...Carolina Golf News Line Rivertowne Golf Tarheel 2008                          Rivertowne Golf Hole

“ROBINSON COLLECTS ANOTHER TOP-10, AND THE TITLE!” 

Mount Pleasant, S.C. – David Robinson of Sandersville, GA had long been considered one of the most consistent players on the Tarheel Tour – almost to a fault. In 2007, Robinson made 19 of 19 cuts and finished No. 7 on the money list with just over $40,000 in earnings, but no wins. Six top-10 finishes, five of which were top-5s, did little to ease the frustration of the former Georgia State & College star. Making cuts and recording top-10 finishes is nice for some, but Robinson had his eyes on something much bigger, like the winner’s check.

            At the start of Thursday’s final round, Dane Burkhart held a one-shot lead over Scott Weatherly and Stuart Moore; however, the going would prove rough for the final threesome and they would quickly fall back in the pack and out of contention. Robinson, however, played two groups ahead of the leaders and made up ground quickly. A front-nine 34 put Robinson into position with nine holes to play, and he would again have to make up ground as Mike Valicenti, playing in the group in front of him, had already turned in 33 and added a birdie at the short par-4 10th to tie Robinson’s playing partner, Will McGirt, for the lead. Standing on the tee of the par-5 11th, Robinson could hardly know that Valicenti was done making birdies for the day and that McGirt would play the last eight holes in 1-over, but it happened. Robinson birdied the 11th and added one more at the par-5 16th to get to 4-under on the day and 5-under for the tournament, where he would eventually finish. At that point, it was time to wait.

            When the final threesome signed their cards and the scores were final, the man known for always being in the hunt had seized the title at the Rivertowne Open as well as the winner’s check for $18,500.

            “This win means a lot to me. I haven’t won since 2004, but I’ve made about 90 percent of the cuts. I just have not made the clutch putts the last few years, until now,” said Robinson, who was already looking forward to one special phone call.

            “It’s great to be able to tell my wife and daughter that I finally won after all this time.”

            While Valicenti played flawless golf on Thursday with a bogey-free 68, his eight consecutive pars to end the event left him one-shot short of Robinson. Valicenti earned $10,000 for his runner-up finish.

            Longtime Tarheel Tour standout Will McGirt of Boiling Springs, SC finished solo third, thanks in part to a birdie at the arduous par-4 18th. McGirt collected $7,500 for his efforts in addition to his fifth top-3 finish in the last 12 months on the Tarheel Tour.

Rivertowne Golf Club has played the role of cruel mistress through the years on the Tarheel Tour. In fact, Robinson’s winning score of 5-under-par 211 is the lowest winning score in the event’s three-year history. 2007 Nationwide Tour player Dustin Bray captured the inaugural Rivertowne Open with a score of 2-under 214 in 2006, while Jody Bellflower managed to claim the title in 2007 with a score of 3-under 213. Robinson took a lot of pride in taming the difficult Rivertowne layout, but it was beating a field of this strength that really stood out in his mind.

“This is the strongest developmental tour field I have ever seen. To win against a field of this quality makes it that much more special to me.”

            The Tarheel Tour owes a special thanks to Marc Sunshine, Rivertowne’s Director of Golf. Sunshine has consistently gone above and beyond the call of duty for the past three years with the tour, and that is certainly appreciated. Rivertowne’s Head Golf Course Superintendent, Robert Wilson, provided the 144-player field an immaculate course on which to play this week. The tour would like to thank him and his staff for their hard work all week.

The Tarheel Tour will take the next two weeks off before returning to the South Carolina lowcountry for the TPGG Classic at Oldfield Country Club in Bluffton. The TPGG Classic will feature a $250,000 purse with a winner’s share of $40,000, thus making it one of the richest events in all of developmental tour golf. The 54-hole event will begin on Wednesday, March 26th, with the final round taking place on Friday, March 28th.

 Rivertowne Open

Rivertowne Golf Club

Mount Pleasant, S.C.

