High Point, NC – Josh Persons of Fargo, ND entered the final round of the eGolf Tour’s third annual Willow Creek Open four shots off the lead, and in need of a dramatic round amidst blustery championship conditions. The former University of Minnesota standout delivered just that, carding seven birdies en route to a bogey-free 65 in the final round for a 14-under 202 total and his first career eGolf Tour title.

The Willow Creek Open was the 10th of 24 scheduled events on the 2013 eGolf Tour schedule, and was contested this week at Willow Creek Country Club in High Point, NC.

Persons’ week began in solid fashion, as opening rounds of 68-69—137 (7-under par) put him four shots back of 36-hole co-leaders Seamus Power of Ireland and Adam Mitchell of Atlanta, GA. With winds steady at 15-20 mph, and gusts closer to 30 mph, Persons set out to make some noise on his opening nine holes over the classic Willard Byrd-designed course.

A birdie at the par-4 first set the tone for Persons’ come-from-behind day, leading to a four-hole stretch of birdies on Nos. 4 through 7 that vaulted him into tournament contention at 12-under par.

Josh Persons

“I was able to get a few birdies in early on before the wind really kicked up later in the day,” said Persons, 29. “I hit two good shots to 12 feet on No. 5, then got lucky on No. 6 with a double-breaker I was just trying to cozy down there. I felt pretty fortunate to get through that stretch with those birdies.”

Persons’ fast start resulted in a 5-under 31 on his front nine – but at 12-under for the week, he was still two shots back of a red-hot Power, who had birdied Nos. 5, 7 and 9 to reach 14-under par after turning at 33.

“I knew I was close on the turn, but I also figured some guys behind me were going to make some birdies,” Persons said. “I knew I had to keep chugging along on the back. As it turned out I made two birdies and that was just enough.”

With strong winds diminishing any odds of another player making a Persons-like move on the back nine, the tournament came down to a two-man race with just nine holes to go – and for a while, it looked as though it was Power’s tournament to win.

At the par-5 10th, Persons made the first of his two aforementioned birdies to move to 13-under par, at the time just one off the lead.

That lead, however, would extend to two when Power made a birdie at the narrow par-4 13th to move to 15-under par and two shots in the clear.

It was about that same time that Persons came to the tee of the par-5 17th, feeling the need for one more birdie to post a target score of 14-under par.

“I got it up close to the green on 17 in two, then left my chip 20 feet short of the hole. I was kind of scared of running it by too far, and didn’t want to have a short downhill putt coming back,” said Persons, referring to the green’s severe back-to-front sloping. “I wound up making it, and I was pretty pumped at that point.”

Persons’ unlikely birdie bomb on the next-to-last hole gave way to a closing par at the par-4 18th, leaving the former Golden Gopher with a final-round 65, and the clubhouse lead at 14-under 202.

Seamus Power

Back on the course, Power was starting to show signs of struggle, as a missed 30-foot par try at the 15th dropped him back into a tie with Persons at 14-under.

At the par-3 16th, the former East Tennessee State golfer hit his tee shot to the back of the green, then two-putted for a solid par to remain tied for the lead.

With the reachable par-5 17th lying in wait, and ample length to get there in two, Power blocked his tee shot into the right woods, eventually leading to yet another par after a solid up-and-down from the back bunker resulted in a workmanlike five.

“When I heard he was at 15-under, I thought, ‘Dang, he’s playing good,’” said Persons. “After he dropped to 14 (under), I went down to the range to start hitting some balls, just in case.”

As Persons was hitting range balls at the bottom of the hill, Power was making a mess of the last just above, lacing his tee shot down the middle of the fairway, then pulling his second into a greenside bunker – a shot which resulted in a buried lie.

“I turned around to watch once they got to the green, but to be honest, I wasn’t really sure who I was looking for,” said Persons, unclear as to which member of the day’s final threesome was in fact Power.

