February 16, 2011
By Staff Reporter
He shot 32 over the final nine holes to finish 12 under par for the 54-hole event at 204 (68-69-67). Two strokes separated Quinlivan and the runners-up, Matt Seppanen and Mike Malizia. Quinlivan earned $35,175.
CHAMPIONS TOUR
In only two outings on this circuit, Des Smyth has surpassed his 2002 earnings on the European Tour. Smyth shot even-par 213 (72-71-70) to finish tied for 10th place in the Verizon Classic at the TPC at Tampa in Lutz, Fla. Bruce Fleisher’s 205 won the trophy. Smyth earned $38,400 for total winnings of $166,400 this year. Christy O’Connor, Jr. tied for 64th place at 226 (72-82-72), which was good for $2,000.
A week earlier, Smyth served notice that he will have to be reckoned with with his second-place finish in the ACE Group Classic. Smyth finished his 54 holes at the Club at Twin Eagles in Naples, Fla., 11 strokes under par at 205 (70-69-66), which was three shots behind Vicente Fernandez. Smyth’s final round 66, which he posted despite a strong wind, was the low number of the day. He earned $128,000. Tom Watson tied Smyth for second place. Incredibly, Watson is now winless in the 84 professional events he has played in the Sunshine State.
PGA TOUR
Darren Clarke had plenty of reasons for not looking forward to the weekend at the Nissan Open. He made the cut with not a stroke to spare and the leaders were far enough away to make contending for low honors unlikely. But Clarke sucked it up after his initial rounds of 71 and 74 to fire consecutive 68s at the Riviera Country Club in Los Angeles. He finished tied for 10th place at 281, just six strokes behind Mike Weir and Charles Howell III, who needed a playoff to award Weir the crown. Clarke earned $96,428.57 in the prelude to this week’s World Match Play Championships at La Costa.
EUROPEAN TOUR
Padraig Harrington went to Malaysia to get his final work in for the World Match Play. Harrington tied for 14th place in the Malaysian Open at 272 (66-66-67-73), while Paul McGinley was one stroke behind in a 17th place tie. His 273 was comprised of rounds of 67, 69, 70 and 67. Harrington earned $14,974, while McGinley’s cut came to $12,936. Arjun Atwal’s 260 proved best by four strokes at the Mines Resort and Golf Club in Kuala Lumpur.
ASIAN TOUR
Paul McGinley tied for 18th place in the Johnnie Walker Classic at Lake Karrinyup Country Club in Perth, Australia. He finished with 276 (67-71-68-70) and took home $19,907. Ernie Els, who shot 259, was a 10-stroke winner, his fourth championship in five events in 2003.
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