Thursday, January 16, 2014

Chris Ross goes Back to Back, Wins NGA Winter Series event at Timacuan

Chris Ross wins 2nd consecutive NGA Tour Florida Winter Series event; 2011 NGA Tour Player of the Year Jeff Corr finishes solo Second

(Orlando, Florida) - Eastern Michigan alum Christopher Ross out of Ontario, Canada might be golf's hottest professional right now after earning consecutive victories on the NGA Tour's Florida Winter Series. The victory came in the NGA's opening three-day event of 2014 Jan. 7-9 at Timacuan Golf Club in Lake Mary, Fla. The win comes on the back of his victory at the NGA's final event of 2013 on the Disney Magnolia course Dec. 17-19.

What's the secret to Ross' success? "(Hitting) lots of fairways and having a real good putter," stated Ross, "Having lots of confidence in my putter, it makes golf a whole lot easier." And this week's win came a little easier than the last where he had to defeat Stetson alum Sam Ryder (Longwood, Fla.) in a playoff. Ross posted a final round 66 on Thursday (the lowest round of the event) to finish at 13 under par and earn a 5 shot victory over his nearest competitor, Jacksonville State (Ala.) alum and 2011 NGA Tour Player of the Year Jeff Corr (Longwood, Fla.). Recent Georgia Tech star Jason Hak (Lake Mary, Fla.) finished 7 shots back alone in 3rd. Ryder followed up his Disney Magnolia performance with a T6 finish.

Ross' wins have fans drawing comparisons to another golfer on a bit of a streak as of late, one known very well to NGA Tour fans, the 2001 NGA Tour Player of the Year Zach Johnson. Johnson finished 2013 by winning his last event of the year, the Northwestern Mutual World Challenge, and started 2014 off by winning the Hyundai Tournament of Champions. Johnson was unable to get a third win a row, finishing T8 in the Sony Open. However, Johnson has won three tournaments in a row before, back on the NGA Tour in 2001, earning him the nickname Back to Back to Back Zach. So Ross will tee it up at the NGA Tour Winter Series event at West Orange next week looking to match and top Johnson all at once.

Monday Recap: In the NGA Tour Florida Winter Series single day 18-hole event held at Timacuan Golf Club on Monday January 6th, Campbell University alum Andrew Gai out of Westport, Conn. managed the only sub-par round of the day, shooting a 1 under 71 to grab a one shot victory over Canada's Mathieu Gingras and two better than a trio tied for 3rd that included Ross, Charlie Harrison out of Atlanta, Ga., and Michigan State alum Chris Mory.

The NGA Tour would like to thank the staff and volunteers at Timacuan Golf Club for hosting the NGA Tour and their players this week and for conducting such a great professional event. The NGA Tour Florida Winter Series picks back up at West Orange Country Club in Winter Garden, Fla. for a single day event on Monday January 13th and a standard 54-hole event Tuesday January 14th through Thursday January 16th.

For more information on the National Golf Association, the NGA Pro Golf Tour, or the NGA Tour Florida Winter Series please visit www.ngatour.com or call the tour offices at 800-992-8748.

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