Johnson wins Tour Championship, finishes No. 1
LAKESIDE, Calif. -- Wales' Richard Johnson won the season-ending Nationwide Tour Championship to lead 25 qualifiers for the 2008 PGA Tour , shooting a 4-under 67 for a one-stroke victory over Michael Letzig.
Johnson earned $139,500 for his second victory of the year to jump from sixth to first on the money list with $445,421, officially securing a spot next year on the PGA Tour along with the other top 25 finishers on the developmental Tour.
"Its nice to be going back," said Johnson, the Mark Christopher Charity Classic winner last month in Rancho Cucamonga. "I didn't come in here expecting to get to the No. 1 spot. I had a fun week."
The 35-year-old Johnson finished with a 20-under 264 total on the Barona Creek course, breaking the Tour nament record of 18-under 270 set by Chris Couch in 2003. Along with fully exempt status on the PGA Tour , Johnson secured a spot in THE PLAYERS Championship as the money champion.
Letzig closed with a 66. He earned $83,700 to jump from 26th to 12th on the money list with $263,948.
Martin Laird (66) and Tom Scherrer (68) tied for fourth at 18 under. Laird finished 13th with $252,679, and Tom Scherrer jumped from 27th to 20th with $220,138.
Scott Gardiner (66) and Brenden Pappas (67) followed at 17 under. Pappas moved from 25th to 22nd with $212,452, while Gardiner ended up 30th with $184,323.
Jimmy Walker finished 25th on the money list with $196,896 -- $1,094 ahead of Skip Kendall for the final PGA Tour spot. Walker shot a 70 to tie for 34th at 9 under.
"I just wanted to go out and play solid and I did for the most part," Walker said. "I figured I was pretty close. I knew I was bubble boy. I had fun. I shot another round under par. I thought four for the week would get it done."
B.J. Staten had a chance to knock out Walker, but missed a 15-foot birdie putt on the 17th and a 20-footer on 18. Staten shot a 69 to tie for eighth at 15 under.
"It just wasn't my back nine. I hit some good putts, but left them short," said Staten, 28th on the money list. "It's not a lot of fun out there when you know you need to make them to get on the PGA Tour ."
The biggest losers were Kendall and David McKenzie.
Kendall began the week 22nd on the money list, but missed five birdie putts on the back nine inside 12 feet and couldn't overtake Walker.
"You know, it was in my hands," said Kendall, whose 69 left him tied for 21st at 11 under. "I missed a lot of putts all week. That's kind of been my Achilles' heel. It showed here as well. I didn't do it and I really haven't done it in a while."
McKenzie also shot a 69 to tie for 21st. He dropped from 23rd on the money list to 27th, $2,240 from the final spot.
Players Nos. 26-40 on the final money list are exempt into final stage of the PGA Tour qualifying Tour nament.
Final Round News & Notes:
* Richard Johnson, a 35-year-old native of Cardiff, Wales, captured his second title of the season on Sunday with his win at the season-ending Nationwide Tour Championship at Barona Creek. Johnson finished the four-day event at a Tour nament-record 20-under 264, one stroke ahead of Michael Letzig.
* The win by Johnson was the fourth of his career on the Nationwide Tour , to go along with wins at the 2007 Mark Christopher Charity Classic, 2000 Monterey Peninsula Classic and the 1999 Florida Classic.
* Richard Johnson (25 starts) finished the season playing in the final group on Sunday a remarkable six times. He was victorious in two of those events.
* Johnson's 72-hole total of 20-under 264 is a new Nationwide Tour Championship record. The previous best winning score was 18-under 270 by Chris Couch at the 2003 Nationwide Tour Championship.
* Roland Thatcher had sat atop the Nationwide Tour money list for 12 weeks heading into the season-ending event, dating back to his win at the Cox Classic. He lost that lead on Sunday, as Richard Johnson finished the season in the top spot with $445,421. Thatcher needed a finish of solo-fourth or better to have retained the title, but finished T29 at 10-under 274. With the title, Johnson earns fully-exempt status on the 2008 PGA Tour, as well as a spot in THE PLAYERS Championship.
* The round of the day was turned in by Jeremy Anderson, David Hearn and Garth Mulroy with matching 6-under 65s. With the finish, Hearn moved to solo-seventh, Mulroy T8 and Anderson to T12.
* Bogey-free rounds on Sunday were turned in by Jeremy Anderson (65), David Mathis (67) and Omar Uresti (67), bringing the total for the week to 22.
* With two players (Skip Kendall and David McKenzie) falling out of the Top 25 this week, a total of 20 players have now been "bumped" out of a PGA Tour card in the final event of the Nationwide Tour season.
* Richard Johnson's victory marks the 12th time in 14 72-hole events at the Nationwide Tour Championship that the third-round leader has gone on to win.
* In 2007, a total of 17 of 32 third-round leaders eventually stepped into the winner's circle.
* The 25 PGA Tour cards handed out at the conclusion of play on Sunday represents the most in Nationwide Tour history.
* Players who finished No. 26-40 on the final money list are exempt into Final Stage of the PGA Tour Qualifying Tournament. They include Skip Kendall, David McKenzie, B.J. Staten, Jeremy Anderson, Scott Gardiner, Miguel Carballo, Franklin Langham, Brad Adamonis, Jeff Klauk, Garth Mulroy, Vance Veazey, John Kimbell, Chris Nallen, D.A. Points and Jay Williamson.
*This week's cumulative average of 68.420 marks the lowest average in Nationwide Tour history. The previous all-time low was 68.980 at this year's 2007 Cox Classic.
* The toughest hole this week was the par-4 6th hole with an average of 4.183, while the par-5 first hole was the easiest spot at 4.357.
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