Ewan Porter & the 4DX Driver dominate the Nationwide Tour?s Moonah Classic
Australian national and Nickent Staff Professional Ewan Porter dominated the field in a wire to wire victory at the Nationwide Tour’s Moonah Classic in Victoria, Australia, and he did it with a bag full of Nickent Golf clubs.
Porter used 10 Nickent clubs, including a brand new 4DX Driver, on his way to a 13-under 275. He hit 10 of 14 fairways and 14 of 18 greens in regulation with the driver, a 4DX Ironwood and a full set of Nickent irons. The winning gap of seven strokes equals the third largest in Nationwide Tour history. Porter now sits #2 on the Nationwide Tour money list with $149,798.
The 4DX TSpec Driver was the # 1 Driver model at the ‘Down Under’ event with 28 total units in play, according to the Darrell Survey. It is the first time Nickent has finished as the # 1 driver model on the Nationwide Tour, and it finished ahead of the next closest competitive model by 33%.
“This is the first time I have put the driver in play and it blew me away,” said Porter in an exclusive interview with Nickent. “It gave me an advantage over the competition in both distance and in accuracy. It was a huge part of me winning.”
Nickent also had 39 hybrids (#2 hybrid overall) and 10 fairway woods in play at the Moonah Classic to finish with 79 total woods, making Nickent the # 2 ranked overall wood manufacturer in play at the event.
“To be the # 1driver model at the event is a momentous occasion for Nickent,” said Nickent CEO Michael Lee. “To have the second most woods in play shows just how fast we are growing as a company. To win the event with our staff layer using our driver, ironwood and irons was the icing on the cake. We are thrilled for Ewan and also excited to significantly grow our presence on the nationwide Tour when the tour starts back up in the United Sates.”
The 25-year-old native of Cronulla, Australia fired a final-round 66. The win guarantees full status on the Nationwide Tour through the 2009 season. The new equipment was a big factor to Porter in only his 25th Nationwide Tour event.
“Over the past 3 months since coming on board with Nickent, I have realized their clubs have been key to me playing so well. The guys at Nickent have been unbelievable. I switched to the 3DX Pro Irons 3 months ago and the long and mid irons are just so much more consistent for me.”
"I’m over the moon right now," said Porter. "Under the circumstances, it was the round of my life. This is going to change my life. It is a big load off my shoulders. I didn’t know what I was doing the rest of the year. I was just hoping to get as many invitations from around the world as possible. I’ll sit down soon and reassess my plans for the rest of the year."
Even the competition at the Australian event was singing the praises of Porter’s dazzling play.
"I had a great week," said the runner-up. "But I had no chance to win this tournament with the performance that Ewan turned in. For him to shoot 6-under today is just phenomenal. I played the same course that he did and in the same conditions, and he smoked me."
Moonah Links sustained winds of 25 mph and gusts reaching 45 mph battered the par-72 course. The result was a scoring average of 74.58, with only nine players finishing under par.
"I wanted the conditions to be like this because I am used to playing in them, especially being from Sydney where we cop some pretty windy weather," said Porter. "The majority of Australians play in conditions a lot more. I thought that as tough as possible would be good for me."
Notes:
• The win is the 3rd driver win for the 4DX Driver on the Nationwide Tour.
• The win was Nickent’s 24th PGA Tour victory, 18 of which have come on the Nationwide Tour.
• In the 4 events on the 2008 Nationwide Tour, Nickent has averaged 58 woods an event, compared to an average of 23 woods an event in the first 4 events of 2007.
• Nickent staff professional Bryan DeCorso finished in the Top 10 at the Moonah Classic with a 4DX Driver and 4DX Ironwood.
• Nickent staffer Tim Petrovic finished T7th at the PGA Tour’s Mayakoba Golf Classic this weekend playing a Nickent hybrid and Nickent irons.
• The previous week on the PGA Tour, Nickent staff professional Jeff Quinney finished 2nd at Northern Trust Open at Riviera, where he was T4th in driving accuracy and 29th in driving distance using a 4DX Driver. Jeff now ranks 14th in the PAG Tour FedEx Cup standings.
• On the LPGA Tour this week, Nickent staff professional Teresa Lu finished in the Top 10 with a full bag of Nickent products.
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