Mark Hubbard wins inaugural LECOM Suncoast Classic in Lakewood Ranch

Coming into the Web.com Tour's LECOM Suncoast Classic at Lakewood National Golf Club, Mark Hubbard had not won a professional golf tournament since 2013, when he was on the Mackenzie Tour. 

He no longer has that losing streak to worry about. 

Hubbard, 29, shot five under par on the tournament's final day to finish 26 under overall and win his first Web.com Tour event. His round was good enough to hold off Maverick McNealy, who also shot five under Sunday and finished two strokes back at 24 under. Hubbard had five birdies on the front nine, and his only bogey came on the 17th hole, after a birdie on 16. 

"I am kind of speechless right now, to be honest." Hubbard said. "I think that is why I was able to pull it off. I was really good about not thinking about the outcome, about winning. I was just playing my game, until my putt on 17 (which lipped out). Then it was in my head for my last five shots. But yeah, I am over the moon right now."

Hubbard almost found trouble on the par five 10th hole, when his second shot hit a sprinkler and ricocheted onto the 11th hole's tee box. He recovered with a shot onto the green and managed to par the hole. It was indicative of Hubbard's week at Lakewood National. He had the third best driving percentage (90.38%) and scrambling percentage (78.57%) of the week, meaning he made few mistakes and redeemed the ones he did make. 

After the round, Hubbard was complimentary of the course at Lakewood National. 

"I think it is great," Hubbard said. "At the end of the day, as long as the course is in good shape we don't really care, and it was in fantastic shape. They did an unbelievable job of getting it harder every day, making it firmer and faster. When it is a little bit hot like this and there's wind, it is tough to maintain that consistent, gradual firming up of the course, and they did. 

"There are some really big slopes on the greens I think maybe in time they will want to take down, but at the same time, they are also kind of the signature of the course. I don't know if you want to change that. I think there is a good mix of really tough par fours and some gettable par fives. It is a lot of fun. It is fun making birdies."

Rounding out the top five were Rick Lamb and Jimmy Stanger, tied for third at 23 under, and J.T. Griffin at 20 under. Lamb had the best final round of anyone in the field, shooting eight under. Stanger, the former University of Virginia teammate of Lakewood Ranch's Danny Walker, shot four under on Sunday.