Former Pacer Brown Notches First Professional Win

BERMUDA RUN, N.C. -- Scott Brown fired a bogey-free round of 67 to edge out a strong field at the Tarheel Tour's Bermuda Run Classic Thursday.(STORY AND PHOTO COURTESY OF THE TARHEEL TOUR)

The former USC Aiken Pacer and North Augusta native, managed to hang on to a one-shot lead, after rounds of 67 and 65 the first two days left him at 10-under par for the event heading into the third and final round at Bermuda Run's Main Course.

Brown's first glimpse of the leaderboard in the final round displayed a comfortable four-shot lead at 12-under with nine holes to play, but the 2006 NCAA Division II Player of the Year knew there was still work to do.

"Someone is going to go low and come from way back," Brown mused while warming up before the final round.

By the time he saw the leaderboard a second time, his prediction had been realized. Front-nine scores of 29 by long-hitting Johan Kok, of Peachtree City Ga., and a 31 by Jacksonville, Fla., native Andy Bare, increased the pressure on Brown and turned a walk down victory lane into a dogfight.

Through 14 holes, Brown and Bare were tied at 14-under atop the leaderboard, while Kok was already in the clubhouse having posted a 12-under par total.

" I saw the leaderboard and I had a four shot lead...the next time I saw it, I was tied. I had to get more aggressive," Brown said.

His aggressive play led to a birdie at the 17th hole, which gave Brown a one-shot lead heading into his final hole. On the 18th, Brown's long birdie putt across the green came up short, leaving him "shaking in his shoes" over a seven-foot par putt for the title and the $15,000 first prize.

"I had been making those putts all day," he said, and nothing changed when he sank the par putt to capture his first ever victory on the Tarheel Tour.

"This win means a lot because I have gotten really close in the past. It feels great to finally capitalize," said a relieved Brown, after numerous close calls, including a second-place finish at Walnut Creek two weeks ago, finally led to his first Tarheel Tour win.

Andy Bare and Johan Kok each had an eagle and seven birdies posting identical course record rounds of 63. Bare's final round boosted him into second place, a result worth $9,000 to the UNC-Greensboro alumnus, while Kok's nine-under-par round shot him up the leaderboard to finish tied for third with four-time Tarheel Tour winner, Tommy Gainey.

Brown was a three-time All-American at USC Aiken and helped lead the Pacers to three-straight NCAA National Championships (2004, 2005, and 2006).