Around the wider world of golf: Inbee Park won the Lorena Ochoa Invitational on the LPGA; Kristoffer Broberg got his first win on on the ET at the BMW Masters; Shingo Katayama won the Mitsui Sumitomo VISA Taiheiyo Masters on the Japan Golf Tour; Danthai Boonma won the inaugural World Classic Championship on the Asian Tour; Fabian Gomez won the NEC Personal Classic on the PGA TOUR Latinoamérica; and Bo-Mee Lee won the Ito En Ladies Golf Tournament on the JLPGA (bangkokbobby has details).
The weather forced an extra day of play but the players forced the playoff. I guess some guys just can't bear to leave Mayakoba.
At first it looked as if the field was going to experience the School of Hard Knox. (Sorry, but I really like that pun.) Russell Knox was clearly on a high after his win at the WGC last week and he carried that high halfway around the world to Mayakoba. But Jason Bohn has been on a streak as well, and Graeme McDowell was unwilling to let one hole determine his week. (He was 5-over on the first hole last week, in case you didn't hear.)
But Graeme posted first, Jason scrambled around well enough to tie him, and Russell lost his one-shot lead on the final hole to send them all into the three-man playoff. Then Graeme rifled a 5-iron to within 3 feet of the cup, nearly holing it in the process, and tapped in for birdie and the win.
It seemed appropriate that the other two didn't falter on the playoff hole (both made par) but were simply beat. In fact, Russell followed his first win with a runner-up -- that's a pretty good accomplishment -- and Jason joined Kevin Na at that small table where players with two runner-ups and a third sit -- and both have done it in only five weeks. Amazing!
As for Graeme... no doubt you all heard his post-round comments where he talked about all the self-doubt he's experienced this past year and how much this win meant to him. He's in good shape going forward, as his Tour card was about to expire -- now he's set for a few more seasons -- and he wasn't qualified for some big events like the Masters. All that's taken care of now.
Most importantly, Graeme's return to the winner's circle also gained him another Limerick Summary:
In the end Knox, McDowell and BohnThe photo came from the tournament wrap-up page at PGATOUR.com.
Played off Monday. Who’d bring the win home?
With his second shot, Graeme
Hit it closest and BAM!
Now that OHL trophy’s his own.
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