Golf Roundup: Harrington rallies at Honda

Smyth won the Champions Tour’s SBC Classic at Valencia Country Club in Valencia, Calif., in regulation by a stroke over both Mark McNulty and D.A. Weibring.
Harrington’s decision to concentrate more on American tournaments in the build-up to next month’s Masters at Augusta paid dividends when he dramatically defeated Singh, the world’s second-ranked player, to pocket a first prize of $990,000.
Trailing by seven shots going into the final round, the Dubliner shot a magnificent-course-record equaling 63. He ran off a string of three consecutive birdies beginning at the fourth hole and another run of six straight that started at No. 7. He dropped putts of 33 and 12 feet, and two others at nine feet. The 33-footer at 13 gave Harrington the lead and had him thinking that he might be able to match or even crack the PGA Tour record of 59 for a single round.
“When I made six in a row, I’m thinking 59,” Harrington said.
But he then missed two consecutive greens and was forced to take bogeys. Once in the clubhouse, he had over an hour to see if he would need to return to the course, which he did.
The par-4 18th hole was used for the playoff and Ogilvie was the first to exit, needing four strokes just to reach the green. Singh missed a 15-foot putt that would have given him the victory, leaving him and Harrington to play the hole again. After Harrington drained a par putt from four feet, Singh had only to drop the ball from about 30 inches to force another hole, but he sent the ball right of the cup, giving the Dubliner his first PGA Tour victory.
“I thought it was a gimme,” Harrington said of Singh’s missed putt. “It was a shock. I was mentally prepared to go back to the tee. It took a couple of seconds for it to sink in because I really was focused. It’s nice when somebody does that, considering how many times I’ve been close and it has been taken away from me.”
The victory was Harrington’s 10th as a professional. He has 26 second-place finishes to complement that. This was his second playoff tilt and his first win under such conditions — he lost to Sergio Garcia in extra holes at last year’s Buick Classic at the Westchester Country Club.
By shooting a final-round 63, Harrington matched not only the course record (set last year by Carl Pettersson), but also his own personal best. He previously carded that number in France in 1996.
Harrington finished the tournament 14 under par at 274, beginning with rounds of 73, 69 and 69. He earned $990,000 for the victory.
Graeme McDowell also went the distance, but he settled for a share of 65th place at 289 (70-73-71-75). He collected $11,330.

CHAMPIONS TOUR
Smyth, meanwhile, vindicated his decision to pursue his career on this tour, even though his conditional status could not guarantee a starting place in every tournament. With the win in Valencia, that has, of course, changed.
Smyth was one of five golfers to share the lead at various stages of the final round. He shot a 4-under-par 68 and breathed a sigh of relief when McNulty missed a 20-foot putt on the 18th green.
“I thought Mark was going to make that putt,” Smyth said “But I’m certainly happy I didn’t have to go into a playoff with him.”
Smyth was in contention from the get-go on Friday, firing a 69 that left him just two strokes off Isao Aoki. He was no farther back than seventh place after Saturday’s action, but his 72 left him six strokes behind Keith Fergus, the leader. Fergus helped Smyth by shooting 77 on Sunday and several others who were in with a chance obliged by scoring above par.
“The course was set up so that nobody was going to run away,” Smyth said. “I knew the leaders would be under a lot of pressure and I thought I could sneak up on them. I really feel like I kind of stole it.
“This is really a big deal for me. This puts me in the Legends [next month] and the [2006] MasterCard [Championship] and also gives me a boost in the Charles Schwab Cup. I’m in my third season out here now and it really sets things up for me.”
Smyth, who returned to the circuit’s Q-School last November in an unsuccessful attempt to attain exempt status, earned $232,500 for the victory, the richest paycheck of his career. McNulty took home $124,000 for second place.

EUROPEAN TOUR
Paul McGinley and Ernie Els both stood at 2-under-par 142 after 36 holes of the Qatar Masters. That’s where they parted company. Els went on to shoot rounds of 69 and 65 to register a one-stroke victory over Henrik Stenson, while McGinley melted in the Middle East heat. He signed his name to final rounds of 76, which left him 18 strokes behind Els at tourney’s end. He shared 71st place with two others, with only two names listed below that.
The par-3 third hole and the par-4 12th and 14th at Doha Golf Club proved especially frustrating for McGinley. He double-bogeyed No. 3 on Saturday, then recorded a 6 there on Sunday. Saturday’s triple bogey came on 12, followed by a double bogey there on Sunday. No. 14 resulted in double bogeys on both Friday and Sunday.
McGinley had one four-hole stretch (12-15) on Sunday during which he lost six strokes to par. His scrambling ability on those holes on which either his drive or his approach shot went astray betrayed him. Whereas during the first two rounds he got up on seven of nine greens that he missed in regulation, he did so on only four of 11 occasions over the weekend. In fact, he hit more fairways and greens in regulation that Els did over 72 holes.
A 36-hole score of 145 or better was required for weekend play, which meant early dismissal for Peter Lawrie, 148 (72-76), Damien McGrane, 149 (75-74), and Gary Murphy, 154 (77-77).

EUROPEAN SENIORS
Eamonn Darcy was well poised for his first victory on this tour after shooting 66 in the first round of the Tobago Plantations Senior Classic. He played bogey-free golf en route to finishing six under par and just one stroke behind early leader Bob Cameron. And Darcy stayed true to form through the first six holes of the second stanza, with one birdie and no bogeys. Then, he stepped up to No. 7 and began to fall apart.
Darcy picked up his first bogey there, a stroke he would gain back on No. 9. But the next seven holes saw him lose four strokes to par and he carded a 2-over-par 74. He recorded a similar number in the third and closing round, offsetting five bogeys with only three birdies. He settled for 15th place, six strokes off Luis Carbonetti?s winning score of 208.
One week after winning in Barbados, Denis O’Sullivan endured a horrid 78 to open up in Tobago. He regrouped for the second round and his 73 would have been much improved if not for a late lapse that saw him record two double bogeys and one bogey over three holes (15-17). A final-round 70 lifted him to a piece of 37th place at 221. Eddie Polland was also lodged there after rounds of 75, 75 and 71. Farther down the board in 64th position came John Curtis at 228 (77-75-76). This circuit now goes on hiatus until mid-May.

CHALLENGE TOUR
David Higgins tied for 10th place in the Tusker Kenya Open at Karen Golf Club in Nairobi. At even-par 280 (72-69-66-73), he checked in eight strokes behind victorious Daniel Vancsik. Tim Rice made off with a share of 52nd position at 288 (75-69-73-71), with Justin Kehoe a stroke behind in 55th place at 289 (70-71-73-75).

GOLDEN BEAR TOUR
Sean Quinlivan tied for 30th place in this circuit’s most recent event at the Links at Madison Green in Royal Palm Beach, Fla. He carded rounds of 74 in the rain-shortened 36-hole tournament to finish 12 strokes behind the victorious Steve Wheatcroft. Quinlivan earned $907.