Leon, Mexico – Lee Williams posted three birdies on the back nine Sunday en route to a two-under 70, which helped him win the Mexico Open by a single stroke.
Williams, who won for the first time on the Nationwide Tour, finished at 14- under-par 274 at El Bosque Golf Club.
Paul Haley II closed with a four-under 68 to take second at minus-13. This was his second runner-up finish of the year.
Scott Gutschewski birdied eight of the first 10 holes to grab the lead at 13- under par, However, he went one-over through the final eight holes to end alone in third at 12-under-par 276.
Tyrone Van Aswegen (71) and Philip Pettitt, Jr. (68) shared fourth place at minus-11. Pettitt, like Williams an Auburn alum, said afterwards, "If I can't win the tournament, then that's the guy I want to win."
Williams, the third-round leader, fell behind as he was one-over par through 10 holes with a bogey on the sixth and nine pars.
Around the turn, he fought back into the lead. Williams posted back-to-back birdies from the 11th.
The 31-year-old got to 14-under with a birdie on the par-three 15th. He parred the final three holes to seal the win.
"I would have really liked to have gone ahead and hit that putt right then. It felt like freezing the kicker in football," said Williams of having to wait to hit his final putt as his playing partner, Doug LaBelle, got a ruling on the final green. "But it gave me time to collect my thoughts and calm my nerves a little bit."
Haley had two birdies and a double-bogey through 10 holes. Playing two groups ahead of Williams, Haley soared into the lead with four birdies in a five-hole stretch from the 12th to jump to 12-under. He also parred the last two holes to end there.
Gutschewski, a two-time winner on tour, ran off five consecutive birdies to start his round. After his birdie run ended with a bogey on the sixth, he came right back with three birdies in his next four holes to move into the lead at 13-under.
His hot played stopped there as he bogeyed 11 and 13 to slip to minus-11. Gutschewski got one of those shots back with a birdie on the 15, but he ended there with three pars in a row to close out his round.
NOTES: Williams earned $112,500 for the win and moved to fifth on the tour's money list...Haley moved into the Nationwide Tour money lead with his second- place paycheck...Jimmy Brandt had a hole-in-one on the par-three 12th...After a week off, the tour heads to Kansas for the Wichita Open, where Mathew Goggin won last year.
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