Alex Prugh was the king of The Hills nine months ago and he nearly made a stunning breakthrough on the PGA Tour yesterday.
Prugh shot 67 in the final round to finish fifth, just two shots off the lead, in the five-round Bob Hope Classic in California.
He shared the lead with Bubba Watson going into the final day before both were overtaken by Bill Haas, who surged to victory with a 30-under-par total of 330.
Prugh is in his first full year on the PGA Tour, having finished inside the top 25 of the Nationwide Tour money list last year.
He referred to his win in last year's New Zealand Open when he spoke to reporters after the Bob Hope tournament.
"Winning the Open definitely set me up for the rest of the year," he said.
"If I wasn't in San Diego next week, I would love to have gone back to New Zealand to defend the championship.
The crowd support was so great.
"I can only hope some of my buddies can go down there and do well in the tournament."
Prugh won the 2009 New Zealand Open with a 19-under-par score of 269.
He won $US200,000 ($NZ282,000) for his fifth-placed finish in California.
