Gribben falters in South Africa

By John Manley

It’s summertime in South Africa. So, when Paddy Gribben came off the 18th green in Sun City on Saturday, the sun shone brighter and the skies were an especially vivid shade of azure blue, or certainly more so than they were in Ireland at the time. And more so than they were for compatriots Darren Clarke and Paul McGinley.

After 54 holes of the Dimension Data Pro-Am, Gribben was a mere five shots behind Retief Goosen and Scott Drummond, who shared the lead heading into Sunday’s final round. Gribben had hung tough after opening with consecutive rounds of 68. He fired 71 on Saturday, good for a fifth-place tie. Clarke was two shots in back of Gribben, with McGinley another five strokes further back.

Come the completion of play on Sunday, blue was best used as a metaphor for Gribben’s state of mind. There wouldn’t be any catching Goosen, who shot 66 to post a three-stroke victory over Drummond. But Gribben’s 77 left him 16 shots behind last year’s U.S. Open champion and tied for 22nd place with McGinley and three others.

Clarke settled down after an opening 73 to rally for an eighth-place tie at 279 (73-68-68-70). McGinley, likewise, experienced early turbulence en route to his 284 (75-70-69-70). Peter Lawrie tied for 39th place at 287 (76-69-69-73). Ciaran McMonagle, at 146 (70-76) after 36 holes missed the cut by one stroke. Farther down the list were David Higgins, at 148 (77-71), and James Loughnane, at 151 (73-78).

Senior PGA Tour

Christy O’Connor Jr. is back. With his motorcycle safely ensconced in a garage where it can bring him no harm, O’Connor’s hopes for a productive and healthy 2002 began auspiciously with a 24th-place tie at the Royal Caribbean Classic, played over the Crandon Park Golf Club in Key Biscayne, Fla. Bad weather shortened the event to 36 holes, and O’Connor, after rounds of 71 and 69, was among an octet at 4-under-par 140. John Jacobs’ 133 proved to be the winning number. O’Connor’s monetary number was $12,959 for two days’ work.