Sean O’Hair made amends for his collapse at the recent Arnold Palmer Invitational when he won the Quail Hollow Championship in Charlotte, North Carolina.
O’Hair lost a five-stroke lead to Tiger Woods at Bay Hill five weeks ago but this time he trumped the world number one, who bemoaned a lack of consistency as he finished fourth.
The 26-year-old O’Hair shot a three-under-par 69 for a one-stroke victory over Lucas Glover and Bubba Watson, becoming only the third player in his 20s to win at least three titles on the US PGA Tour, joining Adam Scott and Sergio Garcia.
O’Hair, who totalled 11-under 277, admitted that he was keen to erase the bad memories of Bay Hill. He said in an AP article:
“Losing stunk at Bay Hill. Even though it’s tough to lose like that, to lose a five-shot lead against Tiger, you still learn from it. I talked to my coach. I talked to my caddie. And we just all said all I have to do is keep putting myself in those situations, and at some point I’m going to learn how to win. It’s just nice to win as quickly as I did after Bay Hill.â€
Glover was in with a chance to force a play-off but he had to settle for a share of second place after closing with 71. Watson made 70.
Woods probably knew it wasn’t going to be his day when he parred the 14th, par-four hole. After driving green, he needed to sink a 25-footer for eagle but ended up putting three times.
The 14-times major champion parred the last 10 holes to score 72. Woods rued his mistakes but was full of praise for O’Hair.
“I had my opportunity there at 14. I made a mistake there. I knew the green was baked out. It was downwind, and I didn’t heed my own warning, and ended up putting too hard. Sean’s got all the talent. We know that. We’ve seen how well he’s played. He’s been through a lot off the golf course, and it’s just a matter of time before all that settles in.â€
On the European Tour, Frenchman Thomas Levet shot a final round of four-under-par 68 to win the Open de Espana in Girona by two strokes.
Levet’s total of 18-under 270 was enough to give him the title over Paraguay’s Fabrizio Zanotti, who shot a 65 in the last round for his 272.
Denmark’s Thomas Bjorn and Irishman Peter Lawrie were tired for third on 274. Bjorn closed with 66 while Lawrie scored 69.
After receiving his trophy and cheque for 333,330 euro, Levet dedicated his victory to Spanish legend Seve Ballesteros, who is recovering from a series of surgeries to remove cancerous growth from his brain. He said on the European Tour website:
“I always think about Seve, he is having a hard time at the moment. Seve, I dedicate this win to you.â€
It was Levet’s fifth title on the tour, the most by a Frenchman.
Hi , I am seeking clarification on a teeing issue, i have seen quite a lot of golfers in my area teeing up with a captive tee!, this is an ordinary tee which has a small hole drilled into the shank and a piece of string knotted through the hole and tethered into the ground tied to another tee approx 3to4inches to the side furthest away from the player. One of our members is telling these players that this is illegal as it contravenes the rules of golf, I have read the rule book a number of times and I can’t place any of the rules specifically to this action. Could you please throw some light on this matter. ( the only reason for doing this is to stop the tee flying away, hence you dont have to spend time searching for it.)
Thanks Joe Metcalf.
Barry’s Reply:
Joe,
My feeling is that this type of tee should not be used. The definition of ‘Tee’ in the Rules of Golf reads as follows, “A tee is a device designed to raise the ball off the ground. It must not be longer than
4 inches (101.6 mm), and it must not be designed or manufactured in such a way that it COULD indicate the line of play or influence the movement of the ball.”
I have capitalised the word ‘COULD’ and believe that this means that any tee that has a string attached does not conform with the definition. However, I am aware that there are other Rules experts that argue that such tees are OK providing the strings are used only to make sure that the tee is not lost after a stroke and are never used for indicating the line of play.
Regards,
Barry Rhodes