PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. – Exactly two years after joining the Minor League Golf Tour, Zach Zaback of Farmington, CT, scored his fourth victory Wednesday, making an eagle at the 18th hole for a one-shot win on the Estate course at PGA National.
Zaback edged Justin Hicks of Grosse Ile, MI, 64 to 65. Zaback made seven birdies and two bogeys before his dramatic finish when he hit hybrid from 220 yards and sank the winning fifteen-foot eagle putt. Zaback received $750 from the $4,030 purse. Additionally, he collected $200 from an optional bonus pool, $90 in the skins game and $367 as the low scorer over 54 holes this week for a total of $1,407.
Zaback played in his first MLGT tournament on Oct. 17, 2016. He lost out in a four-man playoff Tuesday at the nearby Abacoa Golf Club.
Hicks, twice a winner on the Nationwide Tour, now the Web.com Tour, made four birdies and a bogey on each nine. He sat on the lead for about 15 minutes before Zaback finished in the final threesome of the day. Hence, Hicks was second among 33 starters in the tour’s 102nd event of the year. He made $530 on the day for a career total of $119,095 since March, 2005. He has won 41 times on the Stuart-based mini-tour.
7 players chose to enter the optional 3-day cumulative bonus pool where scores from all three 1-day events this week counted towards. The entry fee was $100 and 100% of the entries go into the purse creating a prize pool of $700. Here is how they stacked up after 54 holes.