Blythewood, SC – On the 72nd hole of the eGolf Tour’s Columbia Open presented by Groucho’s Deli, Jack Fields of Southern Pines, NC pulled his tee shot in the left woods, hit a masterful punch-hook wedge shot off the pine needles, and converted a clutch two-putt par from the back fringe to post a final-round 67 and win his first career eGolf Tour title.

The Columbia Open presented by Groucho’s Deli was the eighth of 24 scheduled events on the 2012 eGolf Tour schedule, and was contested this week at both Columbia Country Club and Cobblestone Park Golf Club in Blythewood, SC.

Columbia CC General Manager Chris Sparrow & Winner Jack Fields

Fields entered Saturday’s final round at Columbia Country Club trailing 54-hole co-leaders Michael Maness and Nick Taylor by two shots following rounds of 67-62-72—201. A late stumble on Friday afternoon, featuring bogeys on four of his last five holes, took the former UNC standout from in the lead to trailing overnight. The late quartet of bogeys, however, had little effect on Fields in the final round.

Right out of the final-round gate, Fields hit a 195-yard 7-iron on the par-5 third to set up an early eagle that took him to 16-under for the week. A birdie at the par-5 seventh gave way to a bogey at the tough par-4 ninth, and Fields’ outward nine of 2-under 34 left him at 16-under, trailing Maness by two and Taylor by one.

“There are a lot of birdies to be made out there, so I knew I had to keep it up on the back nine,” said Fields, 22. “All week long, I felt very comfortable on these greens, so it was really just a matter of giving myself some looks.”

After pars on 10 and 11, Fields striped a perfect 3-wood on No. 12, said “be the one” just loud enough for playing partners to hear, and watched as his flawless approach settled 6 feet from the hole.

Fields’ eagle putt never had a doubt, and found the bottom of the hole to take him to 18-under and in control of the event.

In the final threesome behind him, Fields’ lead grew as Taylor bogeyed the par-4 10th, and Maness added a bogey of his own at that same par-5 12th, just minutes after Fields’ eagle.

“I was watching scoreboards all day,” Fields said. “I knew after I eagled 12 that I had a good chance, but I felt like I needed one more birdie.”

Pars on 13 and 14 left Fields at 18-under, but now in a tie with Josh Brock of Wilmington, NC, who had birdied the short par-4 13th to reach 18-under himself.

At the par-5 15th, Fields added yet another par-5 birdie to his final-round resume – a tally that gave him a 6-under total for the four par-5s – and in turn extended his lead to one, now at 19-under par.

A clutch 8-foot par putt on 16 led to a two-putt par for Fields at the par-3 17th, which in turn left him with just the par-4 18th to conquer. Unfortunately, he had to witness playing partner Alan Wagner of Argentina block his tee shot right and out-of-bounds on the narrow closing hole – a visual he surely could have done without.

Josh Brock

“I had a little more on that birdie putt than I wanted,” he said. “But I had putted aggressively all week, and that wasn’t going to change. For whatever reason, I was confident running my putts 6 and 7 feet past the hole this week.”

“When I saw Alan’s ball sail out-of-bounds right, I knew I was probably going to miss my tee shot left, and I did,” Fields said, who pulled his tee shot into the left trees at the last.

From the left trees on the 72nd hole, Fields played a perfect wedge shot that landed pin-high and settled 20 feet past the hole. Needing two putts to get in the house at 19-under, he ran his birdie putt 4 feet above the hole, but calmly rolled in the par putt for a final-round 67.

In the clubhouse at 19-under 268, the only person who could match Fields was Brock, who hit his approach to 60 feet at the last. When Brock’s birdie try slid past the hole, Fields was left with his first professional title and the $25,000 first-place prize.

“It feels great, it really does,” he said. “I put in a lot of work this offseason with my coach, and it’s nice to see that it really paid off for me this week.”

Fields’ coach is Scott Davenport, director of golf at the Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte – site of this week’s Wells Fargo Championship. Fields spent the last year and half working part-time at the prestigious club, and took full advantage of his opportunity to play with some of the PGA TOUR’s best during the offseason.

Drew Weaver

“I’ve been real fortunate to spend time around Webb Simpson and Johnson Wagner, both members at Quail Hollow,” said Fields. “To watch their short games, and how much time they spend practicing chipping and putting, was huge for me. It gave me some added focus on what I needed to work on, and it’s finally paying dividends.”

The $25,000 check moved Fields up to No. 7 on the tour’s money list, with $29,595 in earnings thus far on the year.

The win also further solidified Fields’ decision to turn professional last fall prior to PGA TOUR Q-School. The former amateur star had notched wins at the 2011 North & South Amateur, the 2011 Carolinas Open, the 2009 Carolinas Amateur and the 2008 North Carolina Amateur, prior to giving the pro ranks a shot.

Drew Weaver of High Point, NC, Brock and Taylor all finished in a tie for second, one shot behind Fields at 18-under 269. Each player earned $10,666 for their efforts.

For Weaver, the T2 finish marked his best on the eGolf Tour since September of 2010, when he collected his first professional win a the tour’s Caddy For A Cure Classic in Concord, NC. Since that breakthrough victory, the former Virginia Tech star has now earned seven top-10s on the eGolf Tour – including two in 2012 alone.

Nick Taylor

Weaver was out of the mix for much of the early part of Saturday’s final round before posting birdies on five of his final nine holes to close with a 68. A late bogey at the par-3 17th dropped him two behind Fields, while a closing birdie at the last left him one shot shy.

Brock, a former UNC Wilmington golfer, is just three weeks removed from capturing his first win at the tour’s Championship at St. James Plantation. With rounds of 68-66-66-69—269, Brock was one of only three players in the field to post all four rounds in the 60s (Julian Etulain / Andrew McLardy).

Taylor, a British Columbia, Canada native and once the No.1 ranked amateur in the world, birdied the par-4 18th to finish with a final-round 70 and notch his career-best finish. The former University of Washington star birdied two of his final four holes to reach 18-under, after playing his first 14 holes in even par on the day. The 2010 Ben Hogan Award winner as the nation’s top college player held at least a share of the event’s 18-, 36- and 54-hole leads, prior to finishing T2.

• The tour would like to thank Columbia Country Club General Manager Chris Sparrow, as well as Cobblestone Park Golf Club Director of Golf Tom Graber, and their respective staffs for their outstanding help in conducting this tournament. A great job was done by Columbia Head Golf Course Superintendent Jim Young, Cobblestone Park Head Golf Course Superintendent David Cavender, and their crews to present two fantastic courses for the week. Last but certainly not least, thank you to the members of Columbia Country Club and Cobblestone Park Golf Club for allowing the tour to have access to both courses for tournament week.

• The eGolf Professional Tour will take next week off before returning to action at the Willow Creek Open in High Point, NC on May 16-18.