25 March 2008
South African golfers came oh so close to delivering two titles at the weekend; in the end, though, one had to settle for second place after a playoff, while the other finished one shot off the pace - but one clear of world number one Tiger Woods, whose worldwide winning streak was halted at seven.
On the PGA European Tour, Hennie Otto dominated the Madeira Island Open through the first three rounds before being caught over the final 18 holes of regulation play by Scotland's Alastair Forsyth.
Preparation problems
It was, however, a pretty remarkable performance by Otto; his clubs arrived on Thursday only - the first day of the tournament - after his baggage was misplaced in transit. He had to buy clothes to play in, which set him back €1 000. And then, after sorting that out, just as he was about to tee off, play was called off for two-and-a-half hours because strong winds were causing balls on the greens to
move.
It was an eventful start for the South African, but out on the course there was no indication that his problems in preparation had affected him.
Otto opened his challenge with a five-under-par 67 to end the opening round alone in second place, trailing only Sven Struver, who fired a six-under 66.
Halfway mark
At the halfway mark, after a second successive 67, Otto had raced into a big lead, four shots clear of Struver and Fredrik Widmark on 10-under-par 134.
In golf, it is said that the third round is the moving round – the round in which players make their moves – but nobody appeared capable of displacing Otto at the top of the leaderboard as, for the third round in a row, he shot a 67.
It helped him increase his lead by a further shot to five clear on 15-under-par 201. Forsyth was up to second after a six-under 66, while Gary Clark was alone in third after the round of the day – an eight-under-par 64.
In the fourth round, Forsyth attacked. He fired four birdies and one bogey over the opening nine holes, while Otto, after birdies on two of the first three holes, dropped three shots over the next five.
Forsyth moved into the lead as the pair headed for home, but after two birdies on 11 and 12, he dropped two shots to wipe out two more birdies that he carded. Otto played to par throughout the inward nine before matching the Scot at the 18th as both players knocked in birdies. Gary Clark, four shots back, was alone in third.
Playoff
Both Otto and Forsyth ended on 15-under-par 273, so to a playoff the tournament went.
On the first extra hole, Forsyth snatched victory with a birdie. It was the second time he had edged Otto in a playoff; he had previously edged out the South African after a mammoth nine hole decider 12 years earlier to win the Scottish Amateur Stroke Play title.
The difference in the final round for Otto was his putting, which had been solid all tournament. However, in the final round, he had 31 putts, which marked the first time that he had needed 30 or more in the event. It was a fact that disappointed him.
Ultimately, though, after an outlay of €1 000 for clothing, Otto will be well pleased with his reward of €77 770, which works out not far short of R1-million.
'The Blue Monster'
On the US PGA Tour, the Doral Golf Resort and Spa's "Blue Monster" hosted the WGC-CA Championship with all eyes on Tiger Woods, who had looked well nigh unstoppable heading into the event. Obviously, though, his winning streak would have to end some time and happened in Florida.
Five players got the better of Woods, but only Geoff Ogilivy, the 2006 US Open champion, finished two shots clear of him, on a four-round total of 17-under-par 271 after rounds of 65, 67, 68, and 71.
Woods made up three shots on the Australian over the final 18 holes by posting a four-under 68, but the three players who finished one shot better off than him also carded 68s; Retief Goosen, Jim Furyk, and Vijay Singh all got the better of the world number one.
Welcome result
It was a welcome result for "the Goose", who endured a less than impressive 2007 US PGA season; sure, he finished runner-up at the Masters and finished fifth at the Omega Mission Hills World Cup, but his best finish after those two results was 17th at the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship. As a two-time major winner, the SA star is capable of far better than that.
His two most recent results, second on Sunday and tied for 14th the previous week at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, provide some hope that Goosen is on the way back to rediscovering his form.
Tim Clark enjoyed a strong tournament. Rounds of 71, 69, 66, and 72 left him on 10-under 278 for the event and tied for 12th. Trevor Immelman finished on 284, Richard Sterne on 285, and Andrew McLardy on 286.
Anton Haig was four-over-par on 292. Louis Oosthuizen ended on 293, Rory Sabbatini and James Kingston on 294, and Ernie Els, the world number three, on a disappointing 296.
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