North Carolina State University Athletics
TIM PEELER: Pettersson Wins Fall Finish
11/7/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
Nov. 7, 2005
RALEIGH -- Former NC State All-America golfer Carl Pettersson didn't win his second consecutive tournament on the PGA Tour, though he did finish tied second in the Southern Farm Bureau Classic in Madison, Miss., two strokes behind winner Heath Slocum.
But it was a big payday for Pettersson, who not only took home $264,000 for his second-place performance, but also picked up a check for $500,000 as the winner of the Fall Finish, presented by PriceWaterhouseCoopers.
The award, now in its sixth year, rewards golfers who play well in the final 11 events on the PGA Tour. Pettersson finished the fall with 201.250 points, well ahead of runner-up Olin Browne and third-place Tiger Woods, who both had 170 points. (Browne finished ahead of Woods because he played in more fall events.)
"I had a fantastic finish to the year after a rough start," Pettersson said. "I was really quite pleased with my play from the Deutsche Bank Championship through the Southern Farm Bureau Classic. For some reason, the past two seasons, I have played my best golf on the PGA Tour in the fall."
Complete details of the award are available here.
Pettersson not only recorded his first PGA Tour victory by winning the Chrysler Championship in Tampa in late October, he notched a second-place finish at the Southern Farm Bureau Classic, tied for fourth at the Deutsche Bank, tied for 11th at the Chrysler Classic of Greensboro, N.C., and tied for 15th at the Funai Classic in Orlando, Fla.
Though the $500,000 does not count towards official PGA Tour money, Pettersson has moved to No. 31 on that list, meaning he will get an invitation to next year's Masters, which gives automatic invitations to the top 40 players on the PGA Tour money list. It will be Pettersson's first time playing in the Masters.
He's certain to play at least one practice round at Augusta National Golf Club with his former roommate, and another former NC State All-America, Tim Clark, who has already secured his invitation to the event, which he has played in on two other occasions.
Both Pettersson and Clark, who tied for 22nd in the Tour Championship at East Lake Country Club in Atlanta over the weekend, had terrific 2005 seasons.
Clark finished the year ranked 21 in the official World Golf Rankings and No. 21 on the PGA Tour Money list with 2,310,037 earned this year, not including his earnings from winning both the South African Open and Scottish Open overseas.
Pettersson ends the season at No. 31 on the money list with 1,993,851 earned. He has also moved up to No. 61 on the world rankings list.
You may contact Tim Peeler at tim_peeler@ncsu.edu.
