North Florida alum J.C. Horne earns first NGA Tour Pro Series Title
(Fort Gordon, Ga.) – J.C. Horne (Jacksonville, Fla.) started the week just having trouble even finding the Gordon Lakes Golf Club inside the massive Fort Gordon military base in Augusta, Ga. After 41 holes on the Robert Trent Jones’ Championship course Saturday, the former North Florida Osprey star found himself with his first NGA Tour Pro Series win as the 2014 Kandy Waters Memorial Classic Champion.
With US Open local qualifying taking place the following week, the NGA had decided to hold a special 36-hole (3rd & 4th round) finish on Saturday to allow players with local qualifying the opportunity to compete. At the end of the regulation 72 holes three players, Horne, Casey Clendenon out of Houston, Tex., and Ken Looper out of Mandeville, La. found themselves in a tie for first at 6 under par for the event and needing to play even more golf to determine a winner.
Looper, the 2012 NGA Tour co-Rookie of the Year who starred at New Orleans and LSU before turning professional, was the first to be knocked out, losing on the first playoff hole as Horne and Clendenon tied to move on to a 2nd. The twosome would continue to match each other for the following four holes before approaching the par 5 ninth hole. There Clendenon, a 2014 Web.com Tour member who starred at Lamar University, could only manage a bogey while trying to catch Horne, who made birdie for the win. Horne has been one of the steadiest players on tour the past two seasons, having four top 10 finishes in 2013 and adding a T6 at Lady Lake earlier this year.
Second and third round leader Daniel Obremski, out of Irwin, Pa, had a roller coaster ride Saturday. His third round 72 kept him in the lead heading into the final round, however, the former Coast Carolina Chanticleer star couldn’t overcome a three over par final round which put him two shots out of the playoff and settling for solo 4th. James White Jr. (Acworth, Ga.), a two-time All-American and Palmer Cup team members while at Georgia Tech finished at 3 under par and alone in 5th. Oklahoma State alum and 21013 top 10 money list finisher Trent Whitekiller (Sallisaw, Ok.) finished at 2 under and in a tie for 6th with Wichita State alum Zechariah Potter (Andover, Kan.). University of Delaware product Kevin McLister, out of Charlotte, N.C., finished in a tie for 9th with Little River, S.C. native Patrick Lundy, who turned professional out of high school after being ranked as one of the top junior golfers in the world. 2012-13 Web.com Tour member and former UC Irvine star Michael Lavery, out of Tustin, Cal., finished alone in 10th to round out the top ten at this year’s Kandy Waters Memorial Classic.
The Kandy Waters Memorial Classic is the longest running consecutive event on the NGA Tour schedule since its inception in 2000. The event has been held at Mount Vintage Plantation in North Augusta, S.C. the past 3 years and was last played at Gordon Lakes GC in 2009 where eventual PGA TOUR member Joe Affrunti walked away with the title. Future PGA TOUR winners Keegan Bradley, Ted Potter Jr., and Scott Stallings were also in the 2009 Kandy Waters Memorial Classic field held at Gordon Lakes.
The NGA Tour would like to thank the staff and volunteers at Gordon Lakes GC in Fort Gordon for all their hard work and for conducting such a great event for our staff and players. The NGA Tour resumes play with the Bluegrass Open presented by Lucky 8 Stables being held May 19th through 25th at Shelbyville Country Club in Shelbyville, Kentucky. The Bluegrass Open field is already stacking up as past Player of the Year and PGA TOUR veteran Michael Letzig makes his return, 2012 Player of the Year Brandon Brown makes his season debut, Ohio State alum and Big Ten Champion Kevin Hall looks for his first Pro Series win, and upstart rookies Crawford Reeves and Ricky Stimets look to continue their winnings ways.
To learn more about the NGATour or the National Golf Association please visit www.ngatour.com or call 800-992-8748.
For full 2014 Kandy Waters Memorial Classic results, visit: www.ngatour.com/finalresults/pro2014019/#.U3DgWIFdU8w
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