MARTIN LAIRD WINS $353,800 FOR JT 3RD FINISH IN PHOENIX OPEN
FROM THE US PGA TOUR WEBSITE
(with some additional words by Colin Farquharson)
SCOTTSDALE, Arizona -- Green Bay Packers fan Mark Wilson celebrated a big victory of his own on a playing field about as close to frozen tundra as it gets on the US PGA Tour today.
A self-described cheesehead from Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, Wilson won the frost-delayed Waste Management Phoenix Open, which spilled over into a fifth day, for his second victory in three starts this year. He holed a 9ft birdie putt on the second hole of a play-off with Jason Dufner after they had tied on 18-under-par 266.
After playing until dark Sunday and fulfilling some parental duties, he was able to watch only a few minutes of the Super Bowl.
"I had to wash Lane's face and put his jammies on, and I had to eat, too," Wilson said. "The chaos, with two little kids running around -- I like the chaos; it's a good distraction. But at that time, I want to at least get to watch the last 15 minutes of this game. This doesn't happen every year, the Packers in the Super Bowl.
"Luckily, my son, after we played Candy Land in the middle of the fourth quarter, he said, `OK, the last two minutes we can watch it together.' So we watched that last stand, and I was happy that they somehow pulled it off."
Delays for frost and frozen turf the first four days forced the Monday finish.
Two strokes ahead when play resumed Monday, Wilson closed with a 2-under 69 to match Dufner at 18 under. Dufner shot a 66, with birdies on Nos. 16 and 17.
"I was a little more nervous today than I was expecting," Wilson said. "I didn't sleep great last night. It was probably the excitement with the Super Bowl and the uncertainty of today."
The Sony Open winner last month in a 36-hole Sunday finish, Wilson made a 4-foot par putt on the par-4 18th to extend the playoff. He won on the par-4 10th, setting up the deciding putt with a 7-iron approach from the middle of the fairway.
"That was an easy putt," Wilson said. "Just thankfully, I started it on line and knocked it in."
Dufner was facing a 7-foot par putt when Wilson ended the playoff.
"Came out and made a couple birdies to put maybe a little heat on Mark, and he played great," Dufner said. "Great two-putt on the first playoff hole from 70-plus feet and makes birdie on the next hole."
Wilson earned $1,098,000 for his fourth US Tour title and moved to No. 1 in the FedExCup standings. The former University of North Carolina player also won the 2007 Honda Classic and 2009 Mayakoba Golf Classic.
He has jumped from 91st to 51st in the world ranking -- locking up a spot in the 64-man field for the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship -- after finishing last season at No. 230 in the Official World Golf Ranking.
After resuming play Monday on the 13th green, Wilson made seven straight pars before holing the winning birdie putt.
He nearly drove into the water on the left side of the 18th hole in regulation, but the ball cleared the hazard and ended up in a bunker. He hit a 9-iron approach to about 14 feet and two-putted to force the playoff.
"I got away with a bad tee shot on 18, but luckily got a good bounce and was hoping I'd finish it off there," Wilson said. "But the playoff was fun."
Dufner is still winless on the US Tour. He also settled for par on the final hole of regulation after nearly holing out from a greenside bunker.
"It's a good start to the year," Dufner said. "To be honest, this is a course that I never really thought I could compete on. History on this golf course is a lot of long-ball hitters. Mark and myself probably aren't the longest, but we're probably not the shortest. But to be able to compete and be at the top of the field for the week is good, so it's definitely good momentum for the rest of the West Coast swing."
Martin Laird (65) and Vijay Singh (66) tied for third at 16 under, and Gary Woodland (66), J.B. Holmes (67) and Nick Watney (68) followed at 15 under.
Third-round leader Tommy Gainey, a stroke back with two holes left, closed with a 74 to tie for eighth at 14 under. He made a triple bogey on the par-4 17th after hitting into the water twice on the driveable hole.
"I guess I've just got to deal with it," Gainey said. "You've got to win with class and you've got to lose with class, so I'm trying to deal with that right now."
Phil Mickelson tied for 29th at 10 under. He finished with consecutive 71s after getting into contention with opening rounds of 67 and 65.
Mickelson, second a week ago in San Diego, needed at least a solo third-place finish to pass Tiger Woods for No. 3 in the world. Lefty hasn't been ranked ahead of Woods since the week before the 1997 Masters.
LEADING FINAL TOTALS
Par 284 (4x71)
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(with some additional words by Colin Farquharson)
SCOTTSDALE, Arizona -- Green Bay Packers fan Mark Wilson celebrated a big victory of his own on a playing field about as close to frozen tundra as it gets on the US PGA Tour today.A self-described cheesehead from Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, Wilson won the frost-delayed Waste Management Phoenix Open, which spilled over into a fifth day, for his second victory in three starts this year. He holed a 9ft birdie putt on the second hole of a play-off with Jason Dufner after they had tied on 18-under-par 266.
They had finished two shots ahead of joint third-placed Martin Laird (pictured) from Glasgow and Fiji veteran Vijay Singh. Laird had the lowest aggregate for the last two rounds - 64 and 65 over the par-71 course. He was 12 under par for his last 27 holes and earned $353,800, bringing his earnings in 2011 up to $405,800 from three starts, having missed the cut in his last outing.
