Lake Wylie, SC – Brice Garnett of Gallatin, MO carded a final-round 66 in the eGolf Tour’s River Hills Classic on Saturday to claim his first tour win in runaway fashion, as well as the $28,000 first-place prize.

The River Hills Classic was the eighth event of the 2011 eGolf Professional Tour season and was contested this week at both River Hills Country Club (Lake Wylie, SC) and Palisades Country Club (Charlotte, NC).

Entering the final round at tournament host River Hills C.C., Garnett owned a three-shot cushion over Nick Geyer and Philippe Gasnier following rounds of 61-70-67—198. The Willard Byrd-designed River Hills course, however, is a venue that can allow for multiple birdies and a plethora of “others.” Garnett knew he couldn’t play safe and try to protect a lead during Saturday’s final round.

“I knew I’d have to make some birdies today and that guys would make a charge. It’s the kind of course where you can make some birdies,” said Garnett, 27. “Thankfully, I was able to stick with my game plan and get it going early on.”

After pars on his first three holes, Garnett looked to further cement his name on the winner’s check when he birdied Nos. 4, 5 and 6 to vault up to 19-under and in complete control of the tournament.

“I thought I had a four- or five-shot lead on the front nine and knew there were birdies to be made on the back nine,” said Garnett. “I just didn’t give anything away, and that was huge for me.”

His bogey-free opening nine pushed his lead to five shots over Geyer, who had turned at 1-under 35 despite a double-bogey on the par-5 sixth.

On the back nine, Garnett’s only goal was to stay focused on the task at hand and to try his best not to get ahead of himself. Pars on 10 through 13 gave way to yet another birdie at the uphill par-4 14^th, and Garnett’s 20-under total all but put an end to any mystery that may have remained at the tournament.

“I looked at a few scoreboards,” he said. “I saw the one on No. 17, and from there knew what I had to do going into the house.”

A par at the downhill par-3 17^th gave the former Missouri Western State University “All American” a plethora of shots to work with at the 18^th, but he only needed three. With a stellar approach to a back right hole location at the par-4 closer, Garnett brought the River Hills members to their feet with one last birdie to seal the deal on his first career eGolf Tour win.

Garnett’s flawless final-round 66 gave him a 21-under 264 tally and a five-shot win over four-time eGolf Tour winner Jason Kokrak, who had posted a 6-under 65 on Saturday to finish at 16-under 269.

For Garnett, the win solidified the thought in himself that he could enter the final round with the lead and take care of business.

“To have a lead and hold a lead, that is pretty big for your psyche,” he said. “There are so many things that can go wrong out there. It’s nice to feel like you can do it, and then go out and prove it to yourself.

Garnett posted only three bogeys on the week, all of which came during his second-round 70 at tournament co-host Palisades Country Club. In three rounds at River Hills, he failed to make a single bogey.

Garnett’s week at River Hills began in dramatic fashion, when he recorded his fourth career hole-in-one at the par-3 17^th at River Hills during a first-round 61, which in turn set a new course record. His ace came during a dramatic finish to the round, where Garnett played Nos. 13 through 18 in birdie-par-birdie-birdie-eagle-birdie.

“It may have been one of those weeks that was meant to be with the hole-in-one, the course record and the win,” said Garnett. “There is something about this course that just suits my eye. It’s something that I’ll never forget.”

After making it to the finals of PGA TOUR Q-School in 2009, Garnett spent 2010 on the Nationwide Tour, collecting $12,202 in just 14 starts on the year, and finishing No. 170 on the season-ending money list. His best finish came at the Ford Wayne Gretzky Classic, where rounds of 65-68-68-72—273 gave him a T27 finish.

This year, he committed to playing the eGolf Tour full time, and entered the River Hills week with two top-10 finishes under his belt – a T7 at The Samanah Classic in Morocco, and a T10 at last week’s Donald Ross Championship.

“This is one of the strongest fields I’ve played against in developmental tour golf. They’re like that every week out here,” said Garnett. “This will be big for my confidence going forward.”

Kokrak, who won last week’s Donald Ross Championship (his second win of the year), earned $15,460 for his runner-up finish. With $85,460 in 2011 winnings in just three starts, Kokrak remained at the top of the tour’s money list following the River Hills Classic.

The Warren, OH native’s final round featured birdies on Nos. 5 and 6, as well as an eagle at the par-5 12^th to move to 4-under on the day. It wasn’t until late birdies at 16 and 18 that Kokrak made a move up the leaderboard and into second place.

The tour’s 2010 leading money winner, Kokrak has now earned over $200,000 in his last 14 starts on the eGolf Tour. During that stretch, the former Xavier University star has posted an amazing nine top-5 finishes, including four wins.

Finishing in solo third was Scott Parel of Augusta, GA. A longtime member of the Nationwide Tour, Parel posted rounds of 65-68-73-64—270 to notch his third top-4 finish of the 2011 season. Parel’s season-long earnings of $52,901 have him at No. 3 on the tour’s money list. Parel and Brian Harman (No. 7 / $41,106) are the only players in the top nine on the tour’s money list without a win this year.

Parel’s final round at River Hills began in standard form with pars on his first two holes, but then took a turn for the dramatic beginning with a birdie at the par-3 third. That birdie ignited an 11-hole stretch that featured an eagle, seven birdies, one par and two bogeys. Standing on the tee of the par-4 14^th at 7-under on his round, Parel had an opportunity to put a bit of pressure on Garnett, but could only muster pars on the last five holes en route to his final-round 64.

Two-time eGolf Tour winners Clint Jensen (Jupiter, FL) and Chris Thompson (Lawrence, KS) tied for fourth at 14-under 271. Each player earned $8,824 for their efforts on the week.

·         The tour would like to thank River Hills Country Club Director of Golf T.J. Bridges, Head Golf Professional Gary Troyan and Membership Director Kara Graml, as well as Palisades Country Club Director of Golf/General Manager John Wavrick, and their respective staffs for their outstanding help in conducting this tournament. A great job was done by River Hills Head Golf Course Superintendent Jason Bradley, Palisades Head Golf Course Superintendent David Coleman, and their crews to present two fantastic courses for the week. Last but certainly not least, thank you to the members of River Hills and Palisades for allowing the tour to have access to both courses for tournament week.

·         The eGolf Professional Tour will be off next week before returning to action for the Bolle Classic in Lexington, NC on June 15-18.