Chattanooga Classic presented by Black Creek

 
 
In First Ever U.S. Start, Buckle Tastes Victory
 
May 11, 2006

Andrew Buckle won the Virginia Beach Open this weekend in his first professional golf start in the United States.

The native of Australia previously had never won a tournament on tour and had a career best finish of 29th at the 2006 ING New Zealand PGA Championship.

He is now the third Australian to win on tour this season joining Paul Sheehan and Paul Gow.

Not only did Buckle beat runner-up Justin Bolli by five strokes; he also tied the previous tournament largest winning margin. Buckle finished up the tournament at a 20-under-par 268, which also helped him to break the tournament 72-hole record, set by James Driscoll in 2004, by five strokes as well.

Runner-up Justin Bolli, the 2004 Chattanooga Classic champion, finished one stroke ahead of third place finisher Michael Long. Brendon de Jonge and Gabriel Hjertstedt rounded out the top five as they tied for fourth place. Rickey Barnes who has received a sponsor's exemption for this year's Chattanooga Classic finished up tied for 45th at Virginia Beach.

Tripp Isenhour still sits atop the money list with almost $233,000 in winnings this season while the rest of the top five remains the same as last week as well. Paul Sheehan was second followed by 2004 Chattanooga Classic runner-up Johnson Wagner. Jim Rutledge was fourth and Ken Duke fifth. Justin Bolli moved up 28 spots to 12th place on the list after his runner-up performance in Virginia Beach.

The Nationwide Tour will be heading back to the South this weekend when it stops in Fort Smith, Arkansas for the Rheem Classic. The Rheem Classic is presented by The Times Record.