Sapona Country Club Open 2009 won by David Lutterus

...Carolina Golf News Line

LUTTERUS USES DOWNTIME TO TURN FRUSTRATION INTO VICTORY

Lexington, NC – David Lutterus burst onto the professional golf scene in his native Australia in early 2007 with the overnight lead in the Nationwide Tour’s Jacob’s Creek Open Championship and instantly was cast as the next great Aussie star. From there, it was on to the Nationwide Tour full time and through PGA TOUR Q-School later that fall. The world was arguably his oyster. While at times showing the brilliance that made him the talk of his homeland, Lutterus often struggled on TOUR and wound up back at Q-School in 2008, missing final stage by a mere two shots. At that point it was rock bottom for the 6’5” free spirit. A winter spent hanging with friends and, in his own words, “partying too much,” left a big question mark in 2009. Apparently it’s time to consider the question answered as the imposing talent left few doubters standing this week with his first professional win at the Bolle Classic.

Lutterus, who began the final round tied for the lead with Matt Davidson of Chapel Hill, NC, found himself tied with Dustin Bray and trailing Davidson by a shot after nine holes on Friday. Just as soon as Davidson took the lead, he lost it with a bogey at the par-4 11^th that quickly got magnified by matching birdies from Lutterus and Bray at the par-4 12^th. While Bray and Davidson failed to convert on birdie attempts over the next few holes, Lutterus did not let up. Birdies at the par-4 14^th and the uphill par-5 15^th finally put him in the lead by two shots and hanging on to a nice cushion with three holes to play.

“On 15, I came out of my second shot and left a tough bunker shot,” said Lutterus. “But I made the 20-foot birdie putt and that was a big, big birdie. That kicked me forward.”

With three holes to play, Lutterus matched pars with Davidson and Bray on 16 and 17 to maintain his two-shot advantage. In the penultimate group, Bray managed to two putt for birdie at the par-5 18^th to finish at 14-under 199, reducing Lutterus’ lead to just one shot.

The laid-back Australian, easily noticed by his blonde hair and brown beard, chipped onto the 18^th green in three and managed to coax a 4-foot birdie try to mere inches, leaving himself a tap in for the win.

For Lutterus, the real victory this week was being able to finally believe in himself again.

“If you would have spoken to me three months ago, I just really wasn’t into the game. I lost a bit of confidence last year,” said Lutterus, referring to his year on the PGA TOUR. “I gained a lot of experience, but lost a lot of confidence.”

Lutterus experienced the common letdown of going from the big tour to the developmental tours and how frustrating it can be when looking down the long road back.

“My attitude was terrible three or four months ago, but I had some people say to me, ‘Look, you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do to get back out there.’ So I came with a good attitude this week and it paid off.”

With the win, Lutterus earned $30,000 and moved up to No. 7 on the 2009 money list with only three starts under his belt. More importantly, the former can’t-miss kid found out that he still has it under pressure, even if that situation failed to present itself last year.

“I haven’t been in this position for a while. Even on that last hole, I knew I could make par and win, but I was still feeling it on that putt,” said Lutterus, who clearly was taking a three-putt out of play with his cautious birdie effort at the last.

For Bray, the runner-up finish marked a second consecutive week of solid play following at T5 effort at the Nationwide Tour’s BMW Charity Pro-Am last week. After the long week of pro-am play, Bray played a U.S. Open qualifier on Monday and took Tuesday off, in turn forgoing any formal practice round for the Bolle Classic.

“I told my caddy early in the week, ‘Worst case scenario, when you don’t know where any of the trouble is, you’re not really scared of anything,” said Bray in reference to the Country Club of Salisbury, which co-hosted the event with Sapona.

Bray was one of a handful of players who came to this week’s event straight from the BMW Charity Pro-Am. The former UNC Tar Heel “All-American” saw no reason to rest the hot hand.

“With conditional status (on the Nationwide Tour) it’s tough because you don’t know when you’re playing. This is only my fifth event this year and I just wanted to keep playing,” said Bray, who played the last 45 holes of the event without a single bogey on his card.

Davidson and Fabian Gomez of Argentina finished T3 and earned $12,000 each for the week. Gomez, much like Bray, opted to keep playing after a good finish on the Nationwide Tour last week. The 30-year-old lost in a playoff to Michael Sim in Greenville and clearly didn’t miss a beat this week with rounds of 68-66-66—200.

Past champion Richard Hanna and Jess Daley tied for fifth at 12-under 201.

While the road may have seemed easy from the top of the mountain for Lutterus, it appears as if he finally has a map and some confidence to climb back up.

