TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Goosen's Golden Finish Takes Transitions

ADVERTISEMENT

By MICK ELLIOTT melliott@tampatrib.com

The Tampa Tribune

Published: March 22, 2009

PALM HARBOR - As the sun dropped behind the pine trees at Innisbrook Resort on Sunday evening, Retief Goosen stood on the 18th tee box of the Copperhead course needing only to make par to win the Transitions Championship.

Four-hundred-and-forty-five yards straight away - albeit uphill - the finish line waited. Goosen had four shots to get there. No player on the PGA Tour turns down that opportunity.

That was the positive.

Not as promising was the fact that out of 22 players who had come down the stretch immediately in front of Goosen, 14 had bogeyed the hole, falling victim to a devilishly fast green with the pin tucked front-left behind a bunker.

"It's a hard tee shot, and the second shot is impossible," Brett Quigley said, and he had made par. "You're looking at that pin, it plays probably 10 or 15 yards uphill. You don't want to be short, because the bunker is dead. And then if anybody hits it past the hole, then you've got a putt that's the proverbial back of the tub trying to stop it short of the drain because the green is so fast."

Goosen was golden, making par for a round of 70 to finish 8 under and one shot better than runners-up Charles Howell III (69) and Quigley (68).

But it came with drama.

Goosen's approach from 155 yards carried past the hole, leaving a 25-foot downhill attempt that he only wanted to get close.

He couldn't. The putt rolled past the hole and continued to trickle 5 feet beyond.

For the week Goosen was a perfect 55 of 55 on putts of 5 feet or less. But he is also the man who in 2001 three-putted the final green of the U.S. Open from 12 feet before finally winning the next day in a playoff.

"It was disappointing to hit it that far past," Goosen said. "I didn't want to have another U.S. Open there.

"I felt good with my putting, and you know, there wasn't too much indecision with the one coming back. I made up my mind and just tried to focus on making a good stroke. It was nice to see it go in."

Goosen's par brought an end to a day that saw challengers come and go.

After birdies at 11 and 14, Howell was 9 under and tied with Goosen for the lead, but he then bogeyed 15 and 16. Steve Stricker was 8 under and sharing the lead with two holes to play only to finish bogey-bogey.

The winner also had his struggles. Goosen bogeyed No. 16 out of a greenside bunker. On the par-3 17th, he was right off the tee and had to escape from the rough and make a 4-footer to save par.

"That chip on 17 was tough," he said. "Anything could have happened. I think that pretty much won me the tournament - getting up-and-down there. I didn't want to go up 18 thinking that I needed a birdie to win. Par is what you want going up 18 to try and win."

Reporter Mick Elliott can be reached at (813) 281-2534.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT