GAINESVILLE -- A year ago, Brandon Brown came to Chattahoochee Golf Club looking to break out of a prolonged winless streak on the NGA Pro Golf Tour. This year the former Eastern Kentucky golfer returns for the Milton Martin Honda Classic as one of the favorites.
In 2011, Brown edged Zach Sucher and James Vargas in the rain-shortened event to claim his first victory since 2007 on the NGA Tour, and the Shelbyville, Ky., golfer hasn't slowed down since.
Brown won a tour-high four times last season on the Pro Series and claimed the Kentucky Open title as well. The momentum appears to have carried over into the 2012 for Brown, who comes into the event on the heels of a third-place finish in the Golden Hills Ocala Classic.
"I'm looking forward to this week," said Brown, a two-time All-OVC team member. "Even though the event was shortened last year, I played well. The win last year definitely gives me confidence coming back. I've gotten off to a better start this year than I did last year, and I played well in Ocala."
Even as the defending champion, Brown knows that in order to claim his sixth NGA Tour win, he'll have to beat a field full of the best up-and-coming golfers in the country and solve the tricky greens.
"There's always a ton of talent in the NGA events, but I feel the course sets up well for me," said Brown. "The greens are difficult and fast, so whoever wins will have to putt well and hit good wedges this week."
Tyson Alexander and Hudson Johnson also have to be considered favorites this week. Alexander of Gainesville, Fla., leads the NGA money list after posting a win and two top-15 finishes in the first three events of the season. Like Alexander, Johnson of Longview, Texas, also has a win and pair of top-15s in the first three Pro Series tournaments. Johnson is third on the money list.
Joining the trio in the field will be a smorgasbord of NGA winners, former PGA and Nationwide Tour players and highly-decorated rookies.
2011 NGA Tour winners Erik Barnes, Ryan Spears, the 2011 NGA Rookie of the Year, Jessie Hutchins, Nick Rousey, Garrett Osborn, Jesse Hutchins and former NGA POY David Skinns, who finished third in the season-opener, will all participate this week.
Will Strickler, a 2011 PGA Tour member, and 2011 Nationwide Tour members Scott Weatherly, Travis Bertoni, Todd Bailey, Major Manning and Zach Sucher will all be at Chattahoochee Golf Club for the event.
Also schedule to play are: Danny Ellis, a former PGA Tour regular; Randall Hutchinson, the 2011-12 NGA Bridgestone Winter Series money title winner; Oscar Stark, a former NAIA National Champion and 2011 All-Nicklaus team member from Oklahoma Christian; and Patrick Wilkes-Krier, the NGA's 2011 Most Improved Player.
The first round of the Milton Martin Honda Classic will start at 7:30 a.m. on Thursday. As always, admission is free to the public.
Tuesday
February 4th, 2025
1:49AM
