February 16, 2011
By Staff Reporter
By John Manley
Poor putting in clutch situations cost Darren Clarke the title at the South African Vodacom Players Championship at the Royal Cape Golf Club in Cape Town. Nic Henning took down medalist honors after defeating Clarke on the second playoff hole.
Playing the 18th hole for the first time in the playoff scheme, both golfers missed nearly identical putts. Henning left his first try an inch short. Clarke, with the benefit of observing Henning’s putt, then forced his right of the hole. They both sank their next efforts to return to the 18th tee to do it over again. Clarke was away on the green, at 15 feet, and knocked his past the cup. Henning calmly rolled it up, where it toyed with the rim before dropping for the victory. The victor is the nephew of well-known golfers Harold and Allan Henning.
The twosome finished at 12-under-par 276 for 18 holes. Clarke’s cards read 70, 68, 70 and 68.
TearDrop tour
P.J. Cowan, fresh off a middling Q-School effort at Doral, came out sizzling in the TearDrop Tour Championship, played over the Old South course at the Old Carolina Golf Club in Hilton Head Island, S.C. Cowan took a two-stroke lead into the fourth and final round after smoking the course with a third-round 62. He played well enough to maintain a share of the lead after 72 holes, as Stephen Sear rallied to match his total of 269. Sear then won the sudden death playoff by carding a birdie on the first extra hole. Cowan’s 18-hole scores were 68, 71, 62 and 68. He earned $22,000 for his second-place finish.
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Asian Tour
John Kernohan put up some respectable numbers in the Omega PGA Championship at the Mission Hills Golf Club in Shenzhen, China, after some less than sterling performances in prior weeks. Kernohan finished tied for 11th place at eight-under-par 280 (71-68-71-70). The winning score of 270 belonged to Fran Quinn of Worcester, Mass., who won for the second time in as many weeks
on this tour.