NATIONWIDE TOUR REPORT
Fran Quinn goes five shots clear with a 62
FROM THE PGATOUR.COM WEBSITE
By Joe Chemycz, PGA TOUR Staff
Panama City, PANAMA -- Fran Quinn posted a course-record 8-under 62 Saturday and staked himself to a five-stroke lead after 54 holes at the Panama Claro Championship, the third event on the Nationwide Tour's 2010 schedule.
Quinn's three-day total of 16-under 194 also eclipsed the tournament record of 200.
Argentina's Julio Zapata, playing with Quinn, carded a 3-under 67 and is in second at 11-under, which would have gone into the record books had it not been for his playing partner. Fabian Gomez (66), South Carolina rookie Mark Anderson (67) and Brian Smock (67) share third place, six back of the leader.
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Related link:
Leaderboard: Scores
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The 7,150-yard Panama Golf Club layout was the toughest on Tour last year and consistently ranks among the hardest each year, but it's been softened by three surprising days of rain and a lack of wind. The result has been a rewrite of the record book. There have been 9-hole records, 18-hole records and now 54-hole records. The 72-hole mark of 11-under par set by Tripp Isenhour in 2006 is all but certain to vanish in Sunday's finale.
"We haven't had the wind," said Quinn, who had missed three cuts in five previous starts here and broken par only one time in 14 total rounds. "You get the wind and the greens get a little firmer and a lot of shots get trickier. It's a great golf course, but it's also out there."
Saturday's scoring average of 69.484 is the lowest in tournament history, breaking the mark of 69.704 set on Friday -- the first two times a single-day scoring average has been below par since the tournament began in 2004.
Second-round leader Kevin Kisner carded an even-par 70 and is at 9-under 201 along with 2008 champion Scott Dunlap (69), who is in sixth place. Marco Dawson (69) is eighth, eight shots back.
The story of the day was the 45-year old Quinn, who canned seven birdies in his first 10 holes and raced to the lead. It appeared nobody could slow him down on his quest for his fourth career title. That's when Mother Nature stepped in and dumped one-tenth of an inch of rain in less than 10 minutes on the field, forcing officials to halt play for the first time in the event's seven-year history.
"We had to wait in the fairway and the momentum slowed down a little bit," said Quinn, who had played his second to the green at the par-4 11th when play was stopped. "We waited about 20 minutes. I think it affected everybody. I think it slowed me down but I continued to hit good shots, I just didn't make the putts."
He'd made everything prior to the arrival of the rain, which came around 3:10 p.m.
"I actually played really well last week but didn't get anything out of it," said Quinn, who tied for 23rd at the Mayakoba Golf Classic at Riviera Maya-Cancun on the PGA TOUR. "I knew I was playing good and that's why I didn't go home (to Massachusetts). We were getting snow and I felt good. I said I wanted to keep playing and I've carried it over to this week."
Quinn's momentum may have been stalled by the rains that have rarely been a part of the equation this time of year, but he rallied with a 15-foot birdie putt at the closing hole, his longest on the day, to break the course mark of 63 set by Isenhour four years ago and matched twice that same week.
"I came down here just to keep my momentum and keep playing well and be ready for my next ones," said Quinn. "I think I'm in four of the next five on TOUR. I was using this week to make sure I was ready when I get my opportunity and right now I have a great opportunity on Sunday. I'm enjoying it."
Third-Round Notes
• Both Quinn and Gomez posted 6-under 29s on the front side today, becoming the second and third players in tournament history to shoot sub-30 scores on the front. Kisner carded a 7-under 28 on the front in yesterday's second round.
• A heavy rainstorm moved through the area at mid-afternoon, forcing officials to half play for about 15 minutes. It was the first time in the tournament's seven-year history that play was halted due to weather.
• Quinn's five-stroke lead is the largest on Tour since Marc Leishman led by five at the 2008 WNB Golf Classic in Midland, Texas. Leishman went on to win by a whopping 11 strokes and tie Chris Smith's Tour mark for the largest victory margin. Smith set the record in winning the 1997 Omaha Classic.