“I’m just going to keep playing these tournaments and doing some Monday qualifiers. This tour is great to fall back on. I think it is easily the best mini-tour.”

Lutterus turned many heads on the PGA TOUR when he listed Arnold Schwarzenegger, Dr. Dre and Kobe Bryant as his heroes. It now seems as though he may be turning heads for reasons not related to basketball, rap and “The Terminator” – his golf game.

A special thanks goes to Sapona Head Golf Professional Marshall Stott, Salisbury Head Golf Professional Randy Padavick, and their respective staffs for coordinating this event and hosting the tour and our players for the week. Players raved about both courses this week, and that is the result of countless hours of work by the host superintendents and their crews. Thank you to Sapona Head Golf Course Superintendent Keith McKenzie and Salisbury Head Golf Course Superintendent Ron Bivins for their efforts in presenting two fantastic courses.

The tour will take next week off before heading to Richmond, VA for the inaugural Greater Richmond Open at the Country Club of Petersburg and Royal New Kent Golf Club. The event will take place on June 3-5 and will feature a $220,000 purse with a winner’s share of $30,000.

Bolle Classic

Sapona Country Club

Par 71; 6,620 yards

Country Club of Salisbury

Par 71; 6,665 yards

Final-Round Results

1. David Lutterus, Australia, $30,000.00, *66-65-67-198 -15

2. Dustin Bray, Charlotte, NC, $19,000.00, *68-65-66-199 -14

3. Fabian Gomez, Buenos Aires, Argentina, $12,000.00, *68-66-66-200 -13

3. Matt Davidson, Chapel Hill, NC, $12,000.00, *65-66-69-200 -13

5. Richard  Hanna, Charlottsville, VA, $7,800.00, *68-67-66-201 -12

5. Jess Daley, Palm Beach Gardens, FL, $7,800.00, *67-66-68-201 -12

7. Stephen  Poole, Aiken, SC, $5,800.00, *67-69-66-202 -11

7. Keven Fortin-Simard, Quebec, QC, $5,800.00, *68-65-69-202 -11

9. Clint Jensen, Jupiter, FL, $4,150.00, *67-67-69-203 -10

9. Jake Grodzinsky, Phoenix, AZ, $4,150.00, *65-67-71-203 -10

11. Kevin  Chappell, Fresno, CA, $3,240.00, *72-65-67-204 -9

11. Aaron Goldberg, Carlsbad, CA, $3,240.00, *70-66-68-204 -9

11. Jason Kokrak, Bradenton Beach, FL, $3,240.00, *65-70-69-204 -9

11. Josh McCumber, Tampa, FL, $3,240.00, *69-65-70-204 -9

11. John Eades, Charlotte, NC, $3,240.00, *65-68-71-204 -9

16. Derek Watson, Murrells Inlet, SC, $2,368.18, *69-68-68-205 -8

16. Cameron Yancey, Blackstone, VA, $2,368.18, *70-67-68-205 -8

16. Bobby MacWhinnie, Charlotte, NC, $2,368.18, *68-69-68-205 -8

16. Scott Weatherly, Fort Payne, AL, $2,368.18, *65-72-68-205 -8

16. Brian Unk, Lewis Center, OH, $2,368.18, *71-68-66-205 -8

16. Jonathan  Moore, Vancouver, WA, $2,368.18, *70-67-68-205 -8

16. Ryan Dillon, Desert Hills, AZ, $2,368.18, *67-70-68-205 -8

16. Chad Wilfong, Thomasville, NC, $2,368.18, *70-66-69-205 -8

16. Frank Adams III, Salisbury, NC, $2,368.18, *65-71-69-205 -8

16. Gregg Jones, Florence, SC, $2,368.18, *67-67-71-205 -8

16. Jonathan Fricke, Covington, GA, $2,368.18, *68-66-71-205 -8

27. Jeff Burns, San Antonio, TX, $1,966.67, *69-69-68-206 -7

27. Drew Bowen, Monroe, GA, $1,966.67, *68-69-69-206 -7

27. Fernando Figueroa, Chapel Hill, NC, $1,966.67, *70-63-73-206 -7

