By Mike Blum

Coming into the Tour Championship at East Lake, Tiger Woods is No. 1 on the FedExCup points list, No. 1 on the PGA Tour money list, No. 1 in scoring average and is coming off his sixth win of the season in the BMW Championship.

The last time Woods stepped foot on the grounds at East Lake, he obliterated both the field and East Lake’s storied layout, posting a record-setting score of 23-under 257 to win by a record-setting eight strokes.

No doubt Tiger’s going to win at East Lake and add the $10 million bonus for winning the FedExCup for the second time in three years.

Maybe not.

Of Tiger’s six wins this year, all have come in events that essentially served as tune-ups for him, with most of them coming on courses on which he has enjoyed tremendous success during his career.

Two weeks before the Masters, Woods won at Bay Hill for the sixth time. Two weeks before the U.S. Open, he won the Memorial for the fourth time. Two weeks before the British Open, he won at Congressional in a tournament in which he plays a large role in conducting.

Woods won his third Buick Open title in that event’s swan song two weeks before the PGA Championship, and won again the next week in the WGC event at Firestone, his seventh victory in that tournament at that site.

Although he contended in three of this year’s four major championships, Woods was shut out in them for the first time since 2004. He has enjoyed a tremendous season in every respect except winning a major, and a victory in the Tour Championship, which would also mean a FedExCup title, would ensure Player of the Year honors.

But the Tour Championship will be played two weeks after his runaway win at Cog Hill, where he won for the fifth time on its renovated layout. And Tiger’s record two weeks after winning a tour event this season is not what most would expect, especially considering what championships were played two weeks after Woods seemed to have his game in top form.

Clearly, Woods is at the top of his game and will be playing a course he carved up the last time he was in Atlanta. But the East Lake course he will play this time around is not the one he had for breakfast two years ago.

Woods shot 64-63-64-66—257 in 2007, finishing eight strokes ahead of his closest competitors. East Lake’s greens, which were not in peak condition due to damage from a difficult summer, were softer and slower than usual, and the entire field feasted on the ideal scoring conditions.

Of the 30 players in the field, 25 broke par. Had three players not mailed it in the final day, that number would have been 28. Last place was 2-over par for 72 holes.

After the problem with the putting surfaces, the decision was made to convert East Lake’s bent grass greens to a more heat tolerant Bermuda grass that offers comparable putting conditions to bent, but provides a firmer surface that is not as accommodating to approach shots.

The result: The winning score was 7-under, not 23-under. Only five players broke par for 72 holes, not 25. A 2-over 282 total, which tied for last in 2007, tied for 10^th last year.

Woods was not among the 30 players who teed it up at East Lake in ’08 due to knee surgery that sidelined him for the entire second half of the season and the early stages of 2009.

This will be his first look at a slightly revised East Lake layout that has also added 150 yards since Tiger’s last appearance in the Tour Championship.

During his career, Woods has established a few tendencies regarding his mounting victory total (71 after his most recent triumph at Cog Hill). There are certain courses where he wins more often than not, beginning with Firestone and Torrey Pines (seven times each), and including Bay Hill, Cog Hill, Muirfield Village, Doral, Medinah and St. Andrews.

There are some courses which have managed to resist Tiger’s advances, most notably TPC Sawgrass and Riviera, with the latter frustrating him to the extent that he no longer plays in what amounts to the area where he grew up.

Until 2007, East Lake fell in the Riviera/Sawgrass category.

In Woods’ first start at East Lake, he was dead last after 36 holes before a pair of 69s on the weekend lifted him to a 20^th place finish. You can count on the fingers of one hand the times Tiger has let a 54-hole lead or share of the lead slip through his fingers, but two of those occurred at East Lake.

In 2004, Retief Goosen went from four behind Tiger after 54 holes to four ahead at the finish, shooting 64 the final day while Woods could do no better than 72. Four years before that, Woods was leading after 54 holes, but Phil Mickelson threw a Sunday 66 at him and Tiger had no answer.

Woods responded as you would expect him to the next time he was in that position at East Lake, but that was on a course that was almost totally defenseless. Which brings us to that other tendency of Tiger’s triumphs.

