 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
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 have 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. 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 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
at 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. |
 |
|
|
|
Tour News > 4DX Driver Wins Oregon Classic, Nickent Clubs finish 1-2-2 at event |
|
 |
|
