February 16, 2011
By Staff Reporter
By John Manley
Darren Clarke recorded his second straight runner-up finish when he came in three strokes behind Jesper Parnevik in the Volvo Scandinavian masters at Kungsangen, Sweden. Parnevik and Clarke were paired for Sunday’s final round, which they played in front of a crowd that was solidly behind Parnevik, a native son of Sweden. Clarke began the round two strokes off the lead, but was unable to close any ground, shooting even-par 71 to Parnevik’s 70. Clarke ended the tourney 8 under par at 276 (he opened with rounds of 67, 70 and 68), while Parnevik’s winning number was an 11-under 273. Clarke’s performance moves him into second place on the European Tour’s Order of Merit behind Lee Westwood.
Paul McGinley’s 67 was the low round on Sunday and helped move him into a tie for 16th place at 2-under 282. McGinley opened with rounds of 73, 71 and 71. Also competing were Des Smyth, who tied for 25th at 1-under 283 (71-73-69-70), Eamonn Darcy, who tied for 43rd at 3-over 287 (70-75-71-71) and Padraig Harrington, who tied for 64th at 7-over 291 (72-70-74-75). Unable to make the cut by shooting 145 or better after 36 holes were Philip Walton at 149 (72-77) and Raymond Burns at 156 (81-75).
European Senior Tour
Eddie Polland brought a two-stroke lead into the final round of the Schroder Senior Masters at Wentworth in Virginia Water, England on Sunday, but he couldn’t withstand the late surge of Brian Huggett and Neil Coles, whose scores of 66 and 68, respectively, forced a sudden-death playoff after Polland shot 70, leaving the trio tied at 7-under 209. Huggett’s birdie on the first playoff hole, the 18th, sealed the deal, as Polland and Coles made par to share second place.
“I’m not too disappointed,” said Polland. “I don’t feel as though I threw it away. I didn’t do anything wrong. I had a few chances which slipped by, but I played super all week. I’ll be going to Royal Portrush next week for the Second British Open in my native county (Antrim), hoping to go one better.”
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Further down the list were Gordon Parkhill, who tied for 10th at 214 (72-71-71), David Jones, tied for 16th at 217 (72-73-72), Paul Leonard, tied for 21st at 218 (69-74-75), Denis O’Sullivan, tied for 28th at 220 (77-71-72), Hugh Boyle (71-74-78) and Arnold O’Connor (74-72-77), tied for 40th at 223, Hugh Jackson, tied for 46th at 224 (71-74-79) and Liam Higgins, in 55th place at 227 (72-75-80).
The Seniors Tour Order of Merit finds Polland in 11th place, sandwiched between Joe McDermott in 10th and David Jones in 12th. McDermott did not make the cut in the Schroder Senior Masters.
PGA Tour
Every dollar counts. That’s the attitude Richard Coughlan has to take with him from Memphis, where he made the cut at the FedEx St. Jude Classic, but then produced two flat rounds over the weekend to finish ahead of only two others. After starting play with a 2-over 73 at the TPC at Southwind, Coughlan survived the axe by firing a 68. Rounds of 75 and 73 left him 5 over for the tournament at 289, which tied him for 74th place. He earned $3,456.
Keith Nolan’s struggles continue. Rounds of 74 and 72 left hm four strokes above the 36-hole aggregate of 142 needed to play on the weekend.
Nike Tour
John Kernohan tied for 28th place in the Dakota Dunes Open at the Dakota Dunes Country Club in South Dakota. Despite a fine opening round score of 67, Kernohan found himself five shots off John Maginnes, the eventual champion via playoff, who opened with a 62. Kernohan couldn’t duplicate his initial effort, signing cards of 72, 72 and 73 in his subsequent rounds to finish 4-under at 284. He earned $2,075.