Chalmers Wins Nationwide Tour

Greg Chalmers defeated Henrik Bjornstad on the 2nd playoff hole at the Henrico County Open. They finished regulation play at The Dominion Club in suburban Richmond tied at 14 under par 274. Chalmers 3 putted for bogey from 75 feet on the 2nd extra hole. Bjornstad pulled his tee shot on the par 3 into the water and missed the putt that would have forced another hole. Chalmers is the 2nd player in the tour’s 19-year history to win a playoff with a bogey. All but one of the previous 126 playoffs ended either with an eagle, birdie or par.

"It feels really good to win this early in the year," said Chalmers. "I’ve been playing very well up to this point. I felt this kind of win was just around the corner for me and it’s nice to actually turn that corner."

Both Bjornstad and Chalmers finished under 70s on The Dominion Club course. Neal Lancaster finished 3rd, when his birdie putt on the final hole stopped a few inches away from the cup. Six players tied for 4th, including Bryan DeCorso and Matt Hansen, leaving Bjornstad and Chalmers to compete in the tournament’s 3rd consecutive playoff and the 5th in the past 9 years.

They returned to the tee at the 18th hole, where they each made par. Bjornstad got on the green in 2 shots and settled for par when his birdie putt missed. Chalmers laid up on the par 5 and 2 putted for par. Chalmers had 3 straight birdies, reaching 15 under par. He missed a few birdie chances which prevented him from getting in the lead. A bogey at Number 16 dropped him back to 14 under, where he stayed.

Hansen stayed in the lead at 15 under with 3 holes remaining. However, he bogeyed the par 4 16th, falling into a tie. His 2nd shot on the par 5 closing hole fell short in the water and, resulting in a double bogey. "I though I could hit a 3 iron further than 198 yards," said Hansen. "If it’s 5 yards to the left it’s on land. There will be other chances."

Lyle, Chalmer and Porter now occupy the first 3 places on the money list with Price 5th and Coles 10th. The victory was worth $90,000 for Chalmers, bumping him to Number 2 with $161,154. The top 25 at the end of the year will earn 2009 PGA Tour cards.