Golf

PODS Championship Notebook: Aussie power

By DAVE SCHEIBER, Times Staff Writer
Published March 10, 2008

Aussie power

PALM HARBOR - No fewer than 11 Australians competed in the fourth round Sunday - and four finished in the top 10. The Down Under roll call: John Senden shot 4-under 67 to finish second, Rod Pampling (69) tied for eighth, and Geoff Ogilvy (74) and Stewart Appleby (71) tied for 10th.

What accounts for the preponderance of Aussies on the PGA Tour?

"I think that we have a strong Australian tour and strong training academy setup at home," Senden said. "There are a lot of guys playing very well at home and there are a very limited number of events at home, and it forces players to move overseas to play."

Robert Allenby, tied for 14th, said: "You have a lot of good golf courses in Australia, and it's really affordable and accessible - those are the two major things. For 20-million people, we've produced a lot of really good golfers. It's not a rich man's sport in Australia, whereas over here it is. And there are so many good golf courses we all have access to, whether you're a pro, an amateur or just a kid growing up. And we have great weather, too."

Then there's the Shark Factor: the influence of two-time U.S. Open winner Greg Norman. "He's to blame for all the good golfers coming out of Australia," Allenby said. "He was such a huge influence on Australian golf - everyone wanted to be the next Greg Norman."

Lamely out tamely

Derek Lamely, 27, of Fort Myers qualified last week and played in his first PGA Tour event on a Sunday before unraveling with 11-over 82 to finish 71st. He cashed his first tour check, $10,494 (he once earned $2,900 at a Nationwide Tour event). A consolation, perhaps? "No, not really," he said. "Today was really disgusting."

Recut blues

Eight golfers were trimmed before the final round in accordance with the PGA's new "recut" policy. The idea is to keep the fourth round from getting too crowded - allowing about 70 to compete. That was bad news for Mitchell High junior Kenny Cavender. He was caddying for Phoenix resident Ted Purdy, who was eliminated along with Paul Goydos, Cameron Beckman, Tim Herron, Jesper Parnevik, Charles Warren, Jason Gore and Kevin Streelman. The tour has been tinkering with its policy this year, and this event was the first to implement a third-round cut since it was announced two weeks ago at the Honda Classic. The unlucky seven at the PODS got prize money from $9,646 to $10,335.

Divots

Lee Janzen of Orlando turned in by far the best performance of the three sponsor's exemptions. The two-time U.S. Open winner tied for 10th, well ahead of Robert Gamez (tied for 52nd) and Billy Andrade (tied for 61st). ... Senden has two career runnerup finishes, both at the PODS, finishing with 66 last year. ... Sean O'Hair's4 under marked the second straight single-digit winning score. Ernie Els won the Honda Classic on March 2 at 6 under. Back-to-back single-digit scores had not been posted since Aug. 5 and 12, when Tiger Woods won the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational and PGA Championship.

Shot of the day

Stewart Cink's drive on the par-5 14th illustrated how the third-round leader's day went. He pulled his tee shot left, and it settled next to a pine tree. His only option was hooding an 8-iron left-handed. The ball didn't clear the trees, and he bogeyed the hole.

Hole of the day

15 The 211-yard par 3 was where the tournament changed. While Stewart Cink was struggling at 14, recording his second straight bogey, Sean O'Hair drained a 32-foot birdie to go 5 under and take a two-shot lead. There were only eight birdies on the hole.

Quote of the day

"It feels like we played a major this week."

Billy Mayfair, 41, right, who shot 2-under 282 to finish in a six-way tie for second

Dave Scheiber, Times staff writer

[Last modified March 10, 2008, 00:08:00]