Back-nine 30 breaks tie with Sweden’s Emma Thorngren, earns Weber $30,000

VEDBÆK, Denmark: After opening Round 4 at the PGA West Stadium Course with a “pretty poor” tee shot that led to bogey, Jordan Weber had reason to be concerned.

“I was super-nervous,” Weber said. “I didn’t know what was going to happen next.”

What happened next was a nearly flawless display of indoor golf, with 11 birdies on the way to a NEXT Golf Tour-record 62. And now the 38-year-old Weber — who walked away from his professional golf dreams more than a decade ago following a record-setting career at the University of Northern Iowa — is a champion once again.

“To shoot a round like that is amazing, I can’t believe I did that,” said Weber, who took home $30,000 for the win. “I knew if I could just keep it out of the water on those tough holes, I might shoot a good score, and I was able to do that. Luckily it came together and I made some putts.”

Indeed, six of Weber’s birdies came on putts, including a 25-footer on 17. His back-nine 30 gave him the tiebreaker over Sweden’s Emma Thorngren (-10, $16,763), who plays on the LET Access Series.

Round 4 of the mixed-field NEXT Golf Tour included 623 players from 36 countries. The total purse of $162,300 included $20,000 in prizes for in-round side games and top player submissions on Instagram.

Following the close of the 10-day playing window at midnight on Sunday, Jan. 28, the NEXT Golf Tour reviewed player video and Trackman data to validate scores before releasing the final results.

Watch shot-by-shot replays of every player’s Round 3 performance on the live leaderboard:
https://www.nextgolftour.com/tournament/next-golf-tour-round-4-pga-west-stadium/leaderboard

Weber is the first American to win on the NEXT Golf Tour. Dating back to Season 1, the previous nine events were won by players from Nordic countries. That trend seemed likely to continue when 17-year-old Danish amateur Mads Heller (-8) jumped to the top of the leaderboard early in the week — following in the footsteps of Nick Dunlap, who won The American Express on the PGA Tour as an amateur the week before, playing the real-world version of the Stadium Course in La Quinta, California.

Heller finished T–3 with American Jake Scott. Both earned $11,381, but Heller will collect only $1,000 due to his amateur status. Six players tied for fifth at -7 and earned $4,575 each. That group included another amateur, Mats Graarud of Norway, who will also receive $1,000.

The NEXT Golf Tour announced earlier this season that all prize money earned by amateurs in excess of $1,000 — the maximum amount players can accept while still maintaining their amateur status — would be donated to charity. Through four rounds of the seven-event series, the total amount allocated stands at $29,764.

A group of eight players came in at -6 (T–11, $1,077 each), including Patricia-Isabel Schmidt, who won the 2023 Belgian Ladies Open on the LET. Sixteen players shot -5 (T–19, $394 each), including S1R6 champion Sebastian Wiis of Denmark and his amateur compatriot Alexander Møldrup.

Round 5 of the NEXT Golf Tour Season 2 will be played at Muirfield Village in Trackman simulators worldwide beginning Friday, Feb. 2. Sign-up for Round 4 closes at 23:59 CET (5:59 p.m. ET in the U.S.) on Thursday, Feb. 1. The entry fee is $130, with $100 added directly to the purse. Learn more at NEXTGolfTour.com.

SIDE GAMES WINNERS

Closest-to-the-Pin (Aggregate): Jack Garswood (A), Canada (38’ 3”) — $1,000*
Longest Drive (Men): Michael Davan, USA (361.8 yards) — $2,000
Longest Drive (Women): Anna Drahos (A), USA (294.2 yards) — $1,000*
Birdie Streak: Nicki Eg Schou, Denmark (5) — $1,000

*Amateur earnings are capped at $1,000 per event (including both stroke play and side games)

The full Round 4 results — including all side games winners, individual payouts and updated Order of Merit rankings — can be found at NEXTGolfTour.com. Follow the action all season long on Instagram and Facebook: @NEXTGolfTour and #NEXTGolfTour. Tune in to the NEXT Golf Show on YouTube on Wednesdays after each round, or follow on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts and Spotify.

ABOUT THE NEXT GOLF TOUR
The NEXT Golf Tour Powered by Trackman is a series of mixed-field professional golf competitions played indoors on Trackman simulators worldwide. NEXT was founded by Trackman in 2023 to provide elite players an opportunity to earn income and develop their brands as professional golfers. Men and women compete straight-up from different tee boxes, the top 30% of the field earns a paycheck, and in-round side games provide another level of competition and earning potential. During its inaugural season, 994 players from 41 countries competed in six 18-hole stroke play tournaments for a combined purse of $876,100. Season 2 features six 18-hole events open with purses up to $250,000 and a 36-hole, $100,000 Season Finale for the top 100 players on the Order of Merit. Learn more and follow the live leaderboards all season long at NEXTGolfTour.com.

ABOUT TRACKMAN
Proudly based in Vedbæk, Denmark, Trackman is the world’s leading developer of radar tracking technology for use in golf performance analysis. The iconic Trackman 4 launch monitor — aka “the little orange box” — is trusted by elite players, coaches, equipment manufacturers and clubfitters to provide ultra-precise data on virtually every aspect of club motion and ball flight. Trackman Range and indoor golf simulator solutions bring our tour-proven technology to the masses, featuring the best practice, virtual golf and entertainment software in the industry. Trackman is the official provider of club and ball tracking and tracing data to the PGA Tour for broadcast on TV and digital platforms. Learn more at Trackman.com.

Fonte: Business Wire