Barcelo's closing 65 earns him first Nationwide win

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Rich Barcelo was bogey-free on the final day at Champions Run.

Jul. 26, 2009
By Joe Chemycz, PGA TOUR Staff

OMAHA, Neb. -- It turned out Michael Sim was right. The Nationwide Tour's leading money winner said Saturday that he thought it would take 20-under par to win this week's Cox Classic. It did. Unfortunately for Sim, a co-leader after 54 holes, he wasn't the one to do it. Instead, Rich Barcelo, flying under the radar all week, posted a 6-under 65 on the final day at Champions Run to finish at 20-under 264 and collect his first Tour title in his 149th start.

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Tom Gillis, winner of the Nationwide Tour Players Cup last month, birdied three of his final four holes for a 66 to wind at up 19-under and in second place. Monday qualifier Brent Delahoussaye (67) finished third, two back, while J.J. Killeen (67) was fourth, three behind.

Third-round leaders Sim and Jonas Blixt each posted 1-under 70s and tied for fifth with Floridian Matt Every (68).

Barcelo's bogey-free effort netted him some dandy crystal Sunday as well as first-place money of $130,500, which is enough to vault him from No. 39 to No. 7 on the money list. THE 25 top money winners at the end of the year will move onto the PGA TOUR in 2010 and Barcelo's total of $195,956 puts him within striking distance with 13 tournaments left on the 2009 schedule.

"It means everything to me," said Barcelo. "It's a validation of so many years of hard work. I've been a pro for ten years and there comes a time when you doubt yourself but this is a good exclamation point on a great week."

Barcelo moved into contention Friday with a barely-noticed, 9-under 62, a round he called "nearly flawless." A 3-under Saturday left him tied for third, and one back entering the final round at Champions Run.

"I wanted to shoot 6-under today, that's all," said the Tour's seventh first-time winner in '09. "I firmly believe you have to let your clubs do the talking and they finally did."

Most of the attention during the week had been focused on Sim, who was seeking his third win of the year and an instant promotion to the PGA TOUR that accompanies three wins in a single season. What headlines Sim didn't take, 18-year old Tadd Fujikawa (71-271) did. The recent high school graduate stayed in the mix through most of Sunday's final round but finished seven back and tied for 15th.

Barcelo had an inkling it might turn out to be his day on the opening hole. After missing the fairway on the downhill dogleg and laying up from the rough, the Reno, Nev., resident rolled in a 40-footer for par.

"That first hole set the tone," said Barcelo, who wound up hitting only eight fairways. "It had a good ten feet of break in it and after that I thought 'this could be it.' It was a huge, huge putt."

Barcelo wouldn't make his first birdie until he reached the par-5, 6th and added two more to close the front nine to reach 17-under. By the time he stepped on the 13th tee, he was joined at the top by Killeen, Blixt and Sim.

"I had no idea what anybody was doing," said Barcelo. "It's a conscious decision. I'm not a big scoreboard watcher. I finally have figured out that if I can just play my game each day, it can be good enough."

It got better on the difficult 14th hole, where Barcelo used a hybrid-4 to make birdie and take a lead he would not relinquish.

"I think that chip-in, putt-in was the kickstart to the end," he said. "It was 25 feet straight downhill from the fringe. It was in the froghair so it's one you can't putt and you can't chip because you can't get any spin on it."

Barcelo added birdies at Nos. 15 and 17 and held a three-shot lead on the final hole, where he made par and waited to see what might happen.

"I didn't count my chickens until it happened," said Barcelo. "I couldn't get too excited because I didn't know the outcome."

Gillis nearly holed his second on the 18th but settled for a short birdie to close the final gap and finish second.

Sim and Blixt were paired in the final group but never got the putts to drop on the inward nine, leaving Barcelo alone at the top.

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Final-Round Notes:

• For the week, winner Barcelo hit 44 of 56 fairways (T3), 60 of 72 greens in regulation (T2) and totaled 119 putts (T37).

• Sim increased his season money total to $414,579. He becomes the eighth player in Tour history to reach the $400,000 mark in a single season.

• Despite playing in only 10 events, Sim's season total of $414,579 already ranks as the seventh-best single-season money total in Tour history. Troy Matteson set the record by earning $495,009 during the 2005 season.

• Gillis earned $78,300 and moved up to No. 4 on the money list with $212,929.

• The final-round scoring average was 69.731.

• Next on the schedule is the Nationwide Children's Hospital Invitational at the famed Ohio State University Scarlet Course in Columbus, Ohio next week (July 27-Aug. 2)