DALLAS, Texas -- UT Arlington men's golf coach Stuart Deane fired a final round 5-under par 66 to force a playoff then went on to claim victory on the second hole of sudden death to earn medalist honors at the Joyce Crane / Ben Hogan Golf Equipment Company Section Championship at Lakewood Country Club.

The win handed Deane his second Section Championship and his 12th overall Northern Texas PGA individual title. More importantly, the victory provided him an exemption into the field at the 2017 AT&T Byron Nelson in May.

"It's not an easy golf course to get around and to get those numbers is not easy, so I am proud to be the champion," said Deane. "I played really, really good. It is probably the best round of golf I have played all year"

Deane started the day three shots back of the lead after turning in a consistent even par 71 in Monday's first round at the 6,742 yard, par 71 Lakewood CC course. He opened the second day with three straight pars before going on a run to finish the front nine with four birdies on the final six holes. Deane birdied the 11th hole to move to 5-under before dropping a stroke with his only bogey of the tournament on No. 12. He moved back to 5-under with a birdie on No. 16 before closing out the final two holes at par to force a playoff.

The field consisted of 77 PGA professionals from the Northern Texas Section of the PGA of America competing for a $33,000 purse. Deane earned $4,500 for the victory, in addition to the exemption into the Byron Nelson, scheduled for May 19-22 at TPC Four Seasons Las Colinas in Irving.

"It feels really good [to earn the exemption]. It's hard to win, but I guess this one means the most because of the difficulty to win these events. [The exemption] is such a big prize for one event, so it is kind of the one that I care about the most even more so now that I am the head coach. I get to go play to represent my boys, my team and the school. Every time I tee it up I recognize that I am a role model and a mentor for the boys," Deane said while getting a bit overcome with the emotion from the victory. "I am very much looking forward to them getting to see their coach compete in a TOUR event."

The Championship was the fourth and final individual stroke play championship of the 2016 season to earn points towards the Yamaha Golf-Car Company / Lajitas Golf Resort Player of the Year Points Challenge. The Eastern, Western, NTPGA Professional and Section Championships all served as qualifiers for the year-end Yamaha Golf-Car Company / Lajitas Golf Resort Match Play Championship. The top 32 from the points list and the top eight from the Senior points challenge list will be invited to play in the Championship.

With the win Deane is also the 2016 Yamaha Golf-Car Company / Lajitas Golf Resort Player of the Year. The Player of the Year Points Challenge also serves as a qualifier for the 2016 NTPGA Texas Joe Black Cup team.

The UTA men's golf team opens its fall season in less than two weeks. The team will travel to Erie, Colo. to compete in the Mark Simpson Colorado Invitational at Colorado National Golf Club.