Salisbury, NC – Corey Nagy of Charlotte, NC began the 2011 eGolf Tour season with a playoff win and his first career title at the season-opening Swiftwick Shootout at Palmetto Hall. At the tour’s season-ending Salisbury Classic, Nagy birdied the first playoff hole to defeat Brad Hopfinger of Lake Forest, IL to collect his third title of the year, the $15,000 first-place prize and the eGolf Tour’s 2011 money title.

The Salisbury Classic was the 17^th and final event of the 2011 eGolf Tour season and was contested this week at the Country Club of Salisbury in Salisbury, NC. Following heavy rains on Tuesday and Wednesday of tournament week, the event was shortened to 36 holes.

The week just north of Charlotte, NC began with heavy rains that suspended play on Tuesday, in turn forcing opening round play into Wednesday morning. Additional storms on Wednesday further suspended play and forced officials to shorten the event to 36 holes, with all of second-round play being finished on Thursday.

Nagy, a four-time “All American” at UNC Charlotte, opened his week amidst steady rain with a first-round 65 on Tuesday morning, tying for the 18-hole lead with Jhared Hack of Sanford, FL.

On Wednesday, Nagy did not hit a single golf shot as the pelting of rain and ensuing delays allowed only the early wave to start second-round play before it spilled over into Thursday morning.

“The day off was actually kind of nice,” said Nagy, 23. “I just relaxed and hit some balls and kind of laid low.”

On Thursday, Nagy came out of the gates swinging with an eagle at the par-5 third to quickly get to 2-under on his round and 8-under for the tournament. A birdie at the par-3 sixth moved the former Charlotte 49er star to 3-under on his day, where he eventually turned with a 3-under 32.

“I felt like I was doing everything right on the front nine,” said Nagy. “The eagle early on got me going and the birdie at No. 6 kept me going. I felt like there was a low number out there when I was on the turn.”

On the back nine, however, Nagy’s momentum stalled. A birdie at the par-5 13^th moved him to 10-under for the week, but a short birdie miss at the 14^th gave way to a three-putt par at the 15^th, and his opportunity to run away and hide from the field was slipping.

“The three-putt at 15 was frustrating. I was above the hole, but it wasn’t that hard of a putt,” said Nagy. “I felt like I should have made birdie at worst.”

A poor tee shot at the par-3 17^th led to his first bogey of the round, but Nagy rebounded at the last with a stellar 6-iron approach to 5 feet to set up a closing birdie that put him in the clubhouse at 10-under.

At the time, Nagy held a three-shot advantage over five other players, and for a while, it seemed as if his third win was a mere formality.

 
Still on the course was Hopfinger, an eGolf Tour rookie making his first career start after a standout career at the University of Iowa. Hopfinger posted a 4-under 67 on Tuesday, but needed to make quite the charge on Thursday to try and catch Nagy.

Starting on the back nine of the Donald Ross-designed Salisbury course, Hopfinger birdied the par-4 11^th and posted a trifecta of birdies at 15, 16 and 17 to turn at 4-under for the day and 8-under for the tournament.

On the front nine (his back), Hopfinger birdied Nos. 3 and 5 to match Nagy at 10-under, but could only muster pars over his last four holes to finish with a final-round 65 and a 132 total.

Brad Hopfinger

“To be honest, I was surprised when I heard there was going to be a playoff,” said Nagy. “I was just sitting around to see how things turned out, and when Stewart told me to get ready for a playoff, I actually thought he was kidding.”

All joking aside, both Nagy and Hopfinger headed back to the par-4 18^th for a playoff. Having birdied the downhill closing hole just two hours prior, Nagy again hit a 3-iron off the tee to set up a slightly longer (but obviously comfortable) approach shot. With a 7-iron in hand, Nagy again flagged his approach to 8 feet below the hole.

Hopfinger, from a shorter yardage, hit his approach to 10 feet pin high right of the hole.

First to putt, Hopfinger left his birdie putt nearly a foot short of the hole, in turn setting up a game-winning birdie putt for Nagy. With a third win and the money title on the line, Nagy calmly rolled in the birdie putt to end the playoff roughly 10 minutes after it began.

“It feels great to get a third win, and obviously the money title is a big honor,” said Nagy. “To win three times out here means a lot, because these fields are deep and every week is an uphill climb to try and win.”

Nagy’s earnings of $89,607 pushed him $4,000 ahead of recent Nationwide Tour winner Jason Kokrak for the money title. Kokrak posted two wins and a runner-up in three spring starts before moving to the Nationwide Tour full-time for the remainder of the year. Kokrak won the Nationwide Tour’s Boise Open last month and has all but secured his 2012 PGA TOUR card.

The playoff loss left Hopfinger with a $9,000 payday in his first career eGolf Tour start. The 22-year-old spent three years at the University of Iowa after transferring from Kansas University, and earned first team All-Big Ten honors this past spring before turning professional this fall. He will head to the first stage of PGA TOUR Q-School next fall with hopes of earning his TOUR card for 2012.

Dan Thompson of Johnstown, PA, Frank Adams III of Laurinburg, NC, Dustin Bray of Asheboro, NC, Jerry Richardson of Cary, NC and Cam Burke of Canada shared runner-up honors at 7-under 135 for the week. Each player earned $5,370 for their respective T3 finish.

·         A special thanks goes to Country Club of Salisbury Head Golf Professional Randy Padavick, and his respective staff for coordinating this event and hosting the tour and our players for the week. Thank you to C.C. of Salisbury Head Golf Course Superintendent Ron Bivins, and his crew, for their efforts in presenting a wonderful course amidst difficult weather and conditions. Last but not least, the tour would like to thank the members at the C.C. of Salisbury for allowing the tour access to the club for the week.

·         The Salisbury Classic marks the final event in the 2011 eGolf Tour season. Information regarding 2012 will be released shortly, along with a tentative schedule. The first event of 2012 will take place at Palmetto Hall Plantation on Hilton Head Island, SC on February 15-18.