O'Hair survives Copperhead challenge
BY Bruce Young | US PGA Tour | 2008 PODS Championship | Round Four | 10 Mar 2008
Sean O’Hair won his second USPGA Tour event today when he came from three shots behind the third round leader Stewart Cink to win by two at the PODS Championship at the Innisbrook Resort’s Copperhead course near Tampa.
“I don’t know what to say,” said O’Hair after his win. “I’ve been struggling a little bit but have been working hard and there are so many people to thank, my wife, my caddy, my coach and, most of all, my father in law Steve Lucas who gave me a good pep talk last week,” he added on the verge of tears. “I missed the cut last week and Steve and I sat down and had a good talk and that kind of gave me some strength.”
For O’Hair the victory has come after a tough start to season 2008 having missed the cut in his last two events and recording a best finish of 49th in five starts. The 25-year-old is an immense talent as his victory at the 2005 John Deere in 2005 (his 18th PGA Tour start) at the tender age of just twenty-two would suggest.
O’Hair earned his right to play on the PGA Tour via the Q School in 2004 where he finished 4th and after finishing runner up at the Byron Nelson Classic early in his first season he won the John Deere just a few weeks later. O’Hair has now earned close to US$6 million in PGA Tour career but there have obviously been times where there were self doubts and issues he needed to address.
Steve Lucas had caddied for him for much of his earlier career, an estranged relationship with his father perhaps driving the pair even closer together. The talk they had last week clearly worked as after missing the cut by several shots at the Honda Classic he was immediately in contention this week and stayed in touch throughout.
When asked how this win compared with the first at the John Deere O’Hair responded. “You know when I won in 2005 it just kind of happened and I didn’t really appreciate it because I felt like I was good enough to do it every year but it has been such a struggle to get to this point again that this is just awesome.”
Despite the much improved conditions on the final day, the demanding Copperhead layout still took its toll, the winning score of four under a reflection on three days on windy inclement weather and a tough layout.
Stewart Cink led into the final day by two over Billy Mayfair and Brandt Snedeker and when he opened with two consecutive birdies it appeared as if Cink might be on the way to his first victory in three and a half years.
His last win came in season 2004 where he won twice but while there have been several near misses since, winning is what it is all about at the level Cink has established on the PGA Tour. He came into this event after a thrashing by Tiger Woods in the final of the Accenture but he had played well enough to get to the final and had finished third behind Woods at the Buick a month earlier.
Despite two bogeys before the turn, Cink still had control of the tournament but the final round took on a different light when Cink bogeyed the 13th and 14th holes and then missed a four foot birdie chance at the 15th. Ahead, O’Hair was closing fast. A 30 foot birdie putt across the 15th green moved him to five under just as Cink was taking bogey at the 14th and he had taken the lead on his own.
When Cink drove it in the water at the 16th and took double bogey, O’Hair had a three shot lead playing the last. A bogey at the last and the difference was just two but the gap was too great for the only player on the course who could impact the result, Cink.
Queenslander, John Senden, finished runner up in this event for the second year in succession, a last round of 67 moving him from an overnight 25th to share second with Ryuji Imada, George McNeil, Billy Mayfair, Troy Matteson and Cink. Senden’s final nine of 31 was stunning on a day where so many were falling victim to the closing stretch of holes.
In what was another impressive week for the Australians, Rod Pampling finished 8th, Geoff Ogilvy and Stuart Appleby 10th, with Robert Allenby and Mathew Goggin 14th resulting in six within the top twenty. Nathan Green was 30th, Steve Elkington 52nd, Peter Lonard and Matt Jones 59th and Nick Flanagan 61st.
The PGA Tour stays in Florida this week when the Arnold Palmer Championship is played at the Bay Club and Lodge near Orlando.