During his career, Woods has tended to win more frequently when his score is significantly under par. That’s been the case in the vast majority of his 14 major championship victories (the U.S. Open the obvious exception), and helps explain his struggles in the Players Championship.

East Lake will not be as firm or as fast as it was last year due to recent heavy rain, and will likely not play as difficult as in ’08. But it is extremely unlikely that the winning score will approach 23-under again, although if anyone is going to reach that figure, Woods is the most likely suspect.

Woods heads up the field for the Tour Championship, which will include only eight players who competed at East Lake last year. Mickelson, Jim Furyk and Steve Stricker top that list, along with Kenny Perry, Ernie Els, Mike Weir, Hunter Mahan and Stewart Cink, one of two locals among the 30 entrants.

Among the missing are defending champion Camilo Villegas; 2002 winner and ’08 FedExCup champ Vijay Singh; Sergio Garcia, who lost in a playoff last year to Villegas; and Anthony Kim, who finished one shot out of the playoff.

But all four major champions are present, unlike last year when Woods was hurt and Padraig Harrington somehow failed to qualify despite winning the British Open and PGA.

There are some surprise names, most notably Jason Dufner and rookie Marc Leishman, who played their way into the field with strong showings in the Playoffs. They are among 10 Tour Championship rookies, major champions Angel Cabrera and Y.E. Yang among them. Other first timers are Brian Gay, Dustin Johnson, Steve Marino, Kevin Na, John Senden and Nick Watney

Alpharetta resident Heath Slocum made the biggest jump of the 125 players who qualified for the Playoffs, leaping from 124^th to 3^rd after his win in the Barclays Championship. Slocum is fifth on the points list coming into the Tour Championship, with the top five assured of winning the FedExCup with a victory at East Lake.

This will be Slocum’s second start in the Tour Championship, with Cink making his sixth appearance on a course he has yet to solve. He has never finished in the top 10 at East Lake, and has been better than 18^th just once.

The most likely challenger to Woods would appear to be Furyk, who is third in the standings despite not winning this year. Furyk has been a frequent presence near the top of leader boards, and has second and third place finishes at East Lake on his resume, stamping him as a likely contender, especially if wet rough places even more of a premium on driving accuracy.

Zach Johnson was second behind Woods in ’07, highlighted by a 60 in the third round, and has played well of late. So has Stricker, whose recent record at East Lake is less than impressive.

Most of the other prominent names in the field either aren’t in top form, don’t have a great track record at East Lake or both. Among those who have at least a brief history of success on the course are 2004 champion Goosen, and fellow veterans Scott Verplank and Jerry Kelly, who hasn’t qualified since 2004.

Last year’s tournament was one of the most exciting among the nine that have been played at East Lake, with three of golf’s brightest young stars battling to the final hole along with Mickelson, the only player to break par last year who qualified this time around.

Mickelson has a great history of success in Atlanta, dating back to his days as a junior, but has shown no signs since the U.S. Open that his game is close to a level that would enable him to contend for victory against a world class field.

Rounding out the field are Luke Donald, Lucas Glover, Geoff Ogilvy, Sean O’Hair and David Toms, with just about any of them a legitimate darkhorse contender.

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The Georgia and Georgia Tech golf teams will have three players on the Walker Cup team, which competes Sept. 12-13 at Merion GC outside Philadelphia. Savannah’s Brian Harman and Adam Mitchell recently completed their college careers at Georgia, with Cameron Tringale a 2009 Georgia Tech grad.

U.S. AMATEUR: Harman and Tringale both reached match play in the recent U.S. Amateur at Southern Hills in Tulsa. Harman lost his first round match on the 19^th hole, while Tringale advanced to the third round.

James White of Acworth, a member of the Georgia Tech golf team, and Michael Green of Augusta, who has completed his college career at Georgia, were both involved in a 27-man playoff for the final four spots in match play, along with Cameron Hooper of Greensboro. None were among the four players who earned spots in the match play field.

