Scottsdale, Ariz. (March 31, 2011) Friday was a good day for Scottsdale’s Todd Demsey. He shot a final round 3-under 69 at Papago Golf Course to secure a 3-shot win on Gateway Pro Tour. But even better for Demsey is the fact that his win kept his lead in the Nationwide Tour exemption Points Race and earned him a playing spot in the Nationwide Tour’s BMW Charity Pro-Am presented by Synnex in South Carolina, May 19-22.
The Points Race took place over the last three tournaments, with GPT players being awarded points for each finish and the highest cumulative points winner earning the exemption. Demsey started with a T24 in the first of three tournaments, but finished strong with back-to-back wins to earn the playing spot, finishing with 4,209 points. Nathan Lashley finished second in points at 3,850 and Brady Schnell was third with 2,983 points.
“It feels great getting the win, but even better is earning the exemption,” Demsey said. “This will be a great way to set up the rest of the season for me.”
Demsey has limited status on the Nationwide Tour, but is in the last exempt category, so he needed to win this Points Race to guarantee an entry into one of the Nationwide Tour events this season.
“This was a big week for me after winning last week,” he said. “My focus today was playing well enough to get that spot, it just so turns out I played well enough to win too.”
It’s been a good couple of weeks for Demsey after a slow start to the season. He opened the tournament at Papago with a solid 5-under 67, then took the second-round lead with a course record 9-under 63 on the second day. He had 9 birdies and just one bogey during that impressive round, which concluded with birdies on three of the last four holes. The bogey, which came on the 253-yard, par-3 8th hole, was one of only two bogeys he recorded throughout his three rounds of the tournament.
“That second round I think really got me going and separated me from the field,” he said. “Things really came together for me in that second round, I was really hitting my irons and wedges great, and I think that was the difference.”
Demsey started the final round with a 3-shot lead over Nick Hodge and changed his strategy a little with the exemption on the line.
“Yea, I played pretty conservatively in that last round, that exemption was really on my mind,” he said. “I just went out there and tried to make par… looking back I wish I would have been a little more aggressive and tried to make more birdies, but I guess I can’t complain now since it seems to have worked out.”
Work out it did. Demsey did make a lot of pars, 15 to be exact, and he threw in three birdies for good measure in that last round, while Hodge could only muster a final-round 2-under 70 to finish solo second at 13-under par.
“I started slow this season, but I felt like I’ve been playing good,” Demsey said. “My putting wasn’t where I wanted it to be, so I switched putters and really focused on that part of my game the last couple of weeks, and I think that has really been a big factor in my play recently.”
Benoit Beisser shot a solid 8-under 64 in the second round and finished with a 69 in the final round to finish solo third at 11-under, while Kent Eger shot rounds of 69-69-68 to finish solo fourth at 10-under par. Schnell, who finished third in the Points Race, was 7-under after two rounds, but couldn’t get much going in the final round as he shot 1-under 71 to finish T5 at 8-under. Charlie Beljan, who couldn’t capitalize on his opening round 66, finishing 70-72 in the second and third rounds to also finish T5. Nathan Lashley, winner of the first tournament in the Points Race, rebounded from his first-round 74 to finish 68-69, good for T11.
Demsey plans on playing the next GPT event at Corte Bella, and will attempt to Monday qualify for the next few upcoming Nationwide Tour events before he plays in the BMW Charity Classic on May 19.
“This really works out good for my schedule in the next month or so, and I’m excited to see where this takes me,” he said. “If I can play well in the BMW, it could really make a big impact for this season.”
The BMW Charity Classic is the first of two exemptions that are available for Gateway Pro Tour members in 2011. The other exemption that is up for grabs is the Preferred Healthy Systems Wichita Open, which will take place June 16-19. Details on how GPT members can win that exemption will be released by GPT officials shortly.
The Gateway Pro Tour regular season will take a week off before teeing it up at Corte Bella, April 6-8. In the meantime, next week the GPT is holding a special 18-hole “Back Nine” sponsorship event, with the winner earning entry into the final nine tournaments of the 2011 Arizona Series (a value of $12,375). Additionally, the Top-30 percent of the field will be paid out. The Back Nine sponsorship event is open to members and non-members, and will take place at Vista Verde Golf Club on Wednesday, March 30.
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