Bookmark Us!
MCI Heritage - Latest PGA Tour Golf News
Peter Lonard outlasts Clarke and the rest of the field to win the 2005 MCI HeritageCurrent PGA Tour News Sunday's final round of the MCI Heritage at Harbour Town Golf Links in Hilton Head was bizarre to the point of frustration. It was a nightmare finish for many players on Sunday leaving players and fans with foul tastes in their mouths. Jose Maria Olazabal whiffed in a bunker on No. 13 on his way to a triple bogey. Then the bogey-bogey-double bogey stretch by tournament leader Darren Clarke that turned his final round lead of four strokes into a one shot deficit. Wait it doesn't stop there unfortunately, Peter Lonard, the man with whom Clarke was suppose to be dueling for the lead with put on a putting clinic that was absolutely painful to watch.
It was wild, strange and painful to watch but at the end of it all a winner was crowned. The win may not have been a result of great play, it certainly wasn't a win that was fought for and earned, it was a tournament win only because someone had to win as it is in the rule book. Right? To say that Clarke offered the tournament to Lonard on a silver platter is an understatement, but Clarke was only returning the favor presented earlier by the Australian, who won for the first time in the United States.
It cannot be stressed enough that this tournament didn't create a memorable moments as much as it produced horrid images burned into the eyes and minds of those unfortunate enough to have watched. Clarke's triple bogey on No. 13 when he banged a ball off a railroad tie and left it in the bunker left us all confounded when he followed it with a bogey on the very next hole. The fact that it could have been much worse as the last grain of wood on a railroad tie kept him from chipping over the green and into the water left us all scratching our heads. As all of this was happening, Lonard also boggied the hole and no stroke was lost. The fact that both players made it to the final hole tied for the lead only set the stage for this absurd tragic comedies final act.
Clarke, hitting an eight-iron from the fairway, launched his approach shot into a marsh to left of the green and finished with a double bogey to somehow hold onto second place, two strokes behind Lonard. The red plaid jacket that the winner had to take home might explain this ugly finish as it seemed that nobody wanted to take it home. In the believe it or not file: Lonard starts the final round with a one-stroke lead over Clarke, then shoots a 4 over 75 -- and increases his margin of victory.
Let's just forget this game ever happened. Lock up the film footage, throw away the key and let's move on! How about that Masters win by Tiger?
|
32 Greenwood Dr, Hilton Head Island, SC 29928 Phone: (800)925-4653 Fax: (864)843-1464 Par: 71 Yardage: 6973 Designed by: Pete Dye & Jack Nicklaus | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Champion: Peter Lonard Total Purse: $5,200,000 Course Outline
| PGA Tour MCI Heritage Results
|