Written by Trenten Hilburn   

Simpson Pulls Away To Take Title At The 33rd
Western Refining College All-America Golf Classic 

EL PASO, Texas (November 20, 2007) - Wake Forest's Webb Simpson birdied five holes on the back nine of the final round to take medalist honors at the 33rd Annual Western Refining College All-America Golf Classic held at the 6,837-yard, par-71 El Paso Country Club.

Simpson, a senior from Raleigh, N.C., finished the final round with a seven-under 64 to finish the tournament 15-under par. It is the fourth best total in tournament history. Last year, Chris Kirk of Georgia set the standard with an 18-under par performance. Arizona's Ricky Barnes (2000) and Chris Nallen (2003) each finished the tournament at 17-under par en route to tournament titles.

Simpson is the second Wake Forest player to win the Western Refining College All-America Golf Classic, joining 1978 winner Gary Hallberg, who won by eight strokes over BYU's Bobby Clampett.

After a first round 62, Simpson had a four stroke lead, but he followed it up with a one-over 72 in the second round. This gave way to San Diego State's Aaron Goldberg, who entered the final round with a one-stroke lead at nine-under par.

Goldberg, a senior from Encinitas, Calif., finished second in the event with a final round 68 to finish 12-under par.

The final pairing of Simpson, Goldberg and Oklahoma State's Trent Leon, made the turn in a tight race, as Goldberg carried a one-stroke lead into the back nine at 11-under.

Goldberg birdied 10, but Simpson answered with birdies at No. 11 and No. 12 to tie for the lead. Goldberg regained the lead with a birdie on 14, but Simpson answered with birdies on 15, 16 and 17 to take the lead for good.

Charlotte's Corey Nagy was the biggest climber on the final day. After starting the day in 18th position, Nagy fired a final round 66 to tie for ninth.

In all, 15 of the 28 players finished under par on Sunday.

Each university that has a player participating in the tournament will receive a $1,000 scholarship. Over the past 32 years, the Sun Bowl Association has donated over $600,000 to collegiate golf through this scholarship program.

Place

Player

School

1st

2nd

3rd

Total

Par

1.

Webb Simpson

Wake Forest

62

72

64

198

-15

2.

Aaron Goldberg

San Diego State

66

67

68

201

-12

3.

Jonas Blixt

Florida State

67

71

66

204

-9

 

Andrew Landry

Arkansas

67

69

68

204

-9

 

Trent Leon

Oklahoma State

69

65

70

204

-9

6.

Gareth Shaw

East Tennessee State

71

67

68

206

-7

7.

Zach Sucher

UAB

73

67

67

207

-6

 

Lucas Lee

UCLA

67

70

70

207

-6

9.

Kevin Chappell

UCLA

68

72

68

208

-5

 

Corey Nagy

Charlotte

74

68

66

208

-5

11.

Joel Sjoholm

Georgia State

75

64

71

210

-3

 

Jon Curran

Vanderbilt

73

70

67

210

-3

13.

Brian Locke

Loyola Marymount

70

68

73

211

-2

14.

Kyle Stanley

Clemson

71

68

73

212

-1

 

George Bryan IV

South Carolina

69

76

67

212

-1

16.

Chesson Hadley

Georgia Tech

70

66

77

213

E

 

Mike Van Sickle

Marquette

73

68

72

213

E

 

Victor Almstrom

Minnesota

69

72

72

213

E

19.

Derek Fathauer

Louisville

75

70

69

214

1

 

Billy Horschel

Florida

72

66

76

214

1

21.

Andrew DiBitetto

Charlotte

71

69

75

215

2

 

Dan Woltman

Wisconsin

72

77

66

215

2

 

Lindsay Renolds

Coastal Carolina

71

73

71

215

2

24.

Cameron Tringale

Georgia Tech

74

73

69

216

3

25.

Michael Schachner

Duke

76

71

70

217

4

26.

Matthew Savage

Florida State

71

74

73

218

5

27.

Jarred Texter

UNLV

75

71

77

223

10

28.

Clinton Dammann

St. John's (Minn.)

76

74

80

230

17