OMAHA, Neb. — Heath Slocum, a former three-time All-American at South Alabama and the 1996 Sun Belt Conference men's golf champion, earned an immediate PGA TOUR card after his one-stroke victory at the $525,000 BUY.COM Omaha Classic. Slocum will join the PGA TOUR this week at the Buick Open in Grand Blanc, Mich.

Slocum earned his third BUY.COM TOUR title of the year — which grants immediate access to the PGA TOUR — after also winning the BUY.COM Cleveland Open and the BUY.COM Knoxville Open in 2001. Slocum is only the second player in the BUY.COM tour's history to qualify for immediate access to the PGA TOUR during the season.

"It feels incredible," said Slocum, who took home the $94,500 winner's check, the largest of his career, and a PGA TOUR card for the remainder of this season and 2002. "It's still a little hard to grasp. It really does feel good just to go out and accomplish your goal today and to hold off Rodney Pampling because he played so well coming in. To get that done is very good."

Slocum, who has now earned more money in one season than any other player in the history of the BUY.COM TOUR, finished a stroke ahead of Pampling (65). Jeff Gove (67) finished third at 18 under and former UL Lafayette standout Rob McKelvey (65) finished fourth at 17 under.

Rather than head to Hardscrabble Country Club in Fort Smith, Ark. next week for the $425,000 BUY.COM Fort Smith Classic, Slocum now heads to the Buick Open in Grand Blanc, Mich. to play in his first PGA TOUR event.

"It's just given me the confidence and really that is about everything" he said. "Going out here and playing against these caliber of players, to win three times, I don't know what else I could do except to win on the PGA TOUR for more confidence. It really solidifies to myself that I can do it and I can play; that I have the game to maybe win on the next level."