Richey Grabs $16,000 1st Place Prize at SwingThought.com Tour Winter Series Event at Orange County National

Orlando, FL, November 08, 2014 --(PR.com)-- Brian Richey, out of Lakeland, Fla., came to Orange County National with little expectations but felt confident in his game. Richey came into the event to gain some competitive reps before competing in second stage of Web.com Tour Q-School. With a mixture of length and complicated putting surfaces he knew this was going to be a good test of his game throughout the week. Richey also discovered eliminating big mistakes was going to be important if he wanted to take home the victory at the 3 day 54-hole $40,000 Guaranteed Purse event. The event, held Tuesday October 28th through Thursday October 30th, was the first of several guaranteed purse events taking place this 2014-15 SwingThought.com Tour Winter Series in the Greater Orlando Area.

Richey, who starred at Florida Southern, opened with a 71 on the Crooked Cat course at Orange County National, former host to Final Stage of PGA TOUR Qualifying School. "I just couldn't get the flat stick rolling in the opening round," explained Richey. He found his putting stroke in the next two rounds however, firing a 64 in the second round and following up with a 65 in the final round. His three day 16 under par 200 stroke total was good enough for a 4 stroke win over his next nearest competitor, Logan Blondell, who is also out of Lakeland. The victory was worth $16,000 and moved Richey straight to the top of the SwingThought.com Tour Winter Series Money List. The $16,000 winner’s check was Richey’s biggest pay day of his young career and, heading into second stage of Q School, is sure to provide even more reassurance for Richey as he tries to work his way onto the Web.com Tour. "My game is coming around,” exclaimed Richey, “and, with this win, I am taking a tremendous amount of confidence into second stage." Richey was also a winner on the Pro Series back in August.

Blondell, a former standout at Georgia Southern, was also a winner on the SwingThought.com Tour Pro Series this season and finished solo second with scores of 71-67-66 for a three day total of 204. Logan's second place finish was good enough to earn him $8,000 for the tournament and moved him into second place on the SwingThought.com Tour Winter Series Money List. Delaware alum Justin Martinson, a winner as well on the Pro Series, finished in solo 3rd. Martinson, out of Avondale, Penn., finished at 10 under par for the 3 day event and earned $4,000 for his 3rd place finish. Martinson’s finish moved him to 4th on the Winter Series Money List. Louisville alum Riley Wheeldon, out of Richmond, British Columbia, Canada, finished tied for 5th which puts him at 3rd on the season money list. The top 60 members on the season ending SwingThought.com Tour Money List will have the opportunity to enter the Winter Series Tour Championship for a Guaranteed minimum purse of $50,000!

Eastern Michigan University alum Christopher Ross, out of Ontario, Canada, made an albatross (double eagle) on the first hole of the 3 day event. The albatross was the 3rd by Ross this year and made national news. Ross finished tied for 7th in the event.

For full results from SwingThought.com Tour Winter Series Orange County National visit http://www.swingthought.com/finalresults/ws2014029/#.VFOiAjTF-QE

The SwingThought.com Tour is the #3 men’s professional golf tour in the US and #1 most recommended developmental tour by golf’s top touring professionals. On average over 40% of every PGA TOUR field and over 60% of every Web.com Tour field have spent time on the SwingThought.com Tour. SwingThought.com Tour alumni have won an amazing 16 Major Championships and include 2012 and 2014 Masters champion Bubba Watson, 2011 PGA Championship winner Keegan Bradley, 2010 PGA TOUR Player of the Year and 2003 US Open Champion Jim Furyk, 2007 Masters Champion Zach Johnson, two-time U.S. Open Champion Lee Janzen, British Open and PGA Champion John Daly, and recent PGA Tour winners such as Robert Streb, Ben Martin, Michael Thompson, Ted Potter Jr, Gary Woodland, Russell Henley, Mark Wilson, George McNeill, Scott Stallings, Scott Piercy and many more.