Fort Collins resident Tom Whitney came ever so close to a breakthrough victory on the Web.com Tour on Sunday.
The former Air Force Academy golfer posted his best finish ever on the Web.com circuit — by far. With two birdies in the last three holes, he tied for fifth in the Lincoln Land Charity Championship in Springfield, Ill.
More importantly, Whitney was just one stroke out of the lead when regulation play ended on Sunday. Four players tied at 14-under-par 270 — one better than Whitney — and played off for the title, with Adam Schenk prevailing with a birdie on the second extra hole.
Whitney’s previous best showing in a Web.com Tour event was a 22nd-place performance earlier this month in the Rust-Oleum Championship.
Whitney held the lead outright after 36 holes in Illinois after carding scores of 65-65. He added a 68 and a 73 on the weekend to check in at 13 under par overall.
The finish was worth $20,075, which moved Whitney from 133rd to 86th on the 2017 Web.com money list with $30,533.
Whitney started the season with just conditional status on the Web.com circuit, but is obviously in considerably better position now.
“I can just kind of have fun out there,” Whitney told PGATour.com. “The way I see it is, it’s just a birdie game.”
On Sunday, Whitney hurt his chances with a 4-over-par 39 on the front nine of the final round. But he played the back side in 2-under 34 to earn the top-five finish.
