Hilton Head Island, S.C. – Ryan Nelson of Charleston, S.C. finished off an impressive week of golf on Saturday afternoon at the eGolf Tour’s season-ending Tour Championship, carding a 2-under 70 for a 20-under 268 total, good for a five-shot wire-to-wire win and the tournament’s $50,000 first-place prize – the largest check in developmental golf history.

Nelson’s week at host Palmetto Hall Golf Club began in stellar fashion, with rounds of 64-67-67—198 delivering an 18-under-par total through 54 holes and a six-shot lead over 2014 PGA TOUR member Peter Malnati of Dandridge, Tenn. entering Saturday’s fourth and final round.

On a picture perfect day at Palmetto Hall’s Cupp Course, Nelson birdied the par-5 second hole to move to 19-under par overall, but quickly double-bogeyed the tough par-4 third to fall to 1-over par on the day.

“That was just a terrible swing there,” said Nelson of his approach to No. 3. “I just wanted to make sure I cleared the hazard, and I completely pulled my second shot left out-of-bounds.”

Ryan Nelson

Nelson made up for the blemish with birdies on Nos. 7 and 9 – the latter courtesy of a chip-in on the course’s hardest par-4. At 1-under 35 on the turn and 19-under total, the married father of two was on veritable cruise control with a six-shot lead over Vaita Guillaume of Tahiti and a seven-shot lead over Malnati.

It was at that point that the wheels came off.

Bogeys on 10, 11 and 12 coupled with a Malnati eagle on the par-5 10th to create a five-shot swing in the span of 45 minutes, and suddenly Nelson’s insurmountable six-shot lead was down to two.

“It’s a strange sensation to start the day with a lead that large. I just thought if I could get to 20-under or shoot in the 60s, I’d be fine,” said Nelson. “Then on 10 and 11, I go absolutely brain dead before missing a 4-footer on 12. I was upset; because those were very silly mistakes, and the only way someone was going to catch me was if I made mistakes.”

Both Nelson and Malnati matched birdies on the tough par-4 13th to remain two shots apart, but Nelson kept his foot on the back-nine gas with follow-up birdies on 14 and 15 to jump to 1-under on the day and 19-under overall – suddenly back to four shots up on his good friend.

“On 14, that was the shot that got me going,” Nelson said. “I had the right club and the right spin and hit it in there to a foot.”

Vaita Guillaume

Needing to avoid disaster down the stretch to ensure the win, Nelson pared Nos. 16 and 17 before coming to the par-4 18th with the tournament title a mere formality.

With a 9-iron from 137 yards, the 36-year-old thrilled the 72nd-hole crowd with a stellar approach to 2 feet to set up one final birdie for a closing 70, a 20-under-par tally and his sixth career eGolf Tour title.

“That was the least nervous I probably was all day, over that shot,” he said. “It feels great to win again. It took all year, so this is big for me.”

The win was Nelson’s first since claiming the 2013 Championship at River Landing – a span of 15 months and 19 tournament starts.

The $50,000 first-place prize – the largest in the history of developmental tour golf – pushed his 2014 earnings to $112,851, in turn making Nelson the first player to crack the six-figure mark on tour since leading money winner Drew Weaver did so in 2012 ($121,737).

“It’s amazing. I’d like to thank the eGolf Tour for providing an opportunity like this at this level,” he said. “It’s going to be a good Christmas.”

Perhaps most important for Nelson is that the win reaffirms the thought that he is in fact in the right profession. Through all of his success on the mini-tour level, he has yet to reach the final stage of Q-School in 10 career attempts, with his most recent disappointment coming last month at second stage, where he missed out by four shots.

The money will make for a great holiday season for the Nelson family, but the win is further evidence that he’s close to making his way up and out to one of golf’s top two tours, where he obviously belongs.

“This helps confidence going into the winter. Everything is where I need to be, I just need some starts on the PGA TOUR or Web.com Tour and I can take it from there.”

Guillaume finished in solo-second place at 15-under 273, thanks to a final-round 66 that marked the low round of the day. He earned a career-best $26,000 for the finish.

Guillaume was the first player to make an initial charge at Nelson with birdies on Nos. 4, 5, 6 and 8 to reach 13-under par. But his front nine rally emerged just as the runaway leader was birdieing Nos. 7 and 9, which widened the gap that narrowed ever so slightly.

Peter Malnati

The finish was further validation of a breakthrough year for Guillaume, as a win at the Sapona Ridge Classic in August highlighted a 2014 campaign that featured four top-3 finishes in his first 10 starts.

Malnati wound up alone in third place, earning $18,000 after posting a final-round 71 for a 13-under-par total.

The finish marked his first top-10 on tour since a T6 at The Founders Club Classic at St. James in 2013. That year, Malnati opened his season on the eGolf Tour before playing his way onto the Web.com Tour, thanks to six top-25 finishes during a torrid seven-tournament stretch that gave way to a win in his hometown News-Sentinel Open.

The unlikely victory put Malnati on the PGA TOUR for the 2013-14 season, where he collected three top-25 finishes, including a season-best T14 at the Puerto Rico Open.

Former Texas A&M star Jordan Russell of College Station, Texas finished in solo-fourth place at 11-under 277. It marked a second-straight fourth-place effort for the 26-year-old, dating back to the Island View Casino Championship. He earned $13,625 at Palmetto Hall.

• The tour would like to thank Palmetto Hall General Head Golf Professional Emily Bryant, Heritage Golf Group Director of Revenue Lisa Dahlstrom and Director of Tournament Sales Dominic Hausher, as well as their respective staffs, for all of their efforts in making this season-ending event such a success. Head Golf Course Superintendent Brian Murray and his crew are to be commended for producing two wonderful venues in the Cupp and Hills courses. Last but certainly not least, the tour would like to thank the members of Palmetto Hall Plantation for allowing the tour access to the course this week, and for their tireless efforts in volunteering. They annually go above and beyond the call of duty to help make our events successful.

• A very special “thank you” goes to Palmetto Hall members Dr. Mike Danoff and Jayne Danoff. Their willingness to take the lead on private housing and their help with volunteers and overall support of the event is tremendous each year. The tour is certainly fortunate to have great member support at Palmetto Hall, and their efforts are a big reason for that.