Brewster, Mass.-Eric Egloff now stands alone. Paired in the final group for the fifth time in nine events, the Maryland resident blitzed Captain's Starboard course with a record-setting final round of 7-under-par 65 for a 16-under total and a five-stroke victory in the fifth annual Captain's Open.

But it gets better. His victory, worth $13,000, is the largest on Tour since last year's Nevele Grande event. His closing 65 bettered the previous mark of 66, which he shared with eight others, seven of whom call the CGT home.

"It was surreal," Egloff said of his performance. "It was the easiest round of golf I've played under competition. It didn't even feel like I was playing in the final round of a tournament."

Downes and Egloff matched birdies on the opening par-4. Egloff then birdied the par-5 third hole to leapfrog over Downes, who made bogey after his ball nestled against the lip of a greenside bunker and faded with a 73 to finish tied for 4th with 2001 champion John Curley.

Birdies on the 6th and 7th pushed his lead to two over Gage and Horowitz, who fired 4-under 32s on the front nine. Neither player, however, carried that momentum over to the inward nine. Gage, who finished solo second at 11-under, played the back nine even par. Horowitz shot 1-over coming home to finish third, his best finish on the CGT.

"I just stalled on the back nine," said Horowitz, who, like Egloff, graduated from Richmond. "God bless him. He's a Spider."

As is Mark DiGiacomo, who finished tied for 6th at 8-under, his best finish in six events.

Like Gage and Horowitz, John Curley also made the turn in 32. And like Gage and Horowitz he struggled on the inward nine, eventually carding a 3-under 69 to finish 4th at 9-under, his best showing of the season.

"I thought I was going to tear it up," said Curley. "I thought I was going to hole everything I looked at on the front. But I didn't know how to play no. 10," where an errant 2-iron led to a bogey and prematurely ended his bid of becoming the first two-time Captain's Open champion.

Season long CGT money and points leader Rob Oppenheim closed with a 5-under 67 to finish tied for 16th. With three events remaining, and the $4,500 PGA Q School check for tuition at stake, he holds a slim lead over three-time POY Geoff Sisk.

The Tour now travels to Rockland, Maine for the Samoset Open, where defending champion Eric Egloff will look for his third consecutive title.