Rookie Barnes Outlasts Wilson at Scotch Hall Preserve

Windsor, N.C. – May 29, 2011 – There’s no blueprint for winning a professional golf tournament, but if there was, it would likely resemble Erik Barnes’ performance this week.

Barnes, a rookie on the NGA/Hooters Tour, shot a course-record 64 in the third round to grab a share of the lead, played the final round with two PGA Tour veterans and birdied the final hole of the Avoca Classic presented by Colony Tire at Scotch Hall Preserve to win his first NGA/Hooters Tour event by one stroke over Chris Wilson on Sunday.

“You can’t draw it up any better,” said Barnes, who won $28,000. “I was playing with two guys (Wilson and Brent Schwarzrock) that have played at the highest level of golf and they weren’t going to give me anything. I knew that shooting par in the final round wasn’t going to cut it, then I birdied the 18th to win. It’s a great feeling.”

Barnes, a former OVC Player of the Year at Austin Peay, started the day tied for the lead with Wilson, but he dropped one shot behind after a front-nine 35. Wilson, who made 26 PGA Tour starts in 2010, shot a 2-under 34 on the outward nine to take sole possession of first.

Both golfers birdied the par-5 11th hole, but Wilson made his first bogey of the day on the 12th hole. Barnes birdied the hole to go from one back to one up, but he bogeyed No. 14 to bring the duo back together at the top of the leaderboard. Barnes made another bogey at No. 16 to give Wilson the outright lead, but Wilson returned the favor with a bogey on his own at No. 17, leaving the duo tied for the lead and setting up a dramatic finish on the par-5 18th hole.

“Holes 14 through 18 are phenomenal holes; there are no easy birdies on those holes,” said Barnes. “I was nervous on 18, but it was a good nervous. My caddie told me, ‘This is what we play for.’ I hit a good drive up the right side and hit a hybrid on the green. I never felt like I had the tournament won until it was over. I actually thought I needed to birdie the 18th to force a playoff, but it was good enough for the win.”

Prior to his breakout win, Barnes’ best finish of the season was a T10 in the Killearn Country Club Classic. While he wasn’t completely surprised by the victory, he was shocked by the timing.

“I didn’t think (the win) would come this soon,” said Barnes. “I played well a few times earlier in the season, and I knew I had what it took to contend in these tournaments. Today, playing with those guys, I got to watch them, learn from them and realize that there game’s not a whole lot different than mine. You always tell yourself that you can do it, but this win helped my confidence. Hopefully, I can build from this and win a few more over the next few years.”

Barnes finished with a 12-under-par 276 total.

Wilson, of Dublin, Ohio, had a chance to force a playoff with a birdie on the final hole of regulation, but his par left him 11-under par in solo second. Wilson won $13,943.

Chip Deason, of Lexington, S.C., matched the low round of the day with a 5-under 67 to move from T5 to solo third. Deason, a former University of Alabama golfer, went blemish-free around Scotch Hall Preserve on Sunday and added five birdies to finish at 10-under par. Deason earned $8,943, while Jeff Corr, of Longwood, Fla., finished fourth at 8-under par and earned $7,943.

Brandon Brown, of Shelbyville, Ky., came into the event leading the “Race for the 2011 PHS Wichita Open Exemption,” which was awarded to the leading points winner from the Knoxville, Tenn., Georgetown, Ky., and Windsor, N.C., events. With Wilson in contention, Brown needed a solid round on Sunday to win the exemption, and he got it.

Brown fired a 5-under 67 to move from T15 to T5 and capture the Nationwide Tour exemption by 130 points over Wilson. After starting the day solo third, Brent Schwarzrock, of Winter Park, Fla., slipped to T5 with a 1-over 73.

Robert Streb (Edmond, Okla.), Michael Welch (North Quincy, Mass.) and Hugh Royer (Myrtle Beach, S.C.) all finished at 5-under par and T7.

The NGA/Hooters Tour is the No. 1 recommended developmental tour by more PGA and Nationwide Tour Professionals than any other tour in the country.

The NGA/Hooters Tour is the Third Largest Men’s 72 Hole Professional Golf Tour in the United States behind the Nationwide and PGA Tours and has helped hundreds of professionals acquire their PGA, Nationwide, and Champions Tour cards. In fact, NGA/Hooters Tour Alumni have won an incredible Twelve (12) “Major” Championships.

Alumni include Jim Furyk, the 2010 FedExCup winner and PGA Tour Player of the Year; Stewart Cink, the 2009 British Open Champion; Lucas Glover, the 2009 U.S. Open Champion; Zach Johnson, the 2007 Masters Champion; Shaun Micheel, the 2003 PGA Champion; Ben Curtis, winner of the 2003 British Open; Lee Janzen, a two-time US Open winner; John Daly, a British Open and PGA Champion; Tom Lehman, winner of the British Open; David Toms, a past PGA Champion; Chad Campbell, the 2003 Tour Championship winner; Vaughn Taylor, a two-time Reno Tahoe Open winner; Craig Perks, winner of the TPC, and many, many more. At this year’s PGA Tour Qualifying School, 46% of the players that earned full exempt status on the PGA Tour (including 2010 Hooters Tour Player of the Year Michael Thompson) and 52% of the players that earned status on the Nationwide Tour have spent time on the NGA/Hooters Professional Golf Tour. In 2011, 23 former NGA/Hooters Tour players will be advancing to the PGA Tour.

For more information on the NGA/Hooters Pro Golf Tour, please visit www.NGAHootersTour.com or contact the Tour Office at (800) 992-8748.