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 Jerod Turner handled difficult final-round conditions to win the Soboba Classic, all but wrapping up a 2010 PGA Tour card in the process. Almost nobody could have anticipated Jerod Turner being the event’s first champion. The humble 34-year-old from Hurst, Tex., was only able to gain entry into the Soboba Classic field after a top-25 finish a week earlier in the WNB Golf Classic — where he was the second-to-last alternate and was only able to gain entry into the field after Kyle Reifers withdrew. In Sunday’s final round at the Country Club at Soboba Springs, Turner expertly handled difficult pin placements, slick greens and windy conditions, shooting a 2-under-par 69 to win the Soboba Classic by two strokes over Derek Lamely. “It’s very surreal,” Turner said of the win, which came in just his ninth career Nationwide Tour start and after just his third made cut on the circuit. While contenders like Lamely and Brian Stuard — who finished tied for third — wilted away with miscues, Turner played like a rock, making only one bogey and carding three birdies. The final-round scoring average was 72.84, the highest of any day of the tournament. Self-taught and sponsor-less, Turner has spent most of the decade competing in mini-tour events whenever he had the means and enough confidence in his game. He worked construction jobs during the off-season to supplement his golf and support his wife and two children, a formula he said allowed for about 10 tournament appearances per year. Turner decided to play professional golf full-time in 2009, frequenting the Adams Golf Pro Tour Series for much of ’09 while struggling to land consistent starts in Nationwide Tour events via Monday qualifiers. “Two weeks ago, I was perfectly content with getting a job and feeding my family,” Turner said, expressing his willingness to revert to his previous lifestyle at season’s end. “Obviously, this changes a lot.” It sure does, to the tune of a $180,000 prize — the largest on the Nationwide Tour this season — and a 17th-place standing on the money list, meaning it would take a near-miraculous series of events in the year’s final three events for Turner not to be among the top 25 players earning a 2010 PGA Tour card at season's end. Turner was quick to praise his caddie, Brooks West, who just so happened to come on board right before the WNB Golf Classic. Turner finished seventh there, and he knew West had something to do with it. “He’s very upbeat, he’s very positive, and he’s very knowledgeable about the game,” Turner said of West, who previously caddied for Stuart Deane. “I’m very fortunate to have met up with him.” For now, Turner doesn’t want to think about where he’ll be playing in the future, but he is more than happy to consider the immediate future for himself and his family. “Money is going to be plentiful or a while, and I’m not going to have to struggle with that and the day-to-day things for my family,” he said. “That’s the neatest part. Finally, I can go focus on golf and not let the other things come into play, with bills and this and that.” There were a few prominent finishes by Southern Californians at the Soboba Classic:  • Twenty-year-old Murrieta native Rickie Fowler (pictured) struggled mightily Sunday, making seven bogeys and just one birdie en route to a 6-over-par 77. He slipped from 10th to 31st, meaning he failed to gain an exemption into next week’s Chattanooga Classic by virtue of a top-25 finish.“I just struggled a bit out there today. It is what it is,” he said. Fowler will not play in any more Nationwide Tour events in 2009. He received a sponsor’s exemption to play in the PGA Tour’s Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open in Las Vegas, Nev., next week. • On the other hand, South African Tyrone van Aswegen, who resides in San Diego, secured a spot in the Chattanooga Classic thanks to a tie for third made possible by four rounds in the 60s. Southland fans might remember Van Aswegen from earlier this year when he romped to an easy victory in the Long Beach Open. • Idyllwild native Brendan Steele went birdie-eagle on the last two holes of his final round to post an even-par 71 and finish tied for eighth. The $29,000 he garnered was the largest check of his Nationwide Tour career. ALSO SEE: Notebook: Tidland cards low final round, Pate wears heart-rate monitor Complete results from PGATour.com Lamely upstages Fowler, grabs share of lead through three rounds at Soboba Classic Trio of players atop leaderboard after first round of Soboba Classic 5 things to watch at Soboba Classic |
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