NORTON, Mass. — Former LSU All-American Brian Bateman carded six birdies on his final round Monday to finish with a 5-under par 66 and a third-place finish at the 2006 Deutsche Bank Championship at the Tournament Players Club of Boston.
Bateman entered the final round in a tie for ninth place after firing scores of 69, 71 and 70 before finishing with a 72-hole total of 8-under 276 at the par 71 course. He finished the event in third place behind tournament champion Tiger Woods (16-under 268) and runner-up Vijay Singh (14-under 270).
The Monroe, La., native tied his best career finish as he also earned a third-place finish at the 2004 Honda Classic in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.
Most importantly, Bateman — who has earned his PGA Tour card through PGA qualifying in four of the past five years(2001, 2002, 2003 and 2005) — put himself in position to retain his card for the 2007 season by moving into the top 125 players on the official PGA Tour Money List.
Bateman entered the event ranked 171st on the money list but earned a $374,000 paycheck to catapult himself among the top 125 money leaders with $613,361 in official tour money this season.
Bateman is a five-year veteran of the PGA Tour and has been a professional golfer since 1996. He earned four varsity letters at LSU from 1993-96 and was named a Third-Team All-American as a senior in 1996 and a three-time All-SEC performer from 1994-96.