February 17, 2011
By Staff Reporter
Quinlivan managed eight birdies during the first round, then came up with five birdies and an eagle-3 on the 523-yard 17th hole during his second round. He was helped when Hicks recorded his only bogey of the tournament on the 13th hole in the final round. Quinlivan’s cards read 66, 68 and 70. He earned $15,000 for the win. A former member of the Nationwide Tour, Quinlivan has been grinding it out on the minis for the last several years.
CHALLENGE TOUR
Michael Hoey returned to the Equatorial region of the Americas, where he met with some success late last year. He fell right back in step with a fifth-place tie in the Costa Rica Open at Cariari Country Club in San Jose.
Hoey of Belfast, who had been on or near the pace from the get-go, began Sunday’s final round tied for the lead with Sebastian Fernandez. Hoey erased bogeys on 2 and 8 with birdies on 9 and 11. But the pendulum swung back against him as he lost strokes to par on each of 12, 13, 14 and 16. A birdie on 17 was hardly enough to lift him back up the leaderboard, where Fernandez and Kyle Dobbs reigned at 280. Those two resolved their stalemate over one playoff hole to Dobbs? advantage. Hoey finished two strokes over par at 286 (70-70-72-74) for earnings of $5,625.
“I like the weather,” Hoey said of the balmy climate that was buffeted by high winds. “Actually, I like the grainy greens, I am kind of good at reading them. It’s windy here, just like in Ireland. I play in that stuff all the time, so it doesn’t really bother me that much.”
Colm Moriarty was also angling for top honors after Friday’s second round but let his chances slip away early on Saturday. An opening bogey was followed by a triple-bogey 7 on 2, followed by a double-bogey 6 on 5. He settled down, but had sacrificed too much ground. He tied for 14th place at 289 (72-69-78-70), and would have finished higher still had he not bogeyed the two finishing holes Sunday.
One of the more interesting episodes was that of Justin Kehoe, who slid to the bottom of the board on Thursday with his 86. That resulted from six bogeys and five double-bogeys. Friday promised more of the same with bogeys on 2 and 4, but then Kehoe settled down. He birdied six of the next 10 holes, before enduring another double bogey on 15. Anyhow, he rearranged that opening 86 to read 68 on Friday. Still, he missed the cut by four strokes with his 153. He had company at that number in the person of Tim Rice, who shot rounds of 79 and 75.
PGA TOUR
Don’t expect to see complacency from any Irish competitors who stand a shot at a berth on the 2006 Ryder Cup team. Three such individuals came out smoking at last week’s AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, finishing among the top 30 at Pebble Beach. There wouldn’t be any victory, but then nobody has been able to intrude on the zone Phil Mickelson has carved out for himself the last couple weeks. Mickelson was still able to coast to a four-stroke victory despite shooting 73 on Sunday.
Darren Clarke’s 2005 American debut proved auspicious, as he shared sixth place at 277 (70-66-70-71), eight strokes behind Mickelson. Clarke’s take amounted to $184,175. Graeme McDowell, who is poised for big things on the European Tour this year, might be forgiven if he casts his reel in even deeper waters following his eighth-place finish. He carded 278 (68-69-70-71) and earned $164,300. The effects of off-season knee surgery were of little consequence to Paul McGinley, who tied for 30th place at 283 (69-69-72-73). He picked up a check for $30,151.
EUROPEAN TOUR
Damien McGrane and Peter Lawrie made the South Pacific swing worth their while by finishing tied for seventh and 13th places, respectively, in the Holden New Zealand Open at Gulf Harbour Country Club in Auckland. McGrane, who finished seven strokes off the lead, recorded only one bogey over the initial 36 holes. He then had three on Saturday and only a double bogey on Sunday to tarnish his card. He finished 15 under par at 273 (67-66-72-68). Lawrie was a stroke behind at 274 (68-68-70-68). Niclas Fasth and Miles Tunnicliff were deadlocked at 266 after 72 holes, then needed two more holes for Fasth to grab an advantage and the title. Gary Murphy, at 144 (73-71), missed the cut by four strokes.