SCHNELL SHOOTS 17-UNDER ON WAY TO WIN AT MOON VALLEY OPEN

Brady Schnell fired a 4-under 68 in the final round and finished at 17-under to win by four shots on the OnCore Gateway Tour’s Moon Valley Open at Moon Valley Country Club.

Schnell opened the tournament with a bogey-free 66, then added a 7-under 65 in the second round to take a comfortable 5-shot lead into the final day.

He was steady in the third round, carding two birdies on the front to make the turn at 15-under. First round leader Jimmy Gunn tried to keep pace and trimmed Schnell’s lead to 3 shots after his 4-under 32 got him to 12-under as they made the turn, while Seann Harlingten added two birdies and an eagle on the front to make the turn at 11-under par, four shots off the lead.

Schnell kept the heat on, carding birdies on three of the next five holes to get to 18-under par with four holes left to play. Harlingten dropped off after his bogey on the par-5 10th hole, but Gunn kept things interesting after his eagle on the par-5 13th to get to 14-under par. Schnell then made a bogey on the par-3 15th to drop to 17 under, but Gunn could only manage only pars on the final five holes and couldn’t catch Schnell, who also made three pars down the stretch to finish at 17-under. The win was Schnell’s first of the year, and was his fourth Top-10 finish in five starts this season.

Gunn finished 66 for the final round and 14-under for the tournament, finishing T2 with Harlingten. Gunn was in contention all the way and could have been in the drivers seat, but his second-round 71 had him playing from behind in round three. He was 13-under in rounds one and three, but only 1-under in round two.

Harlingten, last week’s winner at the ExecuCar Classic, put together rounds of 66-65 to stay in contention, but his first-round 71 also had him playing catch-up to Schnell. Harlingten now has three Top-5s and six Top-10s on the year.

Scott Harrington fired a bogey-free 67 in the final round to finish fourth at 13-under par, while Brock Mackenzie had the low round of the day, an 8-under 64, to vault into fifth place at 12-under par, earning his fifth Top-5 finish on the season.

For complete results from the Moon Valley Open CLICK HERE.

Next up on the OnCore Gateway Tour is the Cave Creek Classic at Dove Valley Ranch, Mar. 15-17, followed by the KBS Golf Shafts Open at Wigwam Resort, Mar. 28-30.