Pro golf: Adamonis outlasts playoff field to win WNB

MIDLAND Steady nerves, crisp shots, a bit of luck and a few good bounces are necessary to win any professional golf tournament.

Brad Adamonis of Cumberland, R.I., had just the right proportions on Sunday — and a little bit of Harry Houdini, as well.

First, Adamonis made a 12-foot par putt on the second playoff hole to stay alive.

Then, the 34-year-old golfer had his tee shot on the fourth playoff hole rattle off the trees and bound into the middle of the fairway.

And finally, he drained a short par putt on the eighth playoff hole to defeat Tjaart van der Walt in the growing shadows to win the Nationwide WNB Golf Classic at Midland Country Club.

“This is fantastic,” Adamonis said after he made eight straight pars in the playoff. “I just kept grinding and hanging in there and I was able to win. I felt really relaxed during the playoff, which was different than the end of regulation because I knew that I was in contention and I was nervous and not trying to make any mistakes.”

Adamonis jumped from 60th to 30th on the money list with the victory. The top 25 players earn automatic promotion to the PGA Tour the following season.

Adamonis finished the final round with a 2-under 70 on the 7,300-yard layout, but he bogeyed the final hole to drop into the playoff with van der Walt, Ron Whittaker and Vance Veazy. It was the second straight playoff to decide the only Nationwide stop in the Permian Basin.

Whittaker was eliminated with a bogey on the first playoff hole, and Veazy dropped out with bogey on the second hole.

It was on the second playoff hole — a long, uphill par-3 into the wind — that Adamonis said he hit “the best shot of my life.”

His tee shot landed to the left of the green, leaving a pitch shot of nearly 100 feet. He pitched the ball to 12 feet and then watched the right-to-left breaking putt drop in for a par to extend his day.

Van der Walt also battled his way through the playoffs, making seven pars before watching his par putt on the final hole lip out on the left side to set up Adamonis for the victory.

“I just didn’t play well enough,” van de Walt said of his eight extra holes. “I didn’t give myself any birdie chances.”

The eight-hole playoff is the second longest in tour history. The last eight-hole playoff was at the Reese’s Cup Classic in July 2004.