February 17, 2011
By Staff Reporter
McDowell stood the best chance at the halfway point of a tournament that didn’t even finish its third round until Monday morning. The youngster contended for the lead throughout the first two rounds and was tied for seventh after 36 holes. But Monday saw him slip down the leaderboard. He bogeyed four holes on the front nine during his final round, then endured a double bogey and a triple bogey on the back nine, neither of which came on Sawgrass’ infamous 17th hole. McDowell can say that he outfinished Tiger Woods, sharing 40th place at two-over-par 290 (71-66-74-79), 11 strokes behind the victorious Fred Funk. His consolation prize totaled $30,400.
Clarke’s and Harrington’s final rounds bore similarities, so their joint finish at 63rd position seems appropriate. Each covered the final 18 holes with five bogeys and one birdie, plus a double bogey in Harrington’s case, whereas Clarke threw on a triple. Harrington, who was second in this event the last two years, shot rounds of 67, 73, 77 and 79 en route to his 295. Clarke’s cards read 73-70-73-79. In all fairness, it should be noted that 16 final round scores of 80 or greater were recorded. Clarke and Harrington each banked $16,800 from their adventures.
McGINLEY COMES CLOSE
Paul McGinley once again rallied in Asia, but the leader shook loose and couldn’t be caught this time. After opening rounds of 69 and 68 at the Indonesia Open, McGinley reduced his final round scores to 64 and 65 to finish 14 under par at Cengkareng Golf Club in Jakarta. But Thailand’s Thaworn Wiratchant sizzled throughout, shooting three rounds of 63, along with a 66, to coast to a five-stroke victory, with McGinley 11 strokes in his wake.
Michael Hoey shared the first-round lead after shooting 62 and while there was no disgrace with the 68, 69 and 71 that followed, one had to go limbo-dancer low to succeed on this layout. Somewhat amazing is that Hoey’s 62 came despite two bogeys. He offset that with eight birdies and one eagle. A double-bogey 6 on No. 16 on Sunday cost him positioning. He tied for 31st place, 15 strokes off the winner.
Stephen Browne and Philip Walton also made the journey and the cut. Browne had 62nd position to himself at 274 (67-66-70-71), while Walton tied for 77th place at 280 (67-69-71-73).