Joseph Bramlett made his first professional victory a big one.
The 33-year-old Bramlett, who is from Saratoga and played college golf at Stanford, shot 7-under-par for the second straight day and captured the Korn Ferry Tour Championship by four strokes over Trey Mullinax at Victoria National Golf Club in Newburgh, Ind.
By winning, Bramlett regained his PGA Tour playing card for next season, which starts on Sept. 16 with the Fortinet Championship on the North Course at Silverado Resort and Spa in Napa. He has played on the PGA Tour the last two seasons, but recorded only two top-10 finishes and had to regain his playing privileges both times in the Korn Ferry Tour Finals.
“Extremely gratifying,” said Bramlett, who sustained a serious back injury in 2013 that set him back for several seasons. “I thought a lot about this tournament. I got hot at the right time. “I didn’t get off to a great start. (But) I stayed patient. I let the round come to me and got hot at the right time. I got it done with the flat stick.
“(Victoria National) is definitely the most demanding down the stretch. To stay in the moment as well as I did and get it done with a finish like this is extremely gratifying. My golf swing has been in good shape. I’ve been wedging and putting well.”
Bramlett made eight birdies in the final round, including five in a row through No. 15, to pull away and finish with a winning score of 20-under 268. He collected 10 birdies in his third-round 65.
Mullinax, who has won twice on the Korn Ferry Tour, opened with a 63 to take the lead and was one stroke ahead of Bramlett going to the final round, made three bogeys on the last five holes fo close with a 70, while Christiaan Bezuidenhout of South Africa collected four birdies on each nine in a bogey-free 64 and was five shots back in third.
Lee Hodges and Hayden Buckley both shot 69 to finish six down in a tie for fourth, while Sahith Theegala of Chino Hills and Pepperdine birdied four of the first five holes on his way to a 67 and was seven strokes behind in sixth, followed by John Huh of Los Angeles and Cal State Northridge, who closed with a 72 and was eight back in seventh.
Matthias Schwab of Austria and Joshua Creel both totaled 69 and wound up nine behind in a tie for eighth with Max McGreevy, who came in at 70.
In addition to Bramlett, Theegala and Huh, other players who earned PGA Tour playing cards for the 2021-22 season include Patrick Rodgers of Stanford and Kurt Kitayama of Chico and UNLV.
For complete results, visit https://www.pgatour.com/korn-ferry-tour/tournaments/korn-ferry-tour-championship/leaderboard.html
Joseph Bramlett made his first professional victory a big one.
The 33-year-old Bramlett, who is from Saratoga and played college golf at Stanford, shot 7-under-par for the second straight day and captured the Korn Ferry Tour Championship by four strokes over Trey Mullinax at Victoria National Golf Club in Newburgh, Ind.
By winning, Bramlett regained his PGA Tour playing card for next season, which starts on Sept. 16 with the Fortinet Championship on the North Course at Silverado Resort and Spa in Napa. He has played on the PGA Tour the last two seasons, but recorded only two top-10 finishes and had to regain his playing privileges both times in the Korn Ferry Tour Finals.
“Extremely gratifying,” said Bramlett, who sustained a serious back injury in 2013 that set him back for several seasons. “I thought a lot about this tournament. I got hot at the right time. “I didn’t get off to a great start. (But) I stayed patient. I let the round come to me and got hot at the right time. I got it done with the flat stick.
“(Victoria National) is definitely the most demanding down the stretch. To stay in the moment as well as I did and get it done with a finish like this is extremely gratifying. My golf swing has been in good shape. I’ve been wedging and putting well.”
Bramlett made eight birdies in the final round, including five in a row through No. 15, to pull away and finish with a winning score of 20-under 268. He collected 10 birdies in his third-round 65.
Mullinax, who has won twice on the Korn Ferry Tour, opened with a 63 to take the lead and was one stroke ahead of Bramlett going to the final round, made three bogeys on the last five holes fo close with a 70, while Christiaan Bezuidenhout of South Africa collected four birdies on each nine in a bogey-free 64 and was five shots back in third.
Lee Hodges and Hayden Buckley both shot 69 to finish six down in a tie for fourth, while Sahith Theegala of Chino Hills and Pepperdine birdied four of the first five holes on his way to a 67 and was seven strokes behind in sixth, followed by John Huh of Los Angeles and Cal State Northridge, who closed with a 72 and was eight back in seventh.
Matthias Schwab of Austria and Joshua Creel both totaled 69 and wound up nine behind in a tie for eighth with Max McGreevy, who came in at 70.
In addition to Bramlett, Theegala and Huh, other players who earned PGA Tour playing cards for the 2021-22 season include Patrick Rodgers of Stanford and Kurt Kitayama of Chico and UNLV.
For complete results, visit https://www.pgatour.com/korn-ferry-tour/tournaments/korn-ferry-tour-championship/leaderboard.html
