PGA TOUR
Nov. 5, 2000
By Nick Nicholas
PGATOUR.COM Contributor
MURRELLS INLET, S.C. -- Tom Watson saved
the best for last to close out his 2000
SENIOR PGA TOUR campaign.
Watson fed off the momentum of his six-birdie
spree on Saturday, firing a final-round
66 to win the SENIOR TOUR Championship,
his first triumph of the season.
| Rank |
Player |
Score |
| 1st |
Tom
Watson |
-18 |
| 2nd |
John
Jacobs |
-17 |
| T3rd |
José Maria
Cañizares |
-10 |
| T3rd |
Mike
McCullough |
-10 |
| T3rd |
Leonard
Thompson |
-10 |
| T5th |
Hal
Sutton |
-7 |
|
The celebrated SENIOR TOUR rookie secured
a tournament-record, 18-under-par total
of 270 and finished one stroke ahead of
playing partner John Jacobs, who fired
a 68 on Sunday. His play over the final
26 holes was flawless as Watson went 12
under without a bogey to claim the winner's
check of $365,000.
"The real strength of the tournament
was yesterday's last nine holes and
the first nine holes (Sunday) where
I was 9-under par," said Watson, who
became the first player to win TOUR
Championships on both TOURs. "That's
obviously what turned it around for
me.
"I was going to have dinner without
dessert this year. Now I've got a great
dessert to finish off the year. Next
year I hope to win more than just once."
Watson eventually grabbed the lead
for keeps when he rolled in a 20-foot
birdie putt on the par-3 fifth. By
then it was apparent the tournament
would be won by either Watson or Jacobs.
His advantage increased to three over
Jacobs at the turn, but slipped to
just two with five holes left to play.
"The magic happened at 14," Watson
said.
Both Jacobs and Watson were staring
at 35-foot eagle putts with similar
lines at the 502-yard par-5. Jacobs
putted first and sent his ball rolling
to within 8 inches of the cup.
"I walked over to him and said, 'I
hope I gave you the line and I hope
it's all the way in the hole,' " Jacobs
said with a grin. "I don't know if
he heard me or not, but I showed him
the line. But he still hit a great
putt." "I made very few mistakes this
week and that's the reason I won."
Watson admitted he was trying to two-putt.
His caddie told him to play for no
break, but the winner of eight major
titles on the PGA TOUR disagreed. It
turned out he had an eagle eye.
"I just felt like it was going to
break a little bit left and so I played
it a little right of the hole just
trying to get it close," he said. "It
broke beautifully right in at the last.
That put me three shots ahead and they
gave me a pretty good cushion.
"I made very few mistakes this week
and that's the reason I won."
Watson
becomes the first player to win
TOUR Championships on both TOURs.
|
|
Watson
then
changed
his
mind. "I made
more putts than anybody," he said. "That's
the real reason why I won."
Jacobs knew all too well that Watson
likely wouldn't fold once he reached
the top of the leaderboard.
"When he got the lead I had one guy
on my mind and I couldn't get to him," Jacobs
said.
Jacobs got a glimpse of daylight at
the 17th hole but he missed a makeable
birdie putt. Watson, meanwhile, recorded
a nifty up-and-down save where he sank
an 8-foot putt for par.
"I had one chance," Jacobs said, "and
that was it."
But he finally closed the gap when
he rolled in a 12-foot eagle putt on
the par-5 18th. Watson reached the
same green in regulation and tapped
in a 2-foot putt for par for his second
win since turning 50 a little over
a year ago.
Watson made the most of his SENIOR
TOUR appearances this year -- surpassing
the $1 million mark for the season
despite playing in only 13 tournaments.
His $1.146 million season averages
out to $88,182 per tournament entered.
"Listen, the reason Tom Watson is
where he is is because he does what
he has to do at the right times," Jacobs
said. "I don't know where these guys
say he has the yips. I didn't see one
yip all day.
"The only yip I saw was my putt on
17."
Leonard Thompson, a former Myrtle Beach resident, made six birdies in
a bogey-free, third-round of 66 Saturday and finished tied for third.
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Leonard Thompson, the third-round leader
and the third member of the final group,
suffered from flu symptoms. He made three
consecutive bogeys on the front nine
and never recovered.
Thompson stumbled with a final-round
76. He missed out on a possible homecoming
victory, finishing tied for third with
Mike McCullough (70) and José Maria
Cañizares (72) at 10-under 278.
"It's always nice to be here, but
today was not the best day I ever had," Thompson
said. "But that's part of the business
I'm in. Sometimes you're the windshield,
sometimes you're the bug. Today I was
the bug.
"I couldn't focus. I wasn't hitting
any solid shots and I didn't putt very
well. I think I missed it four times
from 4 feet. I absolutely had no feel
today. My hands felt like 10 bananas."
Thompson can take some consolation
that his $145,333 earnings pushed him
over the $1 million mark this season
for the first time.
Speaking of earnings, Larry Nelson
was guaranteed this year's money title
when Bruce Fleisher didn't win. Nelson
finished tied for 10th at 281 and won
$58,000, but failed to become the first
SENIOR TOUR player to surpass the $3
million mark.
Nelson compiled $2.708 million in
2000 to capture his first Arnold Palmer
Award.
