Gilbert, Ariz. – Alex Moon of Dallas, Texas played flawless golf during Thursday’s final round of the eGolf Gateway Tour’s winter series event at Trilogy Golf Club at Power Ranch en route to a 7-under 64 and a 17-under 196 total, good for his second career tour title and the event’s $16,000 first-place prize.

Moon, a former University of Texas star who currently lives with PGA TOUR standout Jordan Spieth, wound up in the Trilogy field after failing to Monday qualify for the Waste Management Phoenix Open, contested just minutes down the road.

The Monday disappointment may have been a blessing in disguise for the 25-year-old, who opened his week with rounds of 65-67—132 (10-under) to sit four shots back of Canadian Darren Wallace entering Thursday’s third and final round of the $100,000 event.

Playing in the day’s final threesome alongside Wallace and Jonathon Krick of Peoria, Ill., Moon played solidly throughout the front nine with birdies on Nos. 1 and 6 to turn in 2-under 33 and 12-under for the week.

The strong start put Moon one shot back of Krick, who turned in 2-under as well to reach 13-under par, and tied with Wallace, who struggled mightily on the front nine with two bogeys and no birdies.

“I was hitting it great all day. I just wasn’t hitting the putts while trying to figure out my speed on the front nine,” said Moon. “Darren brought it back a couple of shots, but nobody was really taking off.”

Moon’s assessment of no one taking off quickly did a 180 as the Longhorn birdied Nos. 10, 11, 12 and 13 to vault into the lead at 16-under par with five holes to play.

“On 11, I hit a 6-iron to 8 feet and made a great putt there that broke about 3 feet,” he said. “That’s not an easy hole or pin, so I felt like I picked up a shot up on the field. That’s when I knew my putting was coming around.”

Moon’s charge was greeted by Krick birdies on 12 and 13, but when his playing partner bogeyed the par-3 15th, his lead opened back up to two with three to go.

T.J. Howe

On the par-5 17th, a near-miss eagle try left Moon with a simple tap-in birdie to get to 17-under overall, which in turn gave him a two-shot cushion heading to the par-4 18th.

After navigating the dangerous finishing hole at Trilogy, Moon wound up with a stress-free two-putt par at the last to wrap up a closing 64 and the $16,000 first-place prize.

Moon, who didn’t play a practice round, missed just one fairway on the week on his way to career win No. 2 on the eGolf Gateway Tour (Anthem Golf & Country Club, 2013).

After playing well in the Thursday pre-qualifier for the Phoenix Open, he knew his game was in shape regardless of how the Monday qualifier went.

“I came out here for the Monday qualifier and things didn’t go so well,” said Moon after his round. “So I wound up playing here, and things just took off from there. I started making great swing after great swing today, so it really paid off.”

Krick and four-time tour winner T.J. Howe of Osceola, Pa. finished tied for second at 15-under par, two shots back of Moon. Each player earned $8,700 for the week.

Howe, a former star at Penn State, closed his week with a 6-under 65 (thanks to birdies on 16-18) to briefly take the clubhouse lead at 15-under 198. When Moon pared the 18th, the Charlotte, N.C. resident was left with a career-best T2 on the tour’s west coast series.

The 26-year-old broke through in 2013 with three wins on the eGolf Tour, then validated that effort with a win at last year’s Mimosa Hills Open – thanks in part to a third-round 61 and a stunning 21-under 259 tally.

Amazingly, it was the first of two 61s for Howe last summer, as a matching 10-under-par effort at the Sapona Ridge Classic in August morphed into a T3 finish.

Wallace, who hails from Langley, B.C., finished in solo-fourth place at 12-under par after posting a 2-over 73 on the day. He earned $5,500.

eGolf Gateway Tour’s west coast winter series will continue next week Wigwam Resort (Gold) in Litchfield Park, Ariz. on February 10-12, 2015. Registration for this event is currently open.