February 16, 2011
By Staff Reporter
By John Manley
Paul McGinley was primed to make a big move on Sunday in the Portuguese Open
at Meridien Penina. His third round 67 moved him to within two shots of Gary
Orr, who finished the day at 70. A repeat of Saturday’s play would have seen
McGinley knocking on Orr’s door, but McGinley shot 70 instead, leaving him
four shots back of the Scot at the end. Orr finished with a 69 for his first
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European Tour victory. McGinley, at 279 (70-72-67-70) shared third place
with two others.
PGA TOUR
Darren Clarke tuned up for this week’s World Match Play Championships by
contesting the Nissan Open at the Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades,
Cal. If he plays this weekend like he did at Riviera, he won’t last long. He
missed the cut by six strokes. Clarke shot five-over-par 147 (73-74), when
he needed 141 to advance to weekend play.
SENIOR PGA TOUR
Christy O’Connor, Jr. is still waiting for a breakthrough performance in
2000. He didn’t get it in the GTE Classic at the TPC of Tampa Bay in
Florida, where he finished 33rd. O’Connor’s 54-hole total was 217
(73-74-70), four over par. Bruce Fleisher, once again, was the medalist,
with a low aggregate of 200.