February 16, 2011
By Staff Reporter
By John Manley
David Higgins solidified his hold on the top spot of the European Challenge Tour’s Order of Merit with a four-stroke victory over Carlos Larrain in the Rolex Trophy Pro-Am in Geneva, Switzerland Sunday.
Higgins, of Waterville, Co. Kerry, shot 17-under-par 271 (70-66-66-69) to post his third victory of the year on this circuit. He has already clinched a spot on next year’s European Tour.
Montgomery Tour
Sean Quinlivan won the Tee It Up Open by one stroke over Bob Tracy at Doral’s White Course in Miami. Quinlivan, in his first year in the U.S., shot eight-under-par 208 (69-68-71). The victory was worth $12,700.
World Golf Championships
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Darren Clarke, Padraig Harrington and Paul McGinley extended their stay in the U.S. by a week to take part in the NEC Invitational at the Firestone Country Club in Akron, Ohio. As was the case in last week’s PGA Championship, they were bit players in another tour de force for Tiger Woods.
Clarke finished highest of the trio in 17th place at one-under-par 279 (66-71-71-71), good for prize money of $83,000. McGinley finished alone in 23rd place at 281 (71-72-71-67), earning $60,000. Harrington tied for 27th position at 284 (76-65-71-72), entitling him to $44,000. Woods’s winning score was 259.
Senior PGA
Christy O’Connor, Jr. tied for 17th place in the FleetBoston Classic at the Nashawtuc Country Club in Concord, Mass. His four-under-par 212 (71-70-71) was no match for runaway winner Larry Nelson, who came in with 203. O’Connor picked up a check for $19,543.
BUY.COM Tour
John Kernohan shared 17th place with a two-under-par 278 (69-68-71-70) in the Permian Basin Open at The Club at Mission Dorado in Odessa, Texas. Kevin Johnson was the winner at 268.
European Ladies
Aideen Rogers made another respectable showing in the Compaq Open at the Barseback Golf Club in Malmo, Sweden. She tied for 20th place with a two-over-par 290 (71-71-73-75). Juli Inkster topped the leaderboard at 282.
PGA Tour
Every shot counts. How many times Keith Nolan must repeat that to himself. The Wicklow man missed another cut by just a stroke, this time in the Reno-Tahoe Open at the Montreux Golf and Country Club in Nevada. Nolan shot consecutive rounds of 73 for an overall score of 146.
European Tour
After contending for the lead in last week’s event in Cavan, Kilkenny’s Gary Murphy fell back to a 36th place tie in the Scottish PGA Championship. Murphy finished 72 holes one over par at 289 (75-71-71-72). Pierre Fulke walked away as champion, shooting 271 at the Gleneagles Hotel’s Monarch Course.