U.S. WOMEN’S AMATEUR: Two Georgians advanced to match play in the U.S. Women’s Amateur in St. Louis. Both Dori Carter of Valdosta, who has wrapped her college career at Mississippi, and Emilie Burger of Hoschton, a freshman on the Georgia golf team, both lost in the first round. Also qualifying but failing to reach match play were Augusta’s Laura Coble and Anna Leigh Keith of Moultrie.

Jimmy Thomas of Johns Creek won the GSGA Senior Championship at Green Island in Columbus. scoring a birdie on the final hole to break with four-time tournament champion Spencer Sappington of Milton.

Thomas had only recently returned to the golf course after undergoing surgery and chemotherapy for neck cancer, with the victory his first in a GSGA event. He shot 72 the final day for a 1-over 214 total, with Sappington second at 215 after closing with

a 75.

Atlanta’s Jerry Greenbaum, who shot 69 to share the opening round lead with Sappington, shot 75 the final day to tie for third at 217 with Bobby Brent of Columbus. Bill Leonard of Kennesaw, Bill Newsome of Clarkesville and Larry Clark of Kingston were fifth at 218.

Several players had at least a share of the lead at one point in the final round, with Thomas holing a putt for birdie from the fringe on the 18^th hole while Sappington made bogey.

Fresh off his win in the Georgia Open, Roberto Castro scored his second victory of the season on the eGolf Professional Tour (formerly Tar Heel Tour) at the Club at Savannah Harbor.

Castro, an Alpharetta resident and recent standout at Georgia Tech, shot 65-66-69-69—269, 19-under on the outstanding Bob Cupp design, which is the host of the Champions Tour Legends of Golf. Castro led the event from the opening round, notching his win with a steady final round, while his two main pursuers both suffered late bogeys to drop out of a share of the lead.

The $40,000 winner’s check boosted Castro’s earnings for the year to $108,400 and then top spot on the eGolf tour money list. The week after winning the Georgia Open at Barnsley Gardens, Castro tied for fourth in an eGolf event, highlighted by a course record 62 in the second round at River Run in Davidson, N.C.

Hooters Tour at Southern Hills: Southern Hills in Hawkinsville hosted a recent Hooters Tour tournament, with former Alabama golfer Chip Deason shooting 28-under 260 to win by two strokes.

Deason, a Lexington, S.C. resident, shot 64-63-64-69, with his only bogey of the tournament coming on the 71^st hole. Matt Hughes of Dalton, also a former member of the Alabama golf team, tied for 13^th at 272, with Hawkinsville’s Jon Kennedy closing with a 64, the low score of the final round, to tie for 24^th at 274.

Wyatt Detmer of Orchard Hills won the Georgia PGA Senior Division Championship at Jekyll Island GC, finishing one stroke ahead of Gregg Wolff of Willow Lake. Detmer shot 69-71-140, with Wolff second at 71-70—141.

Pete Webster was third overall and low amateur at 143, with Craig Hartle (Echelon Club), DeWitt Weaver (Legends at Chateau Elan) and Bob Windom (Sunset CC) next at 144. Windom shot 67 to lead after the first round, with Weaver tied for second at 69.

Tying for seventh at 145 were Lonnie Reece of Spring Lakes, Steve Barfoot of Arrowhead Pointe, Mike Schlueter of West Pines and Chuck Little.

David Potts of Country Club of the South won the Georgia PGA Callaway Golf Assistant Professional Championship at White Columns, posting a 6-under 138 total to win by two strokes.

Potts, who took home first place money of $1,600, had rounds of 68 and 70 to edge out runner-up Chris Nicol of Towne Lake Hills, who shot 71-69—140. Defending champion Greg Lee of Chicopee Woods tied for third at 141 and earned the Section’s third spot in the PGA Assistant Professional Championship in a playoff.

Lee, who shot 69 the first day, won in a playoff over Jason Smith of Berkeley Hills and Bill Murchison of Towne Lake Hills, who shared the opening round lead with Potts at 68. Tim Weinhart of St. Marlo was sixth at 142, followed by Dano Korytoski (Orchard Hills), Michael Parrott (Brookfield CC), Kevin Gibbs (Oak Mountain) and Brandon Lovelady (Flat Creek) at 143.