30. Sang Ji, Murrieta, $1,728.57, *70-68-69-207 -6

30. Kevin Silva, Charlotte, NC, $1,728.57, *71-68-68-207 -6

30. Daniel Creel, Florence, AL, $1,728.57, *70-69-68-207 -6

30. Jeffrey Hill, Ocala, FL, $1,728.57, *67-70-70-207 -6

30. Jon Kennedy, Hawkinsville, GA, $1,728.57, *70-70-67-207 -6

30. Jamie Bowen, Dawsonville, GA, $1,728.57, *71-65-71-207 -6

30. Andy Crain, Goldsboro, NC, $1,728.57, *68-66-73-207 -6

37. John Saari, Lilburn, GA, $1,542.00, *69-68-71-208 -5

37. Will  McGirt, Boiling Springs, SC, $1,542.00, *69-71-68-208 -5

37. Rob Johnson, Orlando, FL, $1,542.00, *69-71-68-208 -5

37. Jay Woodson, Richmond, VA, $1,542.00, *66-70-72-208 -5

37. Adam  Gary, Bowling Green, KY, $1,542.00, *71-70-67-208 -5

42. Jay Haas, Greenville, SC, $1,297.78, *72-66-71-209 -4

42. David  Sanchez, Pinehurst, NC, $1,297.78, *70-69-70-209 -4

42. Ryan Cobb, Vero Beach, FL, $1,297.78, *70-69-70-209 -4

42. Brent Delahoussaye, Greenville, SC, $1,297.78, *71-68-70-209 -4

42. Billy Whalen, Nashville, TN, $1,297.78, *68-71-70-209 -4

42. Kyle Dobbs, Tequesta, FL, $1,297.78, *69-71-69-209 -4

42. Will Claxton, Auburn, AL, $1,297.78, *72-68-69-209 -4

42. Ben Fox, Sherman Oaks, CA, $1,297.78, *67-68-74-209 -4

42. Raymond Franz, Mt. Pleasant, SC, $1,297.78, *65-67-77-209 -4

51. Wes Stonestreet, Frisco, TX, $1,162.86, *72-66-72-210 -3

51. Cortland Lowe, Charlotte, NC, $1,162.86, *72-67-71-210 -3

51. Brad Klapprott, Lakeland, FL, $1,162.86, *70-70-70-210 -3

51. Jay  McLuen, Athens, GA, $1,162.86, *75-65-70-210 -3

51. Marc Matalavage, Wilmington, NC, $1,162.86, *70-65-75-210 -3

51. Jimmy Lytle, Ocean Ridge, FL, $1,162.86, *73-68-69-210 -3

51. Cory Schneider, Powells Point, NC, $1,162.86, *72-69-69-210 -3

58. Brad Helton, Mount Juliet, TN, $1,075.45, *69-68-74-211 -2

58. Stuart Moore, Gainseville, GA, $1,075.45, *72-67-72-211 -2

58. Nicholas MacDonald, Blacksburg, VA, $1,075.45, *69-70-72-211 -2

58. Jerry  Richardson, Raleigh, NC, $1,075.45, *70-69-72-211 -2

58. Kyle Bradley , N. Augusta, S.C., $1,075.45, *70-67-74-211 -2

58. Richard Scott, St. Simons Island, GA, $1,075.45, *71-68-72-211 -2

58. Travis Perkins, Lakeland, FL, $1,075.45, *71-68-72-211 -2

58. Bryan  Jones, Atlanta, GA, $1,075.45, *68-72-71-211 -2

58. Alva Wendland, Cary, NC, $1,075.45, *69-71-71-211 -2

58. Chris Gallagher, Charlotte, NC, $1,075.45, *72-69-70-211 -2

58. Tim Schaetzel, Atlanta, GA, $1,075.45, *68-73-70-211 -2

69. Joey Lamielle, Sarasota, FL, $994.00, *69-69-74-212 -1

69. Beau Mitchell, Clermont, FL, $994.00, *69-68-75-212 -1

69. Nick Cowper, Atlanta, GA, $994.00, *70-70-72-212 -1

69. James Vargas, Miami, FL, $994.00, *70-70-72-212 -1

69. Scott Usher, Johns Island, SC, $994.00, *68-73-71-212 -1

74. Joel Hendry, South Carolina, $930.00, *71-70-72-213 E

74. Jhared Hack, Sanford, FL, $930.00, *69-72-72-213 E

76. Lee Stroever, Jupiter, FL, $871.67, *69-70-75-214 +1

76. Ted  Brown, Richmond, VA, $871.67, *73-67-74-214 +1

76. Chris  Yoder, Winston-Salem, NC, $871.67, *70-71-73-214 +1

79. Blaine Rogers, Simpsonville, SC, $830.00, *74-67-74-215 +2

80. Tim Martin, Charlotte, NC, $815.00, *72-69-76-217 +4

81. Brian Duncan, Mount Pleasant, SC, $800.00, *73-68-80-221 +8