Litchfield Park, Ariz. – On a difficult day for scoring at the eGolf Gateway Tour’s winter series event at Wigwam Resort, Brandon Harkins of Scottsdale, Ariz. proved victorious with a final-round 71 on the famed Gold Course, good for a 9-under 207 tally and a two-shot victory.

Harkins entered Thursday’s final round on the heels of a 67-69—136 (8-under) start to his week, just one shot back of 36-hole leader and final-round playing partner Mark Geddes of Phoenix, Ariz.

After a birdie on the par-5 first to tie Geddes atop the leaderboard, Harkins stumbled at the par-3 third with a crushing double-bogey to fall back to 1-over par on the day.

“I got unlucky on No. 3 after hitting it in the front bunker into an old pitch mark from where someone else’s ball had landed,” he said. “That kind of set me back early on, but I was able to bounce back and stay patient.”

A birdie on the par-4 fourth took the former Chico State golfer to even-par on the day, which coincided with a rapid descent from Geddes, as the overnight leader bogeyed Nos. 3, 6, 7 and 9 to turn in 4-over 40 and 5-under for the week.

Like Geddes, Harkins also bogeyed the sixth, but managed to birdie the par-4 eighth to turn in even-par 36, suddenly in a tie for the lead at 8-under par alongside fellow competitor Scott Harrington of Scottsdale, Ariz.

“It was blowing really good today and the greens really firmed up,” said Harkins, who estimated the winds were in the 25 mph neighborhood. “I was able to stay patient, which is what you need when it’s windy like that.”

Fortunately for Harkins, the wind began to catch up with Harrington as well, as bogeys on 10 and 11 dropped the longtime Web.com Tour member to 6-under par and two shots back.

On the par-5 14th, Harkins two-putted for a routine birdie before staking his approach to the par-4 15th to 3 feet, setting up back-to-back birdies that put him at 10-under par – three shots clear of the field.

“That was good. That was when I knew I just had to play smart coming in,” he said.

Pars on 16 and 17 kept the four-year PGA TOUR Canada member three shots clear of the field, which allowed for plenty of cushion when he bogeyed the par-4 18th for a final-round 71 and his first career eGolf Gateway Tour title.

“This is nothing but good things. This pushes me to keep working on my game,” said Harkins, who earned $15,000 with the win. “I’m planning to commit to a bunch of Web.com Monday qualifiers, and kind of go from there.”

Jim Knous of Basalt, Colo. and Jake Younan of Australia finished tied for second place at 7-under 209 – two shots back of Harkins. Both players earned $7,000 for the week.

Wade Binfield of Fayetteville, Ga., making his first career start on tour, birdied three of his final 10 holes for a final-round 70 and a 6-under 210 total. He earned $5,000.

eGolf Gateway Tour’s west coast winter series will conclude next week at Rustic Canyon Golf Club in Moorpark, Calif. on February 18-20. Registration for this event is still open.