Napoleon native Stuard lands first career PGA Tour victory
By Mike Moore
Staff Writer
Napoleon — Nearly 11 years as a pro, and this moment remained so stubbornly out of reach.
Second place twice, Napoleon native Brian Stuard admitted doubt had crept into his mind.
Would he ever taste victory on the PGA Tour?
Would coming close ever lead to coming out on top?
“I think everything goes through your mind,” he said. “You always believe you can do it, but have to wait for your day to come. I’ve always told myself it would happen eventually.”
Well, on Monday afternoon, eventually arrived.
Stuard, a 2001 graduate of Napoleon High, survived a soaked course and a two-hole playoff to win the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, finally earning his first win on the PGA Tour.
“Petty exciting,” he said Monday night, noticeably struggling to put everything into words. “It’s a little overwhelming to think about the importance of it. It hasn’t quite sunk in how amazing this all is. But I’m so pleased and so happy.”
Rain forced delays of the tournament on Thursday, Saturday and Sunday, eventually forcing officials to postpone the final round until Monday and shorten the tournament to 54 holes.
According to a PGA story, a Tour event hadn’t been cut to three rounds since the 2013 Hyundai Tournament of Champions.
Stuard said, had it gone 72 holes, he still felt confident about factoring in the finish.
“I think I was playing well and playing solid enough to remain in contention,” he added. “I felt like I would have been around at the end if it had gone the whole way.”
But after 54 holes, and after a final-round 69, Stuard was tied in first at 15-under with Jamie Lovemark and Byeong-Hun An.
Stuard and Lovemark each made par on the par-5 18th hole in the first playoff, while An made bogey.
In the second playoff hole, again at 18, Stuard had a shot to birdie and take the win.
“I was pretty nervous standing over it,” he said with a laugh of his last shot. “I knew this would mean some pretty big things for me.”
After he sank it?
“It was relief, joy, happiness, just about anything you can think of,” he added. “I really tried to approach the playoff the same way I had the rest of the tournament. On that second hole, I made a good shot to put myself in position.”
Stuard said the aftermath of his victory has been “amazing.”
“Quite a few texts and calls from just about everyone I know,” he laughed.
He lives in Fort Worth, Texas, but says he still has plenty of family in the Jackson area he hopes to come home this summer to celebrate with.
Then again, his time may be short.
The title in New Orleans earned Stuard a payday of roughly $1.2 million.
“I really haven’t thought about that too much,” he said. “The big things is I’ve earned my card to play anywhere for the next two years.”
The victory allows Stuard two years of opportunity to play any PGA Tour event.
“That’s the biggest deal to me,” he added. His two second-place finishes were in 2010 and 2014. “I was playing the start of this year in the conditional category, only getting a few events. Now I get to play some pretty awesome events for two years.”
Two years of opportunity, granted thanks to a gutsy performance on a waterlogged course in the second round of a playoff battle.
Stuard waited 11 years for this moment.
On Monday, he earned every bit of it.
Mike Moore is a play-by-play commentator and Sports Writer for JTV Sports. You can reach him at mjm12@albion.edu. He’s also the author of ‘Love, Defined; A Dedication to the Love, Sacrifice, and Magic of Motherhood.’
Love, Defined is available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Tate Publishing or by contacting Mike directly.
Visit http://lovedefinedbook.weebly.com for more information. File photo attached.
