June 4, 2007–After 290 tries in PGA Tour-sanctioned events, Las Vegas pro John Riegger is in the winner's circle for the first time. The 43-year old Riegger, who lives in Las Vegas and plays a lot at TPC Summerlin, earned the title at the Lasalle Bank Open when he holed a treacherous, 20-foot birdie putt on the final hole to edge B.J. Staten by a stroke. Riegger won the 1996 Columbian Open, but hasn't tasted victory since. He has battled various injuries over the last several years, and is reportedly having a cortisone injection in his back this week. Even through the tough times, he never lost faith. "You have to have confidence and faith in yourself,'' he told PGATOUR.com. "I wouldn't still be doing this if I didn't think I could win out here and on the PGA TOUR. And the fact of the matter is, I've always believed I could play.'' Read the PGATour.com story … now.
The win now puts him into the top 10 on the money list (6th with more than $160,000), and sets him up very well in his efforts to secure exempt status on the PGA Tour for 2008. Heading into the Lasalle event, he had made six of seven cuts on the Nationwide Tour, but missed the cut in his last event, the Melwood Prince George's Classic.
In 2006, Riegger played 20 events on the PGA Tour using a medical exemption, and had a fifth-place finish at the John Deere Classic, but finished number 186 on the money list and was relegated to the Nationwide Tour. Riegger has played in more than 190 PGA Tour events, and earned nearly $2 million.
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