Press Release

For Immediate Release May 22, 2016

Getting hot and holding on in the Arizona desert

Peter McGarry builds a massive lead and cruises to win the 2016 Open

SCOTTSDALE, Arizona. After shooting under part in both of the first two rounds - while no one else in the field managed to post any score in red figures - Peter McGarry accumulated an 11 stroke lead and coasted to victory in the 2016 Western Golf Alliance Open. Eventually, his NET 7-over was the highest winning total in the history of the event, a testimony to the windy conditions and tough greens that dominated the tournament.

"After dominating the first two days, I was hopeful I could grind it out with my 'C' game over the final 36 holes and claim the Coveted Pewter Mug once again," said McGarry. "As it turns out, that's exactly what I ended up doing, and I'm fortunate no one else could handle the conditions any better."

McGarry started the tournament strong, but really settled the matter during the second round. On day 1, McGarry started NET 2-under, but several in the field stayed close. The entire field averaged only 5-over, and defending champion Brian Gray was very close at 1-over. However, day 2 produced brutal conditions. A 25 yard wind combined with tucked pin positions at the Grayhawk Raptor course to send everyone's scores high ... except McGarry, who again went NET 2-under and opened up an 11 stroke lead on the nearest competitor. From there on, McGarry actually shot worse than the field average over the final two rounds, but ended up retaining the 11 stroke margin to the end.

Overall, the story of the week was the difficult green setups for this year's Open. In addition to the Grayhawk Raptor setup, pins were also set very near the margins of hazards at We-Ko-Pa Saguaro and the TPC Scottsdale Stadium courses. It was not uncommon for shots to fall off false fronts, or for lag putts to creep 18 inches past a pin, almost stop, then gain speed and roll off the green. Only on Sunday at We-Ko-Pa Cholla were the pins "get-able", and Doug Brunton took advantage of that situation. Brunton shot NET 8-under - the only person besides McGarry to post any round under par - to post the round of the tournament. His great score moved him from 6th to 3rd place overall.

"As a guy born and raised in Phoenix, to achieve this great win in my former home town was my goal for a long, long time," summarized McGarry. "It doesn't matter how I got to the end result, I'm proud to have accomplished this goal."

The final standings - top three:

Peter McGarry

Brian Gray

Doug Brunton

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About the Western Golf Alliance: The Western Golf Alliance is the premier golf organization in the United States. The WGA exists to further the greatness of this grand sport of golf through the improvement of golf play by its members, the promotion of golf rules, etiquette, and tradition, and the ability to gather together from time to time for golf events and tournaments. The regional organization spans five western states, and is organized into nine geographic regions. Further information is available at http://www.westerngolf.org/.

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