PALM CITY, Fla. – Eric Dietrich of Cheshire, CT, made four straight birdies on the front nine and scattered four more on alternate holes on the back Monday enroute to his third victory on the Minor League Golf Tour. At seven under par 64 on the Osprey Creek course at Martin Downs Golf Club, Dietrich edged Matt Cowgill of North Palm Beach, FL by one shot.
After he birdied the fifth through the eighth holes, Dietrich bogeyed the par-3 ninth to turn in 32, then birdied Nos. 11, 13, 15 and 17. The 8th, 13th and 17th are par-5's. He earned $1,000 from the $5,680 purse and an additional $232 from the optional bonus pool. This raised his MLGT career earnings to $39,193 since September, 2017.
Cowgill, second among 43 starters, also had eight birdies, four on each side, but a double bogey at the par-5 17th hole proved to be the difference. He shot 65 and received $620. Cowgill joined the MLGT early last year and after 13 starts he is still looking for his first victory.
Today's event was the first of three 1-day events that make up 2020 Monday Qualifier Contest #1. The player with the lowest cumulative score from the three 1-day events this week will win a $1,000 bonus to compete in a Monday Qualifier on the PGA Tour or Korn Ferry Tour. The final two events on the contest are Tuesday at Abacoa GC and Thursday at Jupiter CC.
