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Buckle wins on Nationwide Tour

Asian Tour member Andrew Buckle of Australia enjoyed a memorable debut in the United States when he won the Nationwide Tour’s Virginia Beach Open by five shots on Sunday.

The 24-year-old Buckle, currently third on the UBS Order of Merit, fired a final round of three-under-par 69 to accumulate a magnificent 20-under-par winning total. Another Asian Tour regular Kim Felton finished in tied sixth place on 12-under.

Buckle, the 1999 and 2000 World Junior Champion, said: "This is unbelievable. It feels great but at the same time it hasn’t sunk in yet. I just tried to go out there and not make many mistakes. I knew it would be hard to shoot a low round today. I just wanted to play smart.

“My course management was really good and my short game was on this week,” said Buckle.

His victory saw him move up to eighth place on the Nationwide Tour money list. Last year, he missed his US Tour card at Qualifying School, finishing tied 42nd.

This season, Buckle has finished runner-up twice on the Asian Tour, at the Enjoy Jakarta HSBC Indonesia Open and TCL Classic in China.

May 8, 2006