Golf

Allenby doesn't let bad weather get in his way

PONTE VEDRA BEACH -- Playing in steady rain followed by gusty winds, Australia's Robert Allenby went out well ahead of the leaders, posted a low score, then hoped for the best.

And if the conditions had stayed the same, perhaps Allenby would be in possession of the Players Championship trophy.

Allenby shot 7-under-par 65 Sunday in the worst of the conditions at the TPC-Sawgrass Stadium Course, having to endure rain, cold and the blustery elements.

When he finished at 278, 10 under par, some three hours before the leaders would come to the final hole, there was a reasonable thought that Allenby could win or at least be in a playoff.

But the weather turned mild. The sun came out. And although it wasn't easy, it was not nearly as difficult as when Allenby put up the best round of the tournament to that point. He finished tied for fourth.

"I'd say it was probably one of my best rounds," said the four-time tour winner who started eight shots behind the leaders. "I started a long way back, and I knew that I had to really pull out a pretty special round if I was going to have any chance at all."

Even before the weather changed, Allenby figured his chances were not good.

"There are some pretty classy players up there," he said. "The way I look at it, if I can handle it, I'm sure they can, too."

MORTAL TIGER: Is it more surprising that Tiger Woods didn't contend for the title Sunday despite making two eagles or that he hit three balls, including one at the par-3 17th, in the water?

Woods started the round five behind the leaders, eagled the second hole to pull within three and create a huge buzz. Then he dumped a pitching wedge approach from 120 yards at the fourth hole into the water, made double bogey, and seemingly never could get on track. Woods finished with par 72.

"I could have stayed at home and it would have been the same score," he said. "Instead, I came out here and created a few more gray hairs."

As it turned out, Woods would have had a hard time catching Davis Love, who shot a final-round 64. He settled for a tie for 11th, his first finish outside the top 10 since last year's British Open. Woods had posted 10 consecutive top-10 finishes.

Although Woods struggled to keep his driver in play Sunday, he didn't seem concerned about his Masters defense next week.

"My game is fine," he said. "I know what I need to do. It's just a matter of doing it and trusting it."

MASTERS PUSH: When it became apparent that Jay Haas could not win, the Masters was on his mind. By earning enough to finish among the top 10 on the money list through the Players Championship, Haas, 49, earned an invitation to his 19th Masters.

"To just finish as high as I could was the object," he said. "I'm disappointed, but if I had made a bogey or two coming in and had lost by a shot, that would have been more disappointing."

Haas saved himself some money by making an 18-foot par putt at the last hole to secure a tie for second. He earned $572,000 and moved to sixth on the money list with $1,363,064. Chad Campbell, who finished tied for sixth and earned $225,875, also earned a Masters invite. He is eighth on the money list.

The other way to earn a Masters invitation is to be among the top 50 in the world ranking as of today. Trevor Immelman and Stephen Leaney are expected to fall out. Tom Lehman, Tim Clark and Kirk Triplett, who were outside of the top 50, are expected to move up.

ODDS AND ENDS: Love is the fourth player this year with multiple victories on the PGA Tour, joining Ernie Els, Mike Weir and Woods. ... Love was one of seven players without a three-putt green for the week and finished third in the overall putting average. ... For an individual round, the par-4 18th ranked as the most difficult hole on the PGA Tour on Sunday, averaging 4.704. Bay Hill's 18th averaged 4,608 March 23 to rank second.

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