CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. -- For a guy who, coming into this year, recorded his best Nationwide Tour finishes in 1997 and 1998, Ron Whittaker has done quite well for himself during the last 14 days.
After losing in playoff last week at the WNB Golf Classic, he closed the deal Sunday to win the Chattanooga Classic at Black Creek. Whittaker finished at 17-under 271, one stroke ahead of David McKenzie. The win, worth $85,500, virtually assures Whittaker his 2008 PGA TOUR playing privileges.
"I knew I was going to win. It was just a matter of time," said Whittaker. "I've been playing really well."
Going into the week, Whittaker, who calls Little Rock, Ark., home, was 27th on the money list. His 2-under 70 Sunday included four birdies and two bogeys. Interestingly, none of his final-round birdies came on Black Creek Club's par 5s.
"You have to birdie the par 5s here, but I birdied 1, 2 and 5 (all par 4s), so I didn't let the pars on the par 5s bother me," he said.
Whittaker kept things interesting by making bogey on the 17th hole, leaving McKenzie, who had completed his round, an interested observer.
Whittaker, the brother-in-law of 21-time PGA TOUR winner Lanny Wadkins (Wadkins married Whittaker's sister), played the par-5 18th conservatively by laying up, hitting an 80-yard wedge to about eight feet. From there he made a routine two-putt for his first Nationwide Tour title.
"You don't realize how hard an 80-yard shot is to win a tournament," Whittaker laughed after picking up his first win in the United States.
Right after turning professional in 1995, he won the Players Championship on the South African Tour, a victory that qualified him for the World Series of Golf. He made his first PGA TOUR paycheck that weekend, picking up $14,650 for his 40th-place finish.
"I was a kid fresh out of college (Wake Forest), went over there and won the Players Championship on the South African Tour. I thought, 'This is easy. '"
It wasn't. Whittaker has been to the PGA TOUR's National Qualifying Tournament 12 times. He won't make it 13 this year.
"By winning this tournament, the result is getting my (PGA TOUR) card," he added. "It's special because I beat a bunch of guys out here. I'm now known as a winner here in Chattanooga, my favorite place in Tennessee."
For McKenzie, it was a case of what might have been. He had six birdies Sunday, but derailed his chances with bogeys on Nos. 12 and 13 and a par on the par-5 14th.
"If you turn those three holes around, it might have been different," said McKenzie, a native of Melbourne, Australia. "But I suppose everybody can say that. I played nicely this week without having my best game. I'd rather have my A game and finish 20th. But I'll take where I finish and be quite happy with it."
Whittaker, who had planned on playing next week's Miccosukee Championship in Miami, has re-evaluated his schedule and will take the week off before heading to California for the Nationwide Tour Championship at Barona Creek near San Diego. He's ready for a week of R and R in Little Rock.
"It's an important tournament, it's our Tour Championship and the biggest purse we have. So I want to be fresh," he said. "Plus, my feet are killing me."
Fourth-Round Notes: Monday qualifier David Lutterus finished in style Sunday, making eagle on the 18th hole. Lutterus shot a final-round 67 to tie for 11th, his best Nationwide Tour performance since finishing as the runner-up at the Jacob's Creek Open Championship in February. ... Brock Mackenzie had the only bogey-free round Sunday, recording seven birdies along the way. His 65 helped him to a tie for 34th. ... Tommy Tolles continues his unusual season. Tolles has missed 10 cuts in 15 starts this year, but in three of the five events he's played on the weekend, he's recorded top-10 finishes, including this week. Tolles ended at 15-under 273 at Black Creek Club to tie for third, his best showing of the season. He also tied for seventh at the National Mining Association Pete Dye Classic and was fourth two weeks ago at the Mark Christopher Charity Classic. ... After a scoring average of 70.692 in the third round, a tournament all-time high, Black Creek Club fought back again, with the field stroke average at 71.908 Sunday. The par-4 13th hole played the most difficult in the fourth round -- and throughout the tournament -- but the par-3 17th yielded the fewest birdies of any hole. Players on the rectangle-shaped green, with the deep swale in the middle, had only 34 birdies there for the week, six coming Sunday. By contrast, there were 111 bogeys, 13 double bogeys and three "others" there. ... Two players in the field had four sub-70 rounds this week. Runner-up David McKenzie shot rounds of 67-68-69-68, while Brad Elder, who tied for sixth, shot 68-69-68-69.
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