Potts, Nicol and Lee will represent the Georgia Section in the national assistants’ championship, which will be played Oct. 1-4 at PGA Golf Club in Port St. Lucie, Fla.

By Mike Blum

Barnsley Gardens, which has hosted the 2008 and 2009 Your Community PhoneBook Georgia Open, is among the state’s best courses and also one of the most challenging.

The Jim Fazio-designed layout is rated at 74.8 from the back tees, but with a relatively short and tame group of par 5s and a handful of short-ish par 4s, does offer plenty of scoring opportunities, especially to players able to take advantage of the absence of serious length on those holes,

In the final round of the ’09 Georgia Open, former Georgia Tech standout Roberto Castro fully capitalized on the most vulnerable holes at Barnsley Gardens, scoring birdies on all four par 5s and three of the four par 4s that play under 400 yards.

The result was a final round 66 and a come-from-behind victory for Castro, who won for the first time in a state-wide event. Castro finished with a 7-under 281 total, two strokes ahead of runner-up Drew Bowen, who held the lead for much of the day before a pair of late bogeys.

“It feels good, really good,” Castro said after his victory. “I’ve been playing in Georgia my whole life and it’s nice to finally get my name on a Georgia trophy.”

Castro, an Alpharetta resident who played his high school golf at Milton before enjoying an outstanding career at Georgia Tech, has been a professional for two years. He will be looking to use his Georgia Open victory as a springboard to move up golf’s professional ladder, much as fellow Atlanta area resident Justin Bolli did when he won the event at Settindown Creek in 2003.

Bolli went on to reach the finals of PGA Tour qualifying that year to earn a spot on the 2004 Nationwide Tour, and has been a successful competitor on that tour since, along with playing two years on the PGA Tour.

Castro, who already has three wins on the eGolf/Tar Heel Tour since turning pro a little over two years ago, contended in the Georgia Open the last two years, placing a fast-finishing sixth at Champions Retreat in 2007 and second at Barnsley Gardens last year.

Your Community PhoneBook, which has sponsored the Georgia Open for six years, also sponsors Castro on tour, making it a good week all around for both parties.

Things did not get off to such a great start for Castro, who was eight strokes off the lead after opening with a 74. But the early leaders backed up to the field in the second round, leaving Castro only four off the pace midway through the tournament after a 71.

Other than an eagle on the par-5 12^th, Castro did not make much of a move in the third round, but his 70 kept him within three of the lead in a tie for ninth heading to the final day.

Castro, who was an academic standout at Georgia Tech along with his success on the golf course (two-time first-team All-American), knew what he needed to do in the final round.

“One, two and four are birdie holes and I knew I needed to make at least two birdies on the first four holes.”

Despite a bogey at the third, the first of Barnsley Gardens’ group of world class and extremely challenging group of par 3s, Castro reached his goal. He birdied the first two holes to get off to a fast start, and added another birdie on the par-5 fourth with a deft pitch to a pin position that gave a lot of players trouble the final day.

Castro parred his way to the ninth hole, where the second stretch of inviting holes at Barnsley begins.

“When I drove up to the ninth, I knew I needed to birdie two of the next four at least,” he said, with the hope of doing even better on the three par 5s in that stretch.

Although he was unable to hit his second shot on the green at the par-5 ninth (playing partner Jeff Hull had his second horseshoe around the cup for what would have been a double eagle), he pitched to within a foot for an easy birdie to move within one stroke of the lead.

On the dogleg left 10^th, the longest and most difficult of the par 5s to reach in two, Castro hit what he said was “the best shot I hit all day. I had 255 to the flag and there’s trouble over the green. I smoked a 5-wood right at it in the middle of the green.”

The two-putt birdie moved Castro into a tie for the lead with Bowen, who reclaimed sole possession of first place when he birdied the ninth. Castro had to lay up at the 12^th (Matt Peterson, his other playing partner, eagled the hole), but wedged into the 10-to-12-foot range for a birdie that again pulled him even with Bowen, who also birdied the 12^th to reclaim first outright.

The birdie at 12 gave Castro birdies on all four of the par 5s, and he finished the week 11-under on them. He was 7-over on the par 3s without a birdie, but almost made one at 14, which he had bogeyed each of the previous three days.

