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Kite's chances sink as he finds water on par 5s

After pulling within a shot of the lead, he stuns himself with two poor approach shots.

By JOHN SCHWARB, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published February 18, 2002

LUTZ -- Midway through his final round at the Verizon Classic, all systems were go for Tom Kite. Save a few missed putts, he had executed perfectly to move into position to contend.

But midway through the back nine, his hopes at the TPC of Tampa Bay sank into the water of the par 5s with two double bogeys.

"It's been a long time," a dumbfounded Kite said after the round. "I don't do that."

Kite birdied his first hole Sunday to get to 11 under and rattled off 10 consecutive pars. Coming to the 495-yard par-5 12th he was two shots clear in second place, one behind eventual winner Doug Tewell.

The 12th had been good to Kite, giving him eagle and birdie the first two rounds after he reached the green in two both days. Sunday he again had a green-light distance of 230 yards.

His 5-wood never got there.

"Into the wind, I just needed to make sure that I hit it low," Kite said. "I just slid right on past it. I haven't hit a shot like that in I can't remember when.

"That was just a low squirter just off the heel that had no place to go but the water."

Kite flew the green with his fourth shot, chipped up and two-putted for seven.

Two holes later, at the 588-yard par-5 14th, he again made double bogey after hitting a 250-yard 3-wood into the water from a sidehill lie he said was "nothing to be concerned with."

The sevens dropped Kite to 7 under, five behind Tewell. His last four holes included two bogeys and a birdie, adding up to 41 on the back and 75 for the day. He finished in a tie for fifth at 6 under.

"Two sevens, huh?" said Hale Irwin, who finished second. "That'll hurt your score big time, especially when one of them is at least a (makeable) four.

"That's a surprise. Tom, gosh, he's hitting the ball so far."

Kite reached the par-5 seventh but three-putted for par. Putting was his problem on the front side, where he hit every green in regulation but made one birdie.

"I had so many this week, really good-looking putts that didn't go in," Kite said. "Everybody was talking about how difficult the greens were to read, but I had some putts that almost seemed to defy gravity."

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