A stellar bunker shot from a fried egg lie came out roughly 7 feet from the hole, leaving Power with a chance to force a playoff if he could convert.

He missed.

Power’s late-round collapse left him with a final-round 70 and a 13-under 203 total – one shot shy of Persons, the tournament’s newly-crowned champion.

Ryan Sullivan

“First win out here? It doesn’t get any better than that,” said an elated Persons, who picked up $17,000 for the win. “I’ve won some in the Dakotas, but never anything on a tour like this. It feels great.”

The win served as a sendoff of sorts for Persons, who will head to Canada for the summer to compete on PGA TOUR Canada, having finished T12 at the tour’s qualifying school in April to earn full exempt status.

“I couldn’t be more confident now. I’ve been playing well, I just haven’t been putting well,” he said. “To finally win out here means so much to me.”

For Power, the feeling was less elation and more self-disgust, as the West Waterford, Ireland native was ever so close to a third career win. The runner-up finish was his second straight on tour – dating back to a T2 effort at the Columbia Open three weeks ago – and was worth $10,000.

The runner-up at Willow Creek, while disappointing, further cemented a solid 2013 campaign for Power, who now has eight top-30 finishes in eight starts. Earnings of $27,305 have the 26-year-old at No. 5 on the tour’s money list.

In 2012, Power earned career-best numbers, picking up wins at the River Run Classic in March and the Spring Creek Classic in June. Those wins coupled with two additional top-3 finishes to place him at No. 7 on the season-ending money list with just under $60,000 in earnings.

Ryan Sullivan of Winston-Salem, NC and Jonathan Fricke of Covington, GA finished tied for third at 11-under 205. Both players earned $6,265 for the week.

Sullivan, a current member of the Web.com Tour, opened his final round on a tear, posting birdies on his first two holes en route to a 1-under 35 on his outward nine.

After turning a 9-under for the week, Sullivan dipped even further into the red with an eagle at No. 10, but gave it back a few holes later with a tournament-crushing double-bogey at the 14th. The former UNC Wilmington standout rebounded shortly thereafter, notching birdies on 17 and 18 to close out a final-round 68 and an 11-under 205 total on the week.

The finish was Sullivan’s fourth top-10 of the 2013 season, tying his prior-season-best mark – a T3 at The Championship at St. James Plantation in April.

Fricke, the tournament’s 18-hole leader after an 8-under 64 on Wednesday, posted follow-up rounds of 70-71 to finish up at 11-under par. The T3 represented his best finish on the eGolf Tour since winning his second career title at the Forest Oaks Open last November.

Jonathan Fricke

The former Georgia State star’s final round began in less-than-ideal fashion, with eight pars and a bogey on the par-5 seventh for a 1-over 37 on his opening nine. On his back nine, Fricke recovered nicely, posting birdies at 10, 15 and 17 to move into solo-third place at 12-under, but a bogey at the last left him with a 70 for the day.

Bruce Woodall of Yanceyville, NC finished in solo-fifth place after rounds of 70-66-70—206 left him at 10-under par for the week. He earned $4,000 for his efforts.

Woodall, a former University of Virginia golfer, now has three top-5s and four top-10s in this, his first full season as a professional. He is currently ninth on the eGolf Tour money list with $22,645 in earnings.

• The tour would like to thank Willow Creek Country Club director of golf Jim Brotherton and his staff for their outstanding help in conducting this tournament. A great job was done by Willow Creek head golf course superintendent David Johnson and his crew to present a wonderful course, especially the Champion Bermuda greens – which presented some of the best putting surfaces of the year. Last but certainly not least, thank you to the members of Willow Creek Country Club for allowing the tour to have access to their great club for tournament week. Their efforts in volunteering to help with spotting, starting and live scoring certainly made this one of the tour’s best events of the year.

• The eGolf Professional Tour will return to action next week for the inaugural Sedgefield Classic on May 29-31. The event will be contested at Sedgefield Country Club – Dye Course in Greensboro, NC.