Jeff Freeman closed with a fourth consecutive 5-under-par 66 to claim medalist honors at the 2011 Champions Tour National Qualifying Tournament at the par-71 TPC Scottsdale's Champions Course. Freeman finished with a 72-hole total of 20-under-par 264 and was a four-stroke victor over Gary Hallberg (Castle Rock, CO) and Jim Rutledge (Victoria, BC).
"Scary day, scary day today," Freeman said after his round. "When you are in these types of situations, if you don't play well, then you don't have a tournament to play in. I was scared all day, nervous all day and anxious all day. I just tried to play one shot at a time and get through the darned thing. "Freeman, a club professional at the Country Club of Orlando and the 1999 PGA Professional Player of the Year, ended any suspense of who would capture medalist honors early in the final round. After starting the day tied with Hallberg at 15-under-par, he fired a blistering 6-under-par 29 on the front nine and was never threatened after that. His front nine included five straight birdies on holes Nos. 4-8. Two of those birdies came on 25-foot putts on Nos. 6 and 8.
Freeman, who finished the tournament with 27 birdies and an eagle, said the key for him was making birdie on the first hole.
"That birdie at No. 1 settled me down a little bit," he added. "But even after I made all those birdies on the front nine, I told myself I've just got to keep going and try to make more birdies because at any time you can mess up. I never really knew where I stood during the day and I just tried to stay focused. The only time I messed up was on No. 17 when I pulled a hybrid on my second shot into the junk."
Despite winning medalist honors, Freeman won't be eligible to begin competing on the Champions Tour until mid-April when he turns 50. He had a lengthy career on the Nationwide Tour with 176 starts on his resume, playing full time in 1994 and again from 2001-2006. He also made 18 starts on the PGA TOUR, including 10 in 2000.
His victory at this year's Champions Tour National Qualifying Tournament earned him a check for $30,000.
Freeman was one of five players at the tournament to earn exempt status for 2012. Joining him were runners-up Hallberg and Rutledge as well as Jeff Hart (Solana Beach, Calif.) and P.H. Horgan (West Palm Beach, Fla.). A birdie at No. 17 helped Horgan secure the fifth and final exempt position. Those five players will be exempt until the reorder takes place later in the 2012 season.
Jim Carter (Scottsdale, Ariz.), Sonny Skinner (Sylvester, Ga.) and Bobby Clampett (Carmel, Calif.) all tied for sixth place, but Carter captured the sixth spot with a birdie on the second playoff hole. It was significant because he will earn a spot as one of the five exempt players until Freeman turns 50 in April. Skinner made a par to finish seventh and Clampett made a bogey to finish eighth.
Mark Mouland (Kenilworth, England) and Robin Freeman (LaQuinta, Calif.), Jeff's older brother, tied for ninth place. Mouland's par on the third extra hole clinched the ninth spot with Freeman finishing 10th.
Four players tied for 11thand James Mason's (Dillard, Ga.) birdie on the first playoff hole gave him the 11th spot, while Dick Mast (Forest, Va.) grabbed the 12th spot with a par on the third extra hole. Lance Ten Broeck (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.) made a bogey on the third hole to finish 13th. Bill Glasson (Stillwater, Okla.), who tied for 11th, did not participate in the playoff.
Players who finished in positions 6-12 after the playoffs will be conditionally exempt in 2012. The one exception will be Carter through mid-April. In addition, the top 30 finishers and ties will be eligible to compete for spots in open qualifiers at all co-sponsored events on the Champions Tour in 2012.
