Global Golf Post - March 1, 2010

PANAMA CITy, PANAMA | Fran Quinn
managed just a 1-over 71 Sunday,
but it was enough to win the Panama
Championship by two strokes. Quinn,
set in 2006. Brian Smock closed with
a 3-under 67 at Panama Golf Club to
take second place at 13-under-par 267.
Tommy Gainey also shot 67 Sunday to
finish alone in third place at 10-under-
par 270.
“I’ve never had a big lead like that
before and I just put it on cruise con-
trol instead of trying to make birdies,”
Quinn said. Quinn entered the final
round with a five-shot lead over Ar-
gentina’s Julio Zapata and a six-shot
margin over three players – Mark An-
derson, Fabian Gomez and Smock. This
came on the heels of a course-record,
8-under 62 Saturday. Quinn’s three-day
total of 16-under 194 not only eclipsed
the tournament record of 200, it shat-
tered it by six shots.
“We haven’t had the wind,” said
Quinn, who had missed three cuts in
five previous starts here and broken
par only once in 14 rounds. “You get
the wind and the greens get a little
Fran Quinn
firmer and a lot of shots get trickier.
It’s a great golf course, but it’s also out
there.”
The lack of wind was the main rea-
son for the 62. But the wind picked up
markedly for the final round.
“I actually played really well last
week but didn’t get anything out of it,”
said Quinn, who tied for 23rd at the
Mayakoba Golf Classic on the PGA Tour.
“I knew I was playing good and that’s
why I didn’t go home (to Massachu-
setts). We were getting snow and I felt
good. I said I wanted to keep playing
and I’ve carried it over to this week.”
The second round was highlighted
by a front-nine 28 turned in by former
Georgia star Kevin Kisner. “Everything
was perfect. Every number was good.
I was hitting it close and making some
putts,” said Kisner, who became the
23rd player in the Tour’s 21-year his-
tory to post a nine-hole score of 28. “It
seemed easy on the front. I was just
playing. I was having a blast.”
Six players, including Ken Duke,
were tied for first after 18 holes and 10
more were just one stroke back after
the first day. “I went down and met with
my coach, Bob Toski, and had a good
session there,” said Duke, who tied for
51st at the Moonah Classic in Australia
after missing the cut at the Michael Hill
New Zealand Open to start the year. “I
told my caddie this week that I thought
we might have something good going
on.” RESULTS
OTTO WINS VODACOM CHAMPIONSHIP
ON STRENGTH OF SECOND-ROUND 61

The former Georgia Tech All-American
held a one-stroke advantage through
nine holes over halfway leader Will Mc-
Girt and increased his lead to two after
a birdie on the 13th. But Castro found
disaster when he played aggressive to
the island green at the par- 3 15th. “I
hit a dead solid shot on 15, absolutely
perfect, and it went in the water, so all
of a sudden I’ve made double-bogey,”
said Castro. “Will makes a 50-footer on
that same green, so it was a three-shot
swing.” Castro rolled in a 30-footer to
save par on the par- 5 17th after hook-
ing his second shot into the water to set
up the dramatics for the home hole.
McGirt opted to play it safe off the
tee, but drove his 3-wood into the right
rough, well back from the hole. Castro
found the fairway and after McGirt’s ap-
proach came up short left, Castro hit a
short iron to 10 feet. When McGirt failed
to save par, the door was open for Cas-
tro, who quickly rolled in the 10 footer
for the win. Castro’s rounds of 70-69-70
made him one of only two players in the
field to post three rounds under par.
It seemed that none were as pleased
with the final round being cut than Cas-
tro. Not only did he escape with the victo-
ry, he also was going to be able to attend
his grandparents 50th anniversary.
“It’s the first time in 10 years that
my whole family is in town,” Castro said
after his round. “It would have been
painful to miss it. Thankfully, I’m only
four hours from home.” RESULTS