Castro mixed in a few clutch par saves the final day as well, one at the short but testy fifth, the other at the 11^th. Those pars kept Castro in the hunt, while most of a large group of contenders early in the round began to drop back as the day went on.

Third round leader Stuart Moore of Gainesville, managed just two birdies the final day, none after the 10^th hole, and tied for fifth at 283 after a 73.

Defending champion Bryant Odom of nearby Cartersville briefly held a share of the lead with Bowen on the front nine, but had just one birdie after the fifth hole and tied for third at 284 after a 71, narrowly missing several birdie opportunities on the back nine.

Steve Gilley of Newnan made a move with birdies at 12 and 13 to challenge the lead, but after avoiding bogeys to that point, made three on the last six holes and tied for seventh at 286 after a 71.

Travis Nance threatened to make it two straight winners from Cartersville after consecutive birdies at 9, 10 and 11 got him a share of the lead. But he was unable to birdie 12 and bogeyed both par 3s coming in for a 70 and a tie with Odom for third at 284.

Bowen, a Monroe resident, fell back into a tie with Castro when he came up short at the par-3 14^th and fluffed his pitch shot from the rough,. He almost holed his chip for par, but the bogey left him and Castro at 6-under, with Odom and Nance both one back. A three-putt bogey at 17 ended Bowen’s chances, and gave him a 69 and 5-under 283 total.

The lone late opportunity for birdie was the 16^th, with the tees moved up some 85 yards to make the hole drivable at well under 300 yards. While one group played the hole in eagle-eagle-birdie, most of the leaders struggled on 16.

Except Castro.

He hit a 3-wood the 285-yard hole into the bank short and left of the green and hit a delicate lob shot to within 8 feet for his seventh birdie of the day. None of the other challengers could get close to the dicey pin position, and with solid pars on the final two holes, Castro had his victory and the winner’s check of $10,500.

It was Castro’s fourth win as a pro, the other three coming on the eGolf/Tar Heel Tour, including a recent one in Virginia in which he took home first place money of $50,000.

Castro says that win, with its hefty paycheck, “has freed me up to do what I want the rest of the year.”

That means giving him the opportunity to fly around the country to compete in Monday qualifiers for the Nationwide Tour. He has made it into three this year, but has yet to make a cut. After playing poorly in Valdosta, he shot under par for 36 holes in Knoxville and Omaha, but a few mistakes here and there kept him from getting to the weekend.

Castro says he is encouraged that he came close the last two times despite “some bad stretches of golf where I did some ridiculous things.”

With eight birdies and an eagle over two days in Omaha, Castro believes he has the game to play at the next level, and is looking for his next shot in Q-school later this year. Castro made it to second stage in his first attempt in 2007, but one bad hole in his final round killed his hopes of advancing to the finals. Last year, he did not make it past first stage, struggling down the stretch of his final round to miss by two shots.

Castro says he plans to reduce his playing schedule a bit prior to Q-school in hopes of being a little fresher than he was the last two years. He would have liked to have played better in his first two trips to Q-school, but overall is not displeased with where he is two years into his professional career.

“I didn’t know what to expect when I turned pro. Everybody has a different path. Some guys get out there to the Tour right away, but then they struggle. Others take their time getting to where they want to be.

“It’s definitely different than college. You’ve just got to play every day and get better. I think I’ve got the game to play out there.”

Castro displayed that game in the Georgia Open, even though he wasn’t much of a factor in the tournament until the final round.

Georgia PGA member Clark Spratlin of the soon-to-open Blue Ridge River and Golf Club held the first round lead with a 66, one stroke ahead of Moore and Peterson, the head professional at the University of Georgia course who won the tournament as a young tour pro in 1993. Spratlin played the par 5s in 5-under on the day.

The only other player to break 70 was Hull, the 2007 Georgia Open champion who is an instructor at the UGA course. Hull was 7-under after 15 holes, but a triple bogey at the 17^th and a bogey at 18 left him with a somewhat disappointing 69.

With birdies on all four par 5s, Hull shot 72 the second day for a 3-under 141 total and a tie for first with Moore, Josh Bunch of Murrayville and Mark Strickland of Woodstock, one of the state’s top mid-amateurs.

Moore fell back with a 74 the second day, which was better than the scores of Spratlin (76) and Peterson (76), who struggled after their excellent opening rounds. Bunch and Strickland both shot 70. Spratlin was one off the lead along with Cherokee CC assistant Chip Zimmerman, Jon Kennedy of Hawkinsville and Marietta mid-amateur Jeff Belk. Zimmerman birdied three of his last four holes for a 69, one of the better rounds of the day.

The top of the leader board remained bunched up after 54 holes, with Moore finishing with birdies at 16 and 18 for a 71 and a 1-stroke lead at 212. Odom shot 69 to tie for second at 213 with Bunch and amateurs Strickland and Belk. Strickland was 3-under for the day and the tournament leader at 6-under before taking triple bogey at 15.

Bowen’s 68 was the low round of the day, and moved him into a tie for sixth at 214 with Nance, who carded a 69, and 2004 Georgia Open winner Tim Weinhart, playing the week before his PGA Championship appearance at Hazeltine.

Castro was next at 214 along with Gilley, Peterson and Hull. Peterson and Hull were both 4-under for the tournament during their rounds, with Peterson failing to capitalize on a fast start and Hull playing his last four holes in 3-over, including a double bogey at the troublesome 17^th.

Moving into the top 10 the final day were Cobblestone instructor Craig Stevens and Don Wright of Douglasville. Stevens shot 69 to tie for fifth at 285, highlighted by an eagle at the 16^th. Wright also shot 69 and tied for seventh at 286 with Gilley, Peterson and Bunch.

Towne Lake Hills assistant Chris Nicol shot 68 to tie for 11^th at 287, playing his front nine in 31 including a chip-in eagle at the fourth. Hull also tied for 11^th, along with amateurs Belk, Strickland and David Noll of Dalton, who closed with a 68.

The three veteran mid-amateurs went to a playoff for the low amateur trophy, with Belk winning on the fourth hole. Belk had an up-and-down final day but finished strong, lipping out his eagle putt at 16 and hitting it close at the tough 17^th for birdie to earn his tie with Noll and Strickland.

By Mike Blum

With more than two months remaining on the 2009 Nationwide Tour (as of mid-August), two Georgians had already locked up spots on the 2010 PGA Tour.

Blake Adams, who lives in the Lake Oconee area, clinched his spot on the 2010 PGA Tour with a string of strong showings, including three top-3 finishes. Without winning a tournament, Adams was third on the money list with almost $290,000, and will be one of the 25 Nationwide Tour players who move up to golf’s major leagues next year.

Adams, who will be a rookie on the PGA Tour in 2010, will be joined by Roswell’s Justin Bolli, who earned his third promotion from the Nationwide Tour with his recent victory in Springfield, Mo.

Bolli, who played on the golf team at Georgia as a walk-on, placed in the top 10 on the Nationwide Tour money list in two of his first three seasons there, winning tournaments in 2004 and ’07 to propel himself to the PGA Tour the following year.

“I’m definitely looking forward to getting back to the big tour,” Bolli said after his victory last month. “But it doesn’t change my mindset for the season. I need to keep playing events and playing well. It’s very important how high you finish for your priority and status.”

Bolli finished ninth on the money list in his rookie season on the Nationwide Tour in 2004, winning in Chattanooga. He failed to retain his PGA Tour card in his first season there, and was back on the Nationwide Tour in ’06, placing a respectable 36^th in earnings, but not good enough for a return to “the big tour.”

He rectified that shortcoming in ’07, winning in Hershey, Pa., and ending up eighth on the money list. In his second stint in the majors, Bolli nearly retained his playing privileges, but $458,000 wasn’t enough to crack to the top 150 and it was back to the Nationwide Tour for ’09.

Bolli got off to a slow start this season, and encountered a medical roadblock when he had to undergo an appendectomy while competing in the Athens Regional Foundation Classic, which is sponsored by the local hospital.

After missing just one tournament and turning in a decent effort in his first start after the surgery, Bolli finished 12^th or better in five of his next nine starts, including ties for second and third before his win in Missouri.

