Nemanja Savic fired a final-round 71 in the NGA/Hooters Tour Carolina Summer Series event at Charlotte (N.C.) National and held off a hard-charging Jared Wolfe to win his first professional tournament on Thursday.
“This is my first professional victory, and it means so much for my confidence,” said an elated Savic.
Confidence wasn’t something Savic had a lot of entering the event. In his last three starts,Savic had two missed cuts and posted a T65 finish before taking a week off to fine tune his game. The decision proved prudent.
Playing in high winds, Savic, of Belgrade, Serbia, kept his mistakes to a minimum and finished with an even-par 216 total, one shot ahead of Wolfe.
“I knew it was going to be about survival out there, because all three days the wind blew in different directions,” said Savic. “My game plans had to be revamped day to day. But I knew with the difficult conditions that patience would be the key, and it was.”
Savic’s final stroke on No. 18 didn’t hurt matters, either.
Tied for the lead and facing a putt to win his first NGA/Hooters Tour event, Savic calmly rolled in a 20-footer for the victory and a $2,910 payday.
Wolfe, of Louisville, Kentucky, shot a 3-under 69, the low round of the tournament, in Thursday’s final round to move from T8 to solo second. Wolfe finished at 1-over-par 217 for the tournament and took home $1,450.
Anthony Baker, of High Point, N.C., finished third and two shots behind Savic. Baker won $1,100.
Tom Prowse (Melbourne, Australia), Alex Benjamin (Greenville, S.C.) and Brent Martin (La Plata, Md.) all finished tied for fourth at 3-over par.
First-round leader Michael Tulacz, of Connelly, N.Y., slipped to seventh after back-to-back 75s. Zack Amole (Myrtle Beach, S.C.) finished eighth, and Andrew Jenson (Ottawa, Ontario) finished ninth.
The Carolina Summer Series will return to action on April 26 at the Stonebridge GC in Monroe, N.C.
The NGA/Hooters Tour is the No. 1 recommended developmental tour by more PGA and Nationwide Tour Professionals than any other tour in the country.
The NGA/Hooters Tour is the Third Largest Men’s 72 Hole Professional Golf Tour in the United States behind the Nationwide and PGA Tours and has helped hundreds of professionals acquire their PGA, Nationwide, and Champions Tour cards. In fact, NGA/Hooters Tour Alumni have won an incredible Twelve (12) “Major” Championships.
Alumni include Jim Furyk, the 2010 FedExCup winner and PGA Tour Player of the Year; Stewart Cink, the 2009 British Open Champion; Lucas Glover, the 2009 U.S. Open Champion; Zach Johnson, the 2007 Masters Champion; Shaun Micheel, the 2003 PGA Champion; Ben Curtis, winner of the 2003 British Open; Lee Janzen, a two-time US Open winner; John Daly, a British Open and PGA Champion; Tom Lehman, winner of the British Open; David Toms, a past PGA Champion; Chad Campbell, the 2003 Tour Championship winner; Vaughn Taylor, a two-time Reno Tahoe Open winner; Craig Perks, winner of the TPC, and many, many more. At this year’s PGA Tour Qualifying School, 46% of the players that earned full exempt status on the PGA Tour (including 2010 Hooters Tour Player of the Year Michael Thompson) and 52% of the players that earned status on the Nationwide Tour have spent time on the NGA/ Hooters Tor.
Gareth Maybin of Northern Ireland is also a NGA/Hooters graduate finishing in 4th in the 2006 rankings.
