Final-round 63 nets Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Jobe 2nd PGA Tour Champions win; Hubbard places 4th in Korn Ferry Finals event; Fan, Gilbreth, Bruun advance to stage II of LPGA Q-school
By Gary Baines – 08/25/2019
Brandt Jobe‘s second career victory on PGA Tour Champions came in improbable fashion.
The Colorado Golf Hall of Famer, who grew up in the Centennial State, started off Sunday’s final round of the Boeing Classic in Snoqualmie, Wash., seven strokes behind the leader, World Golf Hall of Famer Fred Couples. He seemed in line for a very good finish, but not a victory.
Yet not only did Jobe win on Sunday, but he prevailed by a seemingly comfortable margin of three strokes.
That’s what a 9-under-par 63 in the final round will do for you, especially when combined with the leader, Couples, shooting 76.
“I kind of thought we were going to be playing for second,” said Jobe (pictured). “If Freddy goes out and shoots 3, 4, 5 under like he had done the first two days that’s really what we were doing. I birdied the first five holes and thought, ‘Well, at least that’s making a little noise.'”
Indeed, Jobe birdied the first five holes of the final round and the last two. For the day, he carded 10 birdies and one bogey to give himself an 18-under-par 198 total for the week.
Tom Pernice Jr., placed second at 201, while Couples tied for third at 204 after posting a final-round score 13 strokes higher than his second-round total.
It was the 54-year-old Jobe’s first Champions victory since the Principal Charity Classic in June 2017.
‘It’s just a fun day when you can go out there and do what you’re trying to do. When it happens, it’s really gratifying,” Jobe said.
Jobe’s $315,000 payday pushed him up to 14th on the 2019 Champion money list with $819,227.
Jobe lived in Colorado from 1970 to ’99 and won a Colorado Open, three CGA Match Plays, one CGA Amateur, one CGA Junior Amateur and one CGA Junior Match Play. He also finished second in The International at Castle Pines in 2005.
Elsewhere in tour-related action for golfers for strong Colorado connections:
— Denver native Mark Hubbard already has his PGA Tour card locked up by virtue of finishing ninth on the 2019 regular-season point standings for the Korn Ferry Tour. But now he’s playing to improve his status going into the 2019-20 PGA Tour season.
And on Sunday, he definitely helped his cause.
Hubbard, who won a tournament earlier this season on the Korn Ferry Tour, finished fourth in the Albertsons Boise Open, the second event of the three-tournament Korn Ferry Tour Finals.
Hubbard went 67-69-65-66 in Idaho to post a 17-under-par 267 total, which left him two strokes behind champion Matthew NeSmith, who closed with a 64. Hubbard made seven birdies and two bogeys on Sunday.
It was the former Coloradan’s fourth top-six finish on the KF Tour in 2019.
Hubbard, who spent three years on the PGA Tour from 2014-17, will return to that circuit next month after competing in next week’s Korn Ferry Tour Finals.
— At least three players with strong Colorado connections earned spots into stage II of LPGA Tour qualifying on Sunday with their performances in stage I in Rancho Mirage, Calif.
Advancing were former University of Colorado golfer Brittany Fan, former Denver resident Emily Gilbreth and former University of Denver golfer Mariell Bruun.
Fan finished 15th out of an original field of 359, while Gilbreth and Bruun tied for 57th. At least the top 95 finishers and ties advance to stage II of Q-school, set for Oct. 14-17 in Venice, Fla. The top performers in Florida will earn berths into the eight-round LPGA Q-Series Oct. 23-Nov. 2 in Pinehurst, N.C., where 2020 LPGA Tour cards will be on the line.
Fan went 68-70-75-73 for a 2-under-par 286 total. Gilbreth and Bruun checked in at 291.
Here are the scores of the players with strong Colorado connections from the first stage of LPGA Q-school:
15. Former CU golfer Brittany Fan 68-70-75-73–286
57. Former Coloradan Emily Gilbreth 78-69-72-72–291
57. Former DU golfer Mariell Bruun 67-75-78-71–291
129. Former CU golfer Natalie Vivaldi 73-77-71-76–297
141. Former Coloradan Elizabeth Wang 70-76-75-77–298
Missed 54-Hole Cut
Samantha Stancato of Colorado Springs 77-78-68–223
Former CSU golfer Katrina Prendergast 77-70-79–226
Paige Crawford of Colorado Springs 72-75-80–227
Katherine Hollern of Sedalia 84-75-81–240