Gilchrist Earns a Nice Bonus for Trip Down Under

Derek Gilchrist’s biggest payday as a professional golfer came at an opportune time.

At little after noon Thursday, Gilchrist earned $15,000 by winning the TearDrop Tour West Coast Championship at Cypress Golf Club with a 54-hole total of four-under-par 209. In the evening, he was scheduled to take a flight to Australia, where he will spend the next month on the Australasian PGA Tour.

The money will come in handy for Gilchrist, who is only provisionally qualified for the Australasian tour and is therefore taking a financial risk.

Air fare is $1,800 round trip, then there are hotel and rental-car expenses. Plus he is not guaranteed a spot in every event. “I’m going to go over there,” he said, “and try to work my way up.”

Gilchrist, who played in the Nissan Open and U.S. Open this year, worked his way around tight and tricky Cypress with skill, shooting five-under 66 in the first round, 73 in the second round and 70 in the third. Joe McCormick, a teaching pro who spends his summers in Hutchinson, Minn., and winters in Palm Desert, was one shot back in second and won $8,000.

Jon Peterson of Sacramento and Nick O’Hern of Perth, Australia, were another shot behind, tied for third and each took home $3,000.

The two Orange County players to make the cut--Perry Parker of Dana Point and Darren Ernst of Huntington Beach, finished 18th and 23rd, respectively.

Peterson started the final round one stroke behind second-round co-leaders Gilchrist and Tim Bogue of Windsor, Calif., and with two birdies on the front nine moved into the lead at four under. But he hit into the water on 10 and 11 and took a bogey and double bogey to fall out of contention.