Three players went into a playoff Sunday at the Oregon Classic with one thing in common. Each player had Nickent golf clubs in their bag, giving Nickent a 1-2-2 finish at the event. One used a 4DX Tour Spec Driver, another a Nickent 3DX DC Ironwood and one was Jon Turcott, a Nationwide staff player for the surging Walnut, California company.
The player who calls his 4DX Driver his favorite club in his bag ended up taking the title, his second victory of the year on the Nationwide Tour. He and the second place finisher are virtually guaranteed they will be moving up to the PGA Tour next year. Currently, six of the top 25 that will "graduate" at end of the year play Nickent products.
Nickent is one of the few new driver companies to make the jump to tour winner in the last few years. The 2nd victory for the 4DX Driver makes it the 4th winningest driver on the Nationwide Tour, out of the 20 different driver manufacturers who have had at least one driver in play this year. Out of those 20, only eight manufacturers have had more than 10 drivers in play on the year.
The 4DX now has as many or more driver wins than Callaway, Cleveland, Cobra, PING and Adams. The 4DX has been put into play 95 times, easily making it the fastest growing driver on the tour. This is despite the fact that the 4DX was introduced 5 events into the season, a time when many manufacturers had already secured players to play their drivers with season long contracts.
The 4DX Driver was instrumental in helping the 28-year-old win in the playoff in Oregon. The winner made a 60-foot eagle putt on the final hole of regulation, then birdied the 542-yard par-5 18th twice after two perfect drives.
Turcott, looking for his first career Nationwide Tour victory, needed a birdie on the 18th hole to win the event outright. The two non-Nickent staffers opened the first playoff hole with perfect drives that led to birdies that eliminated Turcott. It was a career best finish for the 26-year-old University of Wisconsin graduate.
On the second playoff hole, the eventual winner hit another perfect drive with his 4DX Driver, leading him to a birdie and the victory. He earned $85,500 to jump from 27th to 7th on the official money list and became the third multiple winner of the 2007 Nationwide Tour.
"It’s such a relief and a weight off my shoulders," said the winner. "Back-to-back years I came about $5,000 short of earning my card. The year I finished 22nd on the money list, I three-putted on the final hole of the Tour Championship to lose my card. But everything happens for a reason. I firmly believe in that."
Following his victory earlier this season at the Rex Hospital Open, the Oregon Classic champ stated that the win was important because it would enable him to pay for his engagement ring. With the wedding set for December, he said that this win means they will spend their honeymoon in Hawaii when they travel to the Sony Open next year on the PGA Tour.
"It’s been a crazy year. I have two wins, and a bunch of top 25s. So I either miss the cut or I finish top 25. Ideally, that’s the way to do it. So you have some weekends off. I had one year on tour out here where I made 17 cuts, but only $67,000. That drives you crazy because you are playing so well and not cashing in on the weekends."
His rival in the playoff is a former Arizona State teammate and roommate of Jeff Quinney, the star of Nickent’s professional staff. He stayed with Quinney’s parents this weekend and collected his third runner up finish of the season. The player moved up to 10th on the official money list.
"It’s been a long time coming," said the runner up. "I’ve been out here for four years now, so I won’t be too disappointed to not play out here any more."
The win for Nickent marked their 19th win on the PGA Tours over the last 3 seasons. It was their 6th victory of 2007, the biggest being a US Open win at Oakmont.
Contact: