A New Captain in Town: Oppenheim cruises to 4 shot win with closing 67
Brewster, MA-Rob Oppenheim closed with a 5-under par 67 in the final round of the Fifth Annual Captain’s Open en route to a 14-under par total and a dominating four stroke victory. Scott Hawley, who began the day just two strokes behind Oppenheim, posted a 3-under par 69 to garner second place honors. Tour Money Leader Sean O’Hair and Kyle Gallo tied for third place at 8-under par. Mike Carbone, a resident of Brewster, and tour rookie Justin Goodhue finished two shots further back at 6-under par. “This is the biggest tournament I have ever won,” said Oppenheim, who thwarted any potential challengers bid for a comeback with a 4-under par 32 on the front nine to open up a three shot cushion over Hawley. “I didn’t want to let up,” said a determined Oppenheim, who added back to back birdies on the 13th and 14th holes as he cruised to his first win of the season and a $12,500 payday. Following a successful Canadian Tour campaign, Oppenheim is looking to use this triumph and the remainder of the fall season as a springboard into PGA Tour Qualifying School. “Any momentum you can create before Q School is huge,” said the 24-year-old Rollins College product. “I just ran into a player on a different level,” said runner-up Hawley, who has now recorded back to back top two finishes following his performance in the Canadian Tour Championship at the end of August. “I was just trying to pile in as many birdies as I could,” said Hawley, whose attempt to pressure Oppenheim was derailed when he failed to convert two short birdie chances on the second and seventh holes. Despite not winning, Hawley expressed a newfound confidence in his game, saying, “At times like this, it’s fun to tee it up and know you are going to be in contention.” Starting the day two strokes off the lead, Kyle Gallo made an early round move with three consecutive birdies beginning at the second hole. He only notched one more birdie coming in, though, and settled for a third place tie with Sean O’Hair, who has now finished in the top five in every event this season, highlighted by a win in the Sterling Open. |
