Sports

PGA Tour Tampa Bay Championship: Kevin Streelman Wins

Palm Harbor's Innisbrook hosted the four-day PGA Tour Tampa Bay Championship. 34-year-old winner Kevin Streelman never faltered, firing a bogey-free 4-under-par 67 to win by two shots over Boo Weekley.

With a chance to win his first PGA TOUR title, 34-year-old Kevin Streelman never faltered, firing a bogey-free 4-under-par 67 to win the Tampa Bay Championship presented by EverBank by two shots over Boo Weekley.

Weekley, playing three hours ahead of Streelman, fired a blistering 63 to get in the clubhouse at 8 under, a number all of the other competitors except Streelman, in the final group, could not equal.

After two early birdies that tied Weekley, Streelman strung together nine consecutive pars before recording a birdie on the watery par-3 13th, a hole that played as the toughest of the day for the rest of the field.  Then, with a one-shot lead he tamed another dangerous par 3 with a birdie at 17 that made for a relatively pressure-free final hole.

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“This is a dream come true,” said Streelman, who caddied and played on various mini-tours for seven years before earning his PGA TOUR card for the first time in 2008. Since then he has been a consistent money winner, qualifying for the FedExCup Playoffs in five straight seasons.  Now, he stands as a PGA TOUR winner.

“To get to (Augusta and the Hyundai Tournament of Champions) on my own (by winning a tournament) is very special.  To do it in Tampa Bay and at Innisbrook on such an incredible golf course is really, really awesome.”

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Streelman becomes the third player to make the Tampa Bay Championship his first career PGA TOUR win, joining Carl Pettersson (2005) and Gary Woodland (2011) with that distinction.  It is the 12th consecutive time this year that a player from the U.S. has won on the PGA TOUR.  He played his final two rounds without a bogey.

 Cameron Tringale, with a final round 66, was 3rd. Luke Donald, the 2012 champion, conducted a spirited defense of his title finishing in a tie for 4th with Greg Chalmers and Justin Leonard.

The seven players tied for 7th at -5 included 2010 champion Jim Furyk, Sergio Garcia and 19-year-old Jordan Spieth.  Spieth won $148,893 for his efforts to earn Temporary Membership for the remainder of the 2013 season.  He did so by earning more than the player who finished 150th on the 2012 money list ($474,295) and has done so in only four starts this year.  He will now be eligible for unlimited sponsor exemptions for the remainder of 2013. 

All final scores are here.

Thanks to Rick Odioso for submitting this information.

Related-

  • PGA Tour Tampa Bay Championship: Complete Coverage

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