Gow gains second career win

Paul Gow carded an even-par 71 on Sunday and finished with a four-day total of three-under-par 281 to win the Buy.com Hershey Open. Gow earned his second career victory on the circuit, finishing one shot ahead of third-round co-leader Paul Claxton.

Shane Bertsch, J.J. Henry, Joe Daley and Todd Demsey tied for third at one-under, joining Gow and Claxton as the only competitors to finish under par at the East Course at the Country Club of Hershey.

At the start of play on Sunday, Gow and Claxton were tied with Pat Bates at minus-three. Bates birdied the par-five first hole to take the early lead. Gow would birdie the fourth to draw even, but Bates then birdied the fifth to pull one shot better. The next holes were trouble for the co-leaders.

Bates bogeyed the sixth, seventh and eighth, but Gow also bogeyed seven and eight. Bates made birdie at nine to take a one-shot lead, but gave it immediately back on 10 when his seven-foot-par putt lipped out of the cup.

With only nine holes to play, 12 golfers were within two strokes of the lead.

Bertsch, who started the day two shots off the lead, birdied the 14th hole to gain a share of the lead.

Demsey, who started final-round play at two-under, double-bogeyed the ninth to fall to even-par for the tournament. He rebounded with a birdie at 12 and another at 14 to join Bertsch and Gow in the lead. Bates made bogey on 13 to fall into second.

Bertsch made his way to the 16th hole, the fourth hardest all week, and left with a bogey. Demsey double-bogeyed 16 and with a birdie at 15, Gow had the lead to himself.

"Pars around this golf course all week meant something," said Gow, who also won the 1997 Permian Basin Open. "When I got up to three-under, I thought if I could par the last three holes, then someone would have to do something special."

Gow, who collected $72,000 for the win and moved up from 28th to seventh on the money list, parred the three holes coming in to secure the win.

"I hadn't won on this Tour since 1997, so when you win the first time I thought I was fairly lucky," said Gow. ""It's kind of nice to have a second victory knowing that you can actually handle yourself down the stretch and that you don't choke and all those cliches."

Claxton fell to even-par for the tournament after his front nine score of 39, but rebounded with birdies on 15 and 16, taking him to within one shot of the lead. He caught some bad luck on 18, as his tee shot landed in an old divot and his approach shot landed in a bunker short of the green.

"It was an old divot that had grown in a little bit and there was dirt that you fill-in the divots with and it was sitting right in that old divot and I just couldn't get down to the ball," said Claxton, who shot a one-over 72 on Sunday.

However, Claxton almost forced a playoff when his sand shot stopped eight inches short of the hole.

"I hit it perfect, but it needed to be a little bit harder," stated Claxton, whose previous best finish this season was a tie for 17th at the Mississippi Gulf Coast Open.

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