FORT SMITH, Ark. -- Jay Williamson says he can finally
provide his daughter Whitney with something she's had her heart set
on for a long time, now that he's got his first Nationwide Tour
win.
"My little girl is seven and all she has wanted is a trophy,"
he said after his victory Sunday in the Fort Smith Classic. "I'm
glad I did that for her this week."
A bogey-free, 7-under-par final round of 63 put Williamson atop
the final leaderboard listing in the $525,000 tournament.
Williamson, 40, a native of St. Louis, posted his fourth
straight round in the 60s (69-66-66-63) on the Hardscrabble Country
Club course to edge Justin Bolli (70) and Garrett Willis (66) by a
single stroke.
"This means a ton," said Williamson, whose win came after 60
starts on the Nationwide Tour and 339 in PGA-sponsored events since
he started his professional career in 1995. "Seeing your name on
top of the leaderboard is always a nice thing. I just turned 40 and
this really isn't a tour for 40-year-olds. Obviously winning is a
tremendous boost to my career."
Williamson was solid throughout the week, playing the final 53
holes of the tournament without a bogey. The last hole he played
over par was the first hole of his third round on Friday.
"I played well all week," said Williamson, who hit 12 of 13
fairways and 15 of 18 greens in regulation. "I finally played well
on Sunday, too. I've had three or four opportunities this year on
Sunday to, not necessarily win, but make a good check, and I
haven't been able to capitalize. It feels good to finally get it
done."
The win was worth $94,500 for Williamson.
Bolli had entered the final round with a three-stroke lead, but
couldn't get anything going early, making five straight pars out of
the gate and an even-par 35 on the front nine. A birdie on the
par-3 17th hole temporarily moved him into a tie with Williamson,
but an errant approach shot into a greenside bunker led to a
disappointing bogey on the final hole.
The runner-up finish was the second in three weeks for the
Oregon native who played his college golf at Georgia. He also
finished second at the Athens Regional Foundation Classic.
"I was trying to get aggressive from the fairway," Bolli said.
"I wanted to stick it on the last hole and win the tournament.
Today was win or bust, especially after starting with a three-shot
lead. I have no regrets, it was just bad execution."