Gardner plants a win at Polo Fields
Rob Gardner, a 2nd year pro from Belleville, won the 2010 TOUR Championship Saturday at the Polo Fields Golf & Country Club in Ann Arbor. Gardner ranked 2nd in fairways hit (11/14) and converted 3 eagles and 3 birdies to finish at 1-over par 73 and make his first Tour win a major victory. Gardner was 19th on the money list and just happy to make the field for the TOUR Championship.
Lou Acosta made birdies at 13, 15 and17 but missed forcing a playoff after a bogey at the finishing hole. The 2nd place check of $35 moved Acosta to 6th ($138.67) on the final 2010 money standings. Jon Heikkinen (40-35 – 75) played the last 6 holes in 4-under par to secure 3rd place in his first TOUR Championship.
Thom Bales and Randall Reher shared 4th place at 6-over 78. Bales led the field hitting 12 of 14 fairways but came up short in a bid to win a Grand Slam – 4 major titles in one year. Reher has 2 top-4 finishes in the 2 TOUR Championships played at the Polo Fields.
Julie Gardner, Rob’s better half, was at the top of the leaderboard at the turn after a net double eagle at the 9th. She finished 35-44 – 79 and tied for 6th with Mike Prieskorn. With 4 wins this year, Prieskorn (38-41 – 79) was trying to join Bales and Greg Kline as the only players in Tour history to earn 5 wins in one season.
Kline (42-38 – 80) finished T8 but secured the 2010 Money Title with $272.77 in winnings this season. With 2 money titles on his resume, Kline owns the 2 highest winning totals in Tour history including the record earnings of $292.70 from 2006.
| Top-10 at the 2010 TOUR Championship | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 73 (+1) | Rob Gardner $50 |
| 2 | 74 (+2) | Lou Acosta $35 |
| 3 | 75 (+3) | Jon Heikkinen $25 |
| 4 | 78 (+6) | Thom Bales $12.50 |
| 78 (+6) | Randall Reher $12.50 | |
| 6 | 79 (+7) | Mike Prieskorn $2.50 |
| 79 (+7) | Julie Gardner $2.50 | |
| 8 | 80 (+8) | Greg Kline |
| 80 (+8) | Art Wakeford | |
| 10 | 82 (+10) | Denny Ersig |
| 82 (+10) | Jeff Klipa | |
| 82 (+10) | Philip Johnson |
Full results and history: Tour Championship
← All newsAll Tour Championship storiesTour Championship history & results
