OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (AP) — Zack Sucher won the Midwest Classic on Sunday for his first Web.com Tour title, closing with a 1-over 72 in windy conditions for a three-stroke victory.
Sucher, the 27-year-old former Alabama-Birmingham player, finished at 19-under 265 at the Nicklaus Golf Club at LionsGate and earned $108,000 to jump from 20th to fourth on the money list with $247,318. The top 25 after the final four regular-season events will earn 2014-15 PGA Tour cards.
“I played really well last week and didn’t get it done the last two days,” said Sucher, coming off a tie for fourth last week in the Boise Open after sharing the 36-hole lead. “I’m headed to the PGA Tour and now I can finally stop worrying about it.”
Jarrod Lyle tied for 11th at 11 under after a 69 in his first U.S. event since his second bout with leukemia The 32-year-old Australian opened with rounds of 67, 69 and 68.
“Everything’s good,” Lyle said. “The body’s held up well. I’ve done a lot of good things. I think the biggest positive is the fitness side of it, that in the heat I got around four days and got around comfortably.
“The golf game’s been in good shape for a while, but we had to wait and see if it fared well in tournament golf. … I’m ecstatic with the way the week has gone. Better than expected.”
Traveling with wife Briony and 2-year-old daughter Lusi, he’s also set to play Web.com Tour events Aug. 7-10 in Springfield, Missouri, and Aug. 14-17 in Knoxville, Tennessee.
When Lyle returns to the PGA Tour for the start of the season in October, he will have 20 events to earn $283,825 and reach the equivalent of No. 125 on the money list in 2012, the year he suffered a recurrence. He returned to play in November in the Australian Masters and played in the Victorian Open in February.
Sucher opened with rounds of 66, 63 and 64.
“I saw the forecast last night and the wind was going to be in the opposite direction than it had been all week,” Sucher said. “We saw that wind on Wednesday and it makes almost every hole play harder. I knew that it was going to be hard for somebody to shoot a really good score. It was going to be tough.”
Former Kansas State player Aaron Watkins was second. He also finished with a 72.
Bill Lunde was third at 15 under after a 69.
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