Sony Open winner Wilson said:"I'm just enjoying the ride here and that's just kind of the way I'm going to look at the year here, just ride this train as long as I can."After playing until dark Sunday and fulfilling some parental duties, he was able to watch only a few minutes of the Super Bowl.
"I had to wash Lane's face and put his jammies on, and I had to eat, too," Wilson said. "The chaos, with two little kids running around -- I like the chaos; it's a good distraction. But at that time, I want to at least get to watch the last 15 minutes of this game. This doesn't happen every year, the Packers in the Super Bowl.
"Luckily, my son, after we played Candy Land in the middle of the fourth quarter, he said, `OK, the last two minutes we can watch it together.' So we watched that last stand, and I was happy that they somehow pulled it off."
Delays for frost and frozen turf the first four days forced the Monday finish.
Two strokes ahead when play resumed Monday, Wilson closed with a 2-under 69 to match Dufner at 18 under. Dufner shot a 66, with birdies on Nos. 16 and 17.
"I was a little more nervous today than I was expecting," Wilson said. "I didn't sleep great last night. It was probably the excitement with the Super Bowl and the uncertainty of today."
The Sony Open winner last month in a 36-hole Sunday finish, Wilson made a 4-foot par putt on the par-4 18th to extend the playoff. He won on the par-4 10th, setting up the deciding putt with a 7-iron approach from the middle of the fairway.
"That was an easy putt," Wilson said. "Just thankfully, I started it on line and knocked it in."
Dufner was facing a 7-foot par putt when Wilson ended the playoff.
"Came out and made a couple birdies to put maybe a little heat on Mark, and he played great," Dufner said. "Great two-putt on the first playoff hole from 70-plus feet and makes birdie on the next hole."
Wilson earned $1,098,000 for his fourth US Tour title and moved to No. 1 in the FedExCup standings. The former University of North Carolina player also won the 2007 Honda Classic and 2009 Mayakoba Golf Classic.
He has jumped from 91st to 51st in the world ranking -- locking up a spot in the 64-man field for the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship -- after finishing last season at No. 230 in the Official World Golf Ranking.
After resuming play Monday on the 13th green, Wilson made seven straight pars before holing the winning birdie putt.
He nearly drove into the water on the left side of the 18th hole in regulation, but the ball cleared the hazard and ended up in a bunker. He hit a 9-iron approach to about 14 feet and two-putted to force the playoff.
"I got away with a bad tee shot on 18, but luckily got a good bounce and was hoping I'd finish it off there," Wilson said. "But the playoff was fun."
Dufner is still winless on the US Tour. He also settled for par on the final hole of regulation after nearly holing out from a greenside bunker.
"It's a good start to the year," Dufner said. "To be honest, this is a course that I never really thought I could compete on. History on this golf course is a lot of long-ball hitters. Mark and myself probably aren't the longest, but we're probably not the shortest. But to be able to compete and be at the top of the field for the week is good, so it's definitely good momentum for the rest of the West Coast swing."
Martin Laird (65) and Vijay Singh (66) tied for third at 16 under, and Gary Woodland (66), J.B. Holmes (67) and Nick Watney (68) followed at 15 under.
Third-round leader Tommy Gainey, a stroke back with two holes left, closed with a 74 to tie for eighth at 14 under. He made a triple bogey on the par-4 17th after hitting into the water twice on the driveable hole.
"I guess I've just got to deal with it," Gainey said. "You've got to win with class and you've got to lose with class, so I'm trying to deal with that right now."
Phil Mickelson tied for 29th at 10 under. He finished with consecutive 71s after getting into contention with opening rounds of 67 and 65.
Mickelson, second a week ago in San Diego, needed at least a solo third-place finish to pass Tiger Woods for No. 3 in the world. Lefty hasn't been ranked ahead of Woods since the week before the 1997 Masters.
LEADING FINAL TOTALS
Par 284 (4x71)
Players from US unless stated otherwise
266 Mark Wilson 65 64 68 69, Jason Duffner 65 68 67 66 (Wilson won sudden-death play-off at second extra hole).
268 Martin Laird (Scotland) 68 71 64 65, Vijay Singh (Fiji) 69 65 68 66.
269 Nick Watney 70 66 65 68, J B Holmes 65 70 67 67, Gary Woodland 68 66 69 66.
270 Brandt Snedeker 69 68 66 67, Webb Simpson 70 66 67 67, Y E Yang (S Korea) 69 65 67 69, Chris Couch 66 65 68 71, Tommy Gainey 63 65 68 74.
Selected totals
274 Phil Mickelson 67 65 71 71 (T29).
277 Brian Davis (England) 70 68 69 70 (T49).
270 Brandt Snedeker 69 68 66 67, Webb Simpson 70 66 67 67, Y E Yang (S Korea) 69 65 67 69, Chris Couch 66 65 68 71, Tommy Gainey 63 65 68 74.
Selected totals
274 Phil Mickelson 67 65 71 71 (T29).
277 Brian Davis (England) 70 68 69 70 (T49).
TO READ ALL THE FINAL TOTALS AND CHECK THE SCORES
Labels: US PGA TOUR, US PRO TOUR
posted by Colin |
See story on its own page | Monday, February 07, 2011
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