly cooled his charge, but follow-up birdies at Nos. 7 and 8 put Hamilton back into the title mix.

“I knew what was going on, especially with the wind,” said Hamilton. “I knew if I could just keep it together that I would have a good chance to win.”

As Hamilton’s round got better and better, other players went south quickly. Wind gusts of up to 25 mph wreaked havoc on the majority of the field as Hamilton sat calmly aware of the conditions going on around him.

While Gillespie and Johnson turned at even-par 36, Schaetzel and Gillespie struggled mightily on the front nine – in turn quickly dropping out of title contention.

That bit of an opening was all Hamilton needed to take over the tournament on the closing nine of the Dick Wilson-designed Mountain View course. Birdies at 10 and 11 moved the Aiken, SC native to 5-under on his round, and when a birdie at 13 took him to 6-under on the day and 13-under for the event, the outcome was becoming much more clear.

“I had a 6-footer for par on No. 12, and after I made that, I felt that it was going to be a really good round,” said Hamilton. “I made a 20-footer for birdie on the next hole, and after that, I knew it was going to be a good day.”

Birdies at 15 and 16 solidified what the vast majority of the field already knew – this was Hamilton’s tournament to win. While the leaders struggled to keep pace, Hamilton had no issues setting the pace as pars at 17 and 18 gave him a final-round 64 on a day in which only six other players broke 70.

His 15-under 199 total was good enough to hold off runner-up Jack Newman by three shots. The win was his first since capturing the tour’s Rock Hill Invitational in March of 2006, and arguably the biggest of his pro career.

“These fields are so good now, so this win means a lot more to me,” Hamilton said after his round. “It’s a much bigger win than the first one.”

The victory gave Hamilton a winner’s share of $19,000. With the first stage of PGA TOUR Q-School on the horizon at Callaway Gardens, it’s easy to see why Hamilton likes his chances.

“I made it through the second stage of Q-School here last year, so I had really good vibes coming into the week,” said Hamilton. “I got really hot with the putter today. Through 16 holes, it felt as if I hadn’t missed a putt all day.”

Hamilton, a conditional Nationwide Tour player this year, Monday qualified for the PGA TOUR’s McGladrey Classic last week and parlayed his start into a stellar effort. Opening rounds of 69-66 put Hamilton into contention and at 4-under through 17 holes of his third round, he was making a move towards the title. An unfortunate double-bogey at the 54^th hole gave him a third-round 68, while a final-round 72 dropped him into a tie for 45^th. Regardless, the weekend spent amongst golf’s best players gave Hamilton a bit of an edge coming into this week.

“That definitely helped. It was my first PGA TOUR weekend, and I had a chance to win with 19 holes to play,” said Hamilton. “Sea Island is very tough, if you get it a bit off line you can make bogey quickly.”

Hamilton spent the final round at Callaway Gardens ignoring the scoreboard, a lesson he learned the hard way the week prior.

“At the PGA TOUR event, I looked at the scoreboard a little too much and it had a negative effect,” he said. “So I decided today that I wouldn’t look and would instead just try to stay in the process.”

Hamilton is not one to usually struggle with confidence, and his win at Callaway Gardens did nothing to deter his momentum heading into Q-School. After a maiden voyage to Q-School finals last year, it is obvious that Hamilton is eyeing a return trip.

“I feel like I’m playing well and everything is coming together well,” he said. “I made it to the finals from here last year, so hopefully I can make it to finals again this year. We’ll see what happens.”

Newman bogeyed two of his first six holes on Thursday, but recorded 11 pars and one birdie over his last 12 to card a round of 1-under 71. The runner-up finish came in Newman’s first start on tour, and the former Michigan State golfer was awarded with $12,000 for his play.

Newman won the 2008 United States Public Links Championship, and in turn earned an invitation to the 2009 Masters Tournament. At Augusta National, he would post rounds of 72-76—148 to miss the cut by three shots. During a memorable week in the famous Crow’s Nest, Newman finished T2 in the annual Par-3 Contest, conducted on Wednesday of tournament week.

David Sanchez, Wes Homan, Neil Johnson and Derek Gillespie each tied for third at 11-under 203, in turn earning $6,875 for their efforts.

Two-time eGolf Tour winner Andy Bare recorded a solo-seventh-place finish at 10-under 204, and picked up $5,000 for his play this week.

·          The tour would like to thank Callaway Gardens General Manager Bob Sykora, Sales Manager Gail Hall, and their respective staffs for all of their help in organizing this inaugural event. Both the Mountain View and Lake View courses were in fantastic shape for the event, and Head Golf Course Superintendent Ron Fry and his crew are to be commended for their tireless efforts in preparing each course for tournament play. The tour would also like to thank the members of Callaway Gardens for allowing us to use your courses for the week. We are certainly aware of the sacrifice when giving up your course, and we thank you for your willingness to allow us access.