Soboba Needs a Hotel

Soboba will be able to accomadate the players and spectators in the near future with "The Hotel at Soboba".
SAN JACINTO - For someone who hadn't won a tournament in five years, Australian Steven Bowditch looked mighty comfortable holding the lead Saturday, maintaining and even extending it during the final round at the Soboba Golf Classic.

And then, with spectators in the grandstand surrounding the 18th hole shouting, "Aussie! Aussie! Aussie! Oi! Oi! Oi!" the 27-year-old from New South Wales parred his final hole to win the second-year PGA Nationwide Tour event at The Country Club at Soboba Springs.

"It feels pretty good," said Bowditch, who carded a final-round 3-under-par 68 to finish at 19-under-par 265, a tournament record. "From the ninth tee, I thought it was brilliant. I hit the right shots that I needed to hit."
After tying a Nationwide Tour record with an 18-putt round Saturday, he finished the tournament with 96 putts, one off the tour record.

"I didn't make many putts (Sunday) but I didn't miss any," said Bowditch, who finished 3 strokes ahead of runner-up Daniel Summerhays, who also closed with a 68. "Short game is really the key to winning out here when you've got a lead."

In his career-high sixth consecutive tournament, Idyllwild's Brendan Steele fought fatigue and timing issues en route to an even-par 71. That left him 11-under for the tournament and tied for 16th.

With the victory and the tour-best $180,000 winner's share of the tournament's million-dollar purse, Bowditch vaulted from 76th to 11th ($244,283) on the money list. That's an especially big deal considering the 25 leading money winners will earn PGA Tour cards following the Nationwide Tour Championship in a month.

Steele improved his stock from 37th to 34th ($140,032) thanks in large part to a textbook eagle on No. 18.

Hitting from 148 yards out, the former UC Riverside standout stuck it within a foot of the pink flag and tapped in to a nice round of applause from the hometown gallery. He also eagled his final hole at the event last year.

"It was the one thing that went right," said Steele, who bogeyed three holes on the front nine and failed to create many birdie chances thereafter.

"There was a lot of pressure with it being his hometown tournament," said Steele's caddie, Nick Wilkins, also a former Highlander. "But considering, I think he did pretty well."

No one, of course, did better than Bowditch, whose lead increased to 4 shots after he bounced in a chip shot for eagle on No. 6.

"I was watching (the leaderboard) every step," said Bowditch, whose last win was at 2005's Jacob's Creek Open in Australia. "It actually looked nice, not scrolling down, but looking up."

That'll hold true when he's checking for his name on the all-important money list, too.