BOISE, Idaho -- Luke Guthrie wrapped a PGA Tour card for next season, winning the Boise Open on Sunday for his first Web.com Tour title.
Guthrie, the 22-year-old former Illinois player who turned professional after the NCAA tournament, closed with a 6-under 65 for a four-stroke victory. He opened with rounds of 64, 71 and 62 and finished with a tournament-record 22-under 262 total at Hillcrest Country Club.
"It was awesome," said Guthrie, still a business student at Illinois. "I know it probably hasn't sunk in yet. I couldn't be more proud of how I played."
Guthrie earned $130,500 to jump from 22nd to fourth with $283,463, more than enough to earn a PGA Tour spot next year as a top-25 finisher. He has five top-10 finishes in six starts on the developmental tour, losing a playoff to Ben Kohles in Columbus, Ohio, and tying for third in Omaha, Neb.
"One of my main goals today was just to have fun," he said. "I kind of shot myself in the foot a few times just being too uptight and wanting it too bad and worrying about where this might put me on the money list. That's all kind of irrelevant once you tee it up."
The two-time Big Ten champion also has earned $284,672 in three PGA Tour starts, all top-20 finishes. He tied for fifth in the John Deere Classic in July.
Guthrie took the lead with a 30-foot eagle putt on the par-5 third hole and did his best to play aggressive-conservative golf the rest of the way.
"Pick a conservative target, but make sure you play aggressively to it," he said. "I played smart. Attack the easy holes and hunker down and make solid pars."
Richard H. Lee, Scott Gardiner, Steve Wheatcroft and Michael Putnam tied for second. Lee closed with a 66, Gardiner and Wheatcroft shot 69, and Putnam had a 71.
