JUNCTION CITY, Oregon – Riding a solid all-around game and excellent putting, Matt Bettencourt fired a three-under-par 69 on Sunday to record a two-stroke victory and take the $90,000 top prize in the Nationwide Tour Oregon Classic.
For the tournament, Bettencourt blistered the 7,020-yard Shadow Hills Country Club layout for a 19-under-par 269 total. Sunday’s victory, his first on the tour, came on the heels of a fifth-place finish the previous weekend at the Albertsons Boise Open and places Bettencourt as one of the hottest Nationwide competitors.
“I switched (from a belly putter) to the SuperStroke grip 13 weeks ago and went from around 150th in putting to the top 50,” Bettencourt said after his victory. “SuperStroke has made a world of difference for me, taking my hands out of the stroke. It was really back and forth with the belly putter, but with the SuperStroke it’s been fantastic. It’s really changed my game.”
In fact, coming off Sunday’s round, Bettencourt now ranks 38th in putts per round and 36 in putts per greens in regulation. For the Oregon Classic tournament, the 33-year-old South Carolina resident finished fourth in putts per GIR and 11th in putts per round, including a 25-putt first round and a 26-putt third round, during which he overcame swirling winds to move to the top of the leaderboard.
“I’ve started putting well,” he said after his third-round 65. “It’s amazing when you catch the ball on the sweet spot and you keep your head still. You actually hit your lines. It’s fun to hit the ball where you’re trying to hit it.”
With his victory, Bettencourt joins PGA Tour star KJ Choi in notching tour wins with the help of the SuperStroke grip. Bettencourt also moves to 19th on the Nationwide Tour money list with four events remaining. The top 25 money-winners will earn PGA Tour cards for 2009.
SuperStroke grips are available in the ProLine Series (used by Bettencourt), which feature bold new designs and colors plus a new surface material, as well as the original Classic Series, which are now offered in red or blue as well as the original charcoal gray.
At more than an inch and half in diameter – twice that of a conventional putter grip – all SuperStroke grips “fill the hands,” so the tendency to squeeze too tightly is greatly reduced. In addition, the grip’s exclusive and patented, virtually taper-free design promotes even pressure in both the right and left hands, helping to maintain a square putter face. And by keeping the hands “quiet,” the SuperStroke eliminates most wrist action in the putting stroke.
SuperStroke is USGA- and R&A-conforming for regular play and installs in minutes on any putter without any messy adhesives.
Further information on the SuperStroke is available at www.superstrokegrip.com
Contact:
Ron Creten, President, Stroke Solutions, Inc.
Phone: 414-559-1121
Email: roncreten@aol.com
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