February 17, 2011
By Staff Reporter
Hoey brought a three-stroke lead into Saturday?s final round by virtue of a third-round 66, which saw him record eagle-3s at both the third and fifth holes. Incredibly, he picked up eagles at the 525-yard third in the second, third and fourth rounds. His final round did not suffer from any major miscues (he had two bogeys) but would have been helped by more birdies, of which he had only one to go with the eagle. Widmark, on the other hand, did not have the victory handed to him, as he recorded six birdies over the final 18 holes, avoiding bogeys altogether.
Hoey is cognizant of what he needs to do to secure his maiden victory, as he admitted after the third round.
?It would be nice to get the first victory,? Hoey said. ?It?s something I don?t like to think too much about because I have got ahead of myself before and ended up missing out. That happened to me in Costa Rica earlier in the season when I was leading going into the final round but then I started thinking about winning and the money and everything else that comes with it and I kind of lost my focus on the course.?
Hoey carded 271 (68-67-65-71) over 72 holes to finish 17 strokes under par and two behind Widmark. Colm Moriarty got a share of 23rd position with his 281 (67-74-69-71).
BRITISH OPEN
The Irish had no answer for Tiger Woods, runaway champion at St. Andrews. Graeme McDowell?s 67 was the best Sunday score (Woods shot 70) and enabled him to ascend the leaderboard to a share of 11th place at 282 (69-72-74-67). He earned $116,959.
Darren Clarke was prominent throughout, although he never really made a solid run at the lead. He finished joint 15th at 283 (73-70-67-73), which was good for $81,102. Paul McGinley shared 41st place with those who matched his 287 (70-75-73-69). His check amounted to $26,243.
Unable to shoot 145 or better and qualify for the weekend were Peter Lawrie, 152 (74-78), and amateur Brian McElhinney, 153 (78-75).
NATIONWIDE TOUR
Out of the mists of oblivion came Keith Nolan, who finished the Scholarship America Showdown tied for 31st place. The former Walker Cup player, who has stumbled badly as a pro, was one stroke over par after 72 holes at Troy Burne Golf Club in Hudson, Wis. His 281 (68-70-71-72) left him 15 strokes behind medalist Jason Gore. Nolan?s check amounts to $3,150. Richard Coughlan, who played on the same Walker Cup squad as Nolan, has had similar problems since turning pro, none of which appeared close to resolution last week. He missed the cut by five strokes, shooting 146 (74-72).