News >> Three Straight At Reno-Tahoe Open
MacKenzie Earns First Ever Tour Win
Reno, NV (August 27, 2006)…With a birdie putt on the seventy-second hole, 2004 Hooters Tour Player of The Year Wil MacKenzie made it three in row Sunday at The Reno-Tahoe Open for Hooters Tour alumni when he captured his first ever PGA Tour win.The Greenville, North Carolina native fired rounds of 63-67-67-71 for a four day total of twenty-under par 268, one shot better than Bob Estes. MacKenzie’s 268 was one off of the tournament scoring record set by back-to-back Reno-Tahoe champion and Hooters Alumni Vaughn Taylor.
"I was sort of like, `Wow, it went in,"' MacKenzie said of his birdie putt on the final hole. "I thought I could make it, but I hadn't made any all day.
MacKenzie earns $540,000 for his first career PGA TOUR victory. He entered the week ranked 179th on the money list with $197,158. His previous best showing was a tie for eighth last year at the tournament then known as the Michelin Classic at Las Vegas, now the Frys.com Open.
"I wasn't worried. I was just thinking of all these different scenarios," said the thirty-one year old MacKenzie. "I knew it was going to come down to the wire. I haven't become Tiger Woods yet where I can just blow them away."
With his win, MacKenzie earns a two-year exemption on the PGA TOUR that will take him through the 2008 season. He also earns exemptions into several invitational tournaments, including the 2007 Mercedes Championships in Kapalua, Maui, Hawaii and the 2007 PGA Championship.
In his last two seasons (03,04) on the Hooters Tour MacKenzie collected three wins and more than $105,000 in earnings. In 2004 MacKenzie played in twelve events, winning three times en route to Player of The Year honors.
The NGA/Hooters Tour is the 3rd largest men’s 72-hole professional golf tour in the country behind the PGA and Nationwide Tours, and boasts alumni like 2003 PGA champion Shaun Micheel, 2003 British Open champion Ben Curtis, 2003 US Open champion Jim Furyk, British Open and PGA champion John Daly, two-time US Open winner Lee Janzen, British Open champion Tom Lehman, as well as PGA champion David Toms, Tour Championship winner Chad Campbell, 2004 Bellsouth winner Zach Johnson and back to back Reno Tahoe Open winner Vaughn Taylor to name just a few. All told, the NGA/Hooters Tour alumni have an incredible nine Majors to their credit. The NGA Hooters Tour has helped more than 100 golf professionals acquire their PGA, Nationwide and Champion’s Tour card. In fact, 34% of the players that earned their 2006 PGA Tour cards, and 43% of the players that earned full exempt status on the Nationwide Tour started their careers on the NGA Hooters Tour.
For more information about the NGA Hooters Tour, please check out our website at www.hooterstour.com or contact the Tour office toll free at 800-992-8748.