.tourStoryQuickLinksBot a img{ vertical-align:middle; }
THIRD-ROUND SCOREBOARD TO COME
FROM THE PGATOUR.COM WEBSITE
By Joe Chemycz, PGA TOUR Staff
Panama City, PANAMA -- Fran Quinn posted a course-record 8-under 62 Saturday and staked himself to a five-stroke lead after 54 holes at the Panama Claro Championship, the third event on the Nationwide Tour's 2010 schedule.
Quinn's three-day total of 16-under 194 also eclipsed the tournament record of 200.
Argentina's Julio Zapata, playing with Quinn, carded a 3-under 67 and is in second at 11-under, which would have gone into the record books had it not been for his playing partner. Fabian Gomez (66), South Carolina rookie Mark Anderson (67) and Brian Smock (67) share third place, six back of the leader.
======================
Related link:
Leaderboard: Scores
======================
The 7,150-yard Panama Golf Club layout was the toughest on Tour last year and consistently ranks among the hardest each year, but it's been softened by three surprising days of rain and a lack of wind. The result has been a rewrite of the record book. There have been 9-hole records, 18-hole records and now 54-hole records. The 72-hole mark of 11-under par set by Tripp Isenhour in 2006 is all but certain to vanish in Sunday's finale.
"We haven't had the wind," said Quinn, who had missed three cuts in five previous starts here and broken par only one time in 14 total rounds. "You get the wind and the greens get a little firmer and a lot of shots get trickier. It's a great golf course, but it's also out there."
Saturday's scoring average of 69.484 is the lowest in tournament history, breaking the mark of 69.704 set on Friday -- the first two times a single-day scoring average has been below par since the tournament began in 2004.
Second-round leader Kevin Kisner carded an even-par 70 and is at 9-under 201 along with 2008 champion Scott Dunlap (69), who is in sixth place. Marco Dawson (69) is eighth, eight shots back.
The story of the day was the 45-year old Quinn, who canned seven birdies in his first 10 holes and raced to the lead. It appeared nobody could slow him down on his quest for his fourth career title. That's when Mother Nature stepped in and dumped one-tenth of an inch of rain in less than 10 minutes on the field, forcing officials to halt play for the first time in the event's seven-year history.
"We had to wait in the fairway and the momentum slowed down a little bit," said Quinn, who had played his second to the green at the par-4 11th when play was stopped. "We waited about 20 minutes. I think it affected everybody. I think it slowed me down but I continued to hit good shots, I just didn't make the putts."
He'd made everything prior to the arrival of the rain, which came around 3:10 p.m.
"I actually played really well last week but didn't get anything out of it," said Quinn, who tied for 23rd at the Mayakoba Golf Classic at Riviera Maya-Cancun on the PGA TOUR. "I knew I was playing good and that's why I didn't go home (to Massachusetts). We were getting snow and I felt good. I said I wanted to keep playing and I've carried it over to this week."
Quinn's momentum may have been stalled by the rains that have rarely been a part of the equation this time of year, but he rallied with a 15-foot birdie putt at the closing hole, his longest on the day, to break the course mark of 63 set by Isenhour four years ago and matched twice that same week.
"I came down here just to keep my momentum and keep playing well and be ready for my next ones," said Quinn. "I think I'm in four of the next five on TOUR. I was using this week to make sure I was ready when I get my opportunity and right now I have a great opportunity on Sunday. I'm enjoying it."
Third-Round Notes
• Both Quinn and Gomez posted 6-under 29s on the front side today, becoming the second and third players in tournament history to shoot sub-30 scores on the front. Kisner carded a 7-under 28 on the front in yesterday's second round.
• A heavy rainstorm moved through the area at mid-afternoon, forcing officials to half play for about 15 minutes. It was the first time in the tournament's seven-year history that play was halted due to weather.
• Quinn's five-stroke lead is the largest on Tour since Marc Leishman led by five at the 2008 WNB Golf Classic in Midland, Texas. Leishman went on to win by a whopping 11 strokes and tie Chris Smith's Tour mark for the largest victory margin. Smith set the record in winning the 1997 Omaha Classic.
.tourStoryQuickLinksBot a img{ vertical-align:middle; }
THIRD-ROUND SCOREBOARD TO COME
Labels: NATIONWIDE TOUR
posted by Colin |
See story on its own page | Sunday, February 28, 2010
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