Marc Turnesa wins Justin Timberlake

Marc Turnesa has won his first PGA Tour title with victory in the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open

Marc Turnesa
Fergus Bisset
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Marc Turnesa claimed his first PGA Tour title with a wire-to-wire victory in the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open.

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Turnesa finished on a tournament record total of -24 around the TPC at Summerlin in Las Vegas to beat Matt Kuchar by a single shot and become the fourth rookie to win on the PGA Tour in 2008.

The 30-year-old birdied the ninth, 11th, 12th and 14th and 17th to reach 25-under-par and could afford to bogey the last and still take the title. "I only won by a shot, so obviously every birdie I made was important." He said.

Turnesa had led going into the final round of last month’s Viking Classic but a late double bogey pushed him back into a tie for Will MacKenzie. Turnesa went on to lose out in a playoff.

"It was disappointing. But you know what, I did the best I could and it didn't work out.” He said. “The same thing could have easily happened here today. You just got to get over it and move on.”

The win pushed Turnesa from 138th to 75th on the money list and secures his place on the PGA Tour through to the end of 2010.

Turnesa is part of a famous golfing family. His great-uncle, Jim, won the 1952 PGA Championship, and his grandfather, Mike, was a six-time winner on the PGA TOUR who finished second to Ben Hogan in the 1948 PGA Championship. "I don't really feel like I'm carrying on a name," Turnesa said. "I guess I am without even thinking about it. I'm just trying to play golf as best I can and that's all I can really do."

Kuchar had a chance to catch Turnesa but he finished with four straight pars and fell just one shot shy of the winning total. “The 15th and 16th are definitely birdie holes that I missed opportunities on.” He said. “Other than that, I played pretty solid golf.”

1 Marc Turnesa (USA) 62 64 69 68 263 $738,000 2 Matt Kuchar (USA) 63 63 71 67 264 $442,800T3 Michael Allen (USA) 63 69 64 70 266 $213,200 T3 Chad Campbell (USA) 65 67 67 67 266 $213,200 T3 John Mallinger (USA) 64 64 70 68 266 $213,200 T6 Tim Herron (USA) 72 65 68 62 267 $142,475 T6 Davis Love III (USA) 68 67 65 67 267 $142,475 T8 Tom Pernice Jr (USA) 68 68 67 65 268 $123,000 T8 Scott Sterling (USA) 69 65 70 64 268 $123,000

Note: Players in bold signifies Titleist ball usage.

Fergus Bisset
Fergus Bisset
Contributing Editor

Fergus is Golf Monthly's resident expert on the history of the game and has written extensively on that subject. He has also worked with Golf Monthly to produce a podcast series. Called 18 Majors: The Golf History Show it offers new and in-depth perspectives on some of the most important moments in golf's long history. You can find all the details about it here.

He is a golf obsessive and 1-handicapper. Growing up in the North East of Scotland, golf runs through his veins and his passion for the sport was bolstered during his time at St Andrews university studying history. He went on to earn a post graduate diploma from the London School of Journalism. Fergus has worked for Golf Monthly since 2004 and has written two books on the game; "Great Golf Debates" together with Jezz Ellwood of Golf Monthly and the history section of "The Ultimate Golf Book" together with Neil Tappin , also of Golf Monthly.

Fergus once shanked a ball from just over Granny Clark's Wynd on the 18th of the Old Course that struck the St Andrews Golf Club and rebounded into the Valley of Sin, from where he saved par. Who says there's no golfing god?

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