Mark Anderson wins Country Club de Bogota Championship

BOGOTÁ, Colombia– Mark Anderson captured his first Web.com Tour title in nearly six years, winning the Country Club de Bogotá Championship on Sunday with a bogey-free 67. Anderson ran away from the field at 17-under par, one shot shy of the tournament scoring record relative to par. The four-stroke victory is the second of Anderson’s career, with his first title coming at the 2013 BMW Charity Pro-Am presented by SYNNEX Corporation.

“I’m just very happy right now. It couldn’t have been a better week and I’ve always loved coming here,” Anderson said. “The golf course is one of my favorites out here and to get off to a great start in the year really helps.”

Anderson completed his third round Sunday morning with a 5-under 66 and held a two-stroke lead entering the final round. The former University of South Carolina golfer and PGA TOUR member played 27 holes on Sunday as the third round was postponed due to weather.

“The delay was tough. I got off to a really good start this morning which helped get the day going,” Anderson said. “I played nine holes and had a couple hours to relax and tried to keep that same momentum going that I had earlier in the day. I played really solid golf and hit a lot of greens and didn’t make any mistakes which was key.”

He began his fourth round with three straight pars before making birdies on Nos. 4, 5 and 8 to post a front-nine 32. A birdie on No. 10 got Anderson to 17-under, and he never looked back, closing with eight consecutive pars. Despite being in command in the final round, Anderson decided to do something he’s never done during a round.

“For the first time in my life, I decided to not look at a leaderboard,” said Anderson. “I had an idea of where I was because of the crowds, but I didn’t know I was four shots clear until I stepped onto the 18th green.”

Anderson has made over 60 starts on the PGA TOUR but owns just two top-10 finishes – a T9 at the 2012 Children’s Miracle Network Classic and a T10 at the 2017 Puerto Rico Open. Anderson referenced the desire to get back to the TOUR that kept him grinding since his last victory.

“Belief kept me going, 2013 was my last win and I knew I could improve.” said Anderson. “I’ve been on the PGA TOUR, but I’ve never stayed out there and that’s the drive. I’ve really worked hard the last couple of years on being more consistent and just trying to get better; that’s all my motivation.”

This week was the second start of the season for Anderson, who finished T25 at The Bahamas Great Abaco Classic at The Abaco Club. With the win, Anderson earned 500 Web.com Tour Points and is now in a great position to earn his PGA TOUR card for the 2019-20 season.

“It’s my second tournament of the year so I’ll take the win. I’ve always wanted to win early and see how it felt,” said Anderson. “It certainly takes a little bit of pressure off and gives me a lot of confidence moving forward.”

Anderson edged out Drew Weaver, who earned his career-best finish on the Web.com Tour with a solo-second at 13-under. Web.com Tour rookie Doug Ghim and 2018 Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada Player of the Year Tyler McCumber finished T3 at 12-under. Derek Fathauer, Scottie Scheffler and Andrew Novak finished T5 at 11-under.