Final-Round Results

Par-72; 7,272 yards  

1. David  Robinson, Sandersville, GA, $18,500.00, *73-70-68-211 -5
2. Michael Valicenti, West Palm Beach, FL, $10,000.00, *73-71-68-212 -4
3. Will  Mc Girt, Boiling Springs, SC, $7,500.00, *72-71-70-213 -3
4. Cory  Kaufman, Bluffton, SC, $5,100.00, *73-70-71-214 -2
4. Kevin  Kisner, Aiken, SC, $5,100.00, *72-71-71-214 -2
4. Scott Weatherly, Fort Payne, AL, $5,100.00, *70-72-72-214 -2
7. Chris Gallagher, West Chester, PA, $2,866.67, *74-71-70-215 -1
7. Richard  Scott, St Simons Island, GA, $2,866.67, *73-71-71-215 -1
7. Stuart Moore, Gainsville, GA, $2,866.67, *74-68-73-215 -1
10. Daryl Chappell, Southerland, VA, $2,150.00, *74-72-70-216 E
10. Tommy  Biershenk, Boiling Springs, SC, $2,150.00, *72-71-73-216 E
10. Luke List, Reston, VA, $2,150.00, *75-68-73-216 E
10. Dane  Burkhart, Aiken, SC, $2,150.00, *70-71-75-216 E
14. Mark  Petzold, Charlotte, NC, $1,800.00, *76-70-71-217 +1
14. Jay  McLuen, Athens, GA, $1,800.00, *74-74-69-217 +1
14. Scott Brown, North Augusta, SC, $1,800.00, *72-73-72-217 +1
14. Cameron Yancey, Blackstone, VA, $1,800.00, *71-74-72-217 +1
14. Brendon De Jonge, Charlotte, NC, $1,800.00, *72-72-73-217 +1
19. Kenny Coakley, Bluffton, SC, $1,600.00, *77-69-72-218 +2
19. Bryan Bigley, Charlotte, NC, $1,600.00, *73-74-71-218 +2
19. Elliot Gealy, Sanford, FL, $1,600.00, *75-71-72-218 +2
19. Kevin Vollmer, Rockville, MD, $1,600.00, *73-72-73-218 +2
19. Kyle Bradley , North Augusta, SC, $1,600.00, *75-73-70-218 +2
24. Adam Hart, Blythewood, SC, $1,475.00, *73-75-71-219 +3
24. Matt Hendrix, Reston, VA, $1,475.00, *75-73-71-219 +3
24. Jonathan  Moore, Reston, VA, $1,475.00, *76-73-70-219 +3
24. David  Thomas, Tampa, FL, $1,475.00, *71-73-75-219 +3
24. Brian Duncan, Mt. Pleasant, SC, $1,475.00, *74-70-75-219 +3
29. Alex  Hamilton, Aiken, SC, $1,350.00, *78-68-74-220 +4
29. Gregg Jones, Florence, SC, $1,350.00, *76-70-74-220 +4
29. Chad Wilfong, Thomasville, NC, $1,350.00, *77-69-74-220 +4
29. Fernando Mechereffe, Charlotte, NC, $1,350.00, *77-71-72-220 +4
29. Chris  Yoder, Winston-Salem, NC, $1,350.00, *72-72-76-220 +4
34. George Murray, Scotland, $1,250.00, *74-72-75-221 +5
34. Ben  Duncan, Greenville, SC, $1,250.00, *74-72-75-221 +5
34. Bryant Odom, St Simons Island, GA, $1,250.00, *73-74-74-221 +5
37. Bruce McDonald, Mt Pleasant, SC, $1,175.00, *78-70-74-222 +6
37. Frank Adams III, Laurinburg, NC, $1,175.00, *74-72-76-222 +6
37. B.J Pitzen, Lakeland, FL, $1,175.00, *76-69-77-222 +6
40. Ramon Bescansa, Jacksonville, FL, $1,112.50, *73-76-74-223 +7
40. Brendon Todd, Atlanta, GA, $1,112.50, *74-75-74-223 +7
42. Jonathan Jackson, Chapel Hill, NC, $1,062.50, *75-74-75-224 +8
42. John Mc Allister, Spartanburg, SC, $1,062.50, *76-73-75-224 +8
44. Chris  Taylor, Bristol, TN, $1,003.33, *74-73-78-225 +9
44. Jimmy Shaw, Oklahoma City, OK, $1,003.33, *74-75-76-225 +9
44. Juan Lizarralde, Uruguay, $1,003.33, *79-70-76-225 +9
47. John  Duta, Loganville, GA, $960.00, *78-70-78-226 +10
48. Courtney Brisson, Wallace, NC, $945.00, *75-74-78-227 +11
49. Mark  Evans, Massillon, OH, $925.00, *75-74-79-228 +12