Since coming back after surgery, Bolli was at least 10-under par in seven of the next eight tournaments in which he made the cut, and stood seventh on tour in scoring average (69.5) and fourth in final round scoring average (68.6).

Bolli is one of the premier ballstrikers on the Nationwide Tour, ranking second in greens in regulation and 16^th in fairways hit. His putting, typically a strength of his game, let him down last year on the PGA Tour, but he ranked 22^nd in that category after his victory, a big reason for his strong play of late.

After tying for second in Washington, D.C., and finishing one shot out of a playoff in Fort Smith, Ark., in the span of three weeks in June, Bolli cooled off a bit before his victory.

Bolli opened the tournament with a 65 to lead after the morning wave, and stayed close to the lead throughout, standing tied for third, sixth and fourth at the end of the first three rounds. He trailed by three strokes after 54 holes, but did not make up any ground the final day until midway through the round.

With six birdies over his final 11 holes, including five in a 7-hole span beginning at the 11^th, Bolli moved past a logjam at the top of the leader board and won by a shot with a 21-under 267 total, shooting 66 the final day.

Bolli was tied for the lead when play was halted for 90 minutes late in the round by a passing thunderstorm. His first shot after play resumed was a 25-foot birdie putt on the 16^th hole, and when he rolled it in, he had the outright lead for the first time.

“It’s hard to keep your feel,” Bolli said of the weather delay. “It’s hard to get back into the flow of the round. I did hit a few putts, but spent most of the time in the clubhouse trying to relax with friends and family before getting out on the course.”

Bolli followed with a third straight birdie at 17 to regain the lead for good, and carded a safe par at the par-5 18^th to wrap up his win.

“I hit it in the water there yesterday and had that in my head. I knew that if I made par, I’d be the leader in the clubhouse, and there were only a couple of players behind that could catch me.”

The victory was worth $112,500 and moved him from 16^th to 7^th on the money list with $246,900, ensuring him a spot among the top 25 players who will earn spots on the 2010 PGA Tour.

Adams will join Bolli on the PGA Tour next year, enjoying a breakthrough year in his third season on the Nationwide Tour. Like Bolli, Adams began his college golf career at Georgia, but transferred to Georgia Southern, graduating in 2001.

He followed the same mini-tour path as a young pro as Bolli, making his Nationwide Tour debut as a non-exempt player in 2007. He had no status on the tour in ’08, but received a sponsor’s invitation into the South Georgia Classic in Valdosta and tied for sixth.

Even though he played in only one other event in the first half of the season, his finish in Valdosta enabled him to get into nine more events and he played well enough to earn non-exempt status for the ’09 season.

Adams’ first start this year came in Athens on a sponsor’s invite, and he tied for 11^th. That got him into the field for a tournament in Greenville, S.C., and he made a strong run at his first victory, tying for third, just three shots out of a playoff. He was third again a month later in Knoxville, shooting 65 the final round to miss the playoff by just one stroke.

The 34-year-old Adams made another run at a title a month later in Ontario, Canada, finishing second in a pro-am event sponsored by hockey great Wayne Gretzky. That was the first of four top-10 finishes in four consecutive weeks, as he tied for 8^th in Omaha, for 6^th in Columbus, Ohio, and for 7^th in Wichita, finishing five strokes behind the winner on each occasion. Two weeks later, Adams was fourth in Kansas City, again five back of the winner.

With seven top 10s in 14 starts this season, Adams stood third on the money in late August with almost $290,000, displaying a strong all-around game that begins with some booming tee shots.

Adams was first on the Nationwide Tour in driving distance with an average of 313.6 yards per measured tee shot. But he is not just a bomber. He was 2^nd in total driving (distance plus accuracy), 12^th in greens in regulation, 6^th in both putting and birdies and 3^rd in both scoring (69.1) and the all-around category.

While Australia’s Michael Sim is closing in on the money title and Player of the Year honors, both Bolli and Adams are positioned to finish among the leaders on the final money list, which will enable them to get into most of the tournaments on the West Coast early on the 2010 PGA Tour schedule.