Matt Daniel Wins in a Playoff Over Stuart Anderson in Edmonton
Tue, 03 Mar 2009 01:40:37
In what turned out to be a memorable day for a pair of young Canadians, Daniel tapped in for par on the first playoff hole for his initial professional win over Stuart Anderson of Fort McMurray, AB.
The unheralded fifth-year veteran fired a final-round 5 under 67 at Glendale G&CC for a 72-hole total of 21 under 267, the same as Anderson. Alex Rocha of Brazil wound up three shots back, while 2001 winner Aaron Barber (Minneapolis, MN) was 17-under 271.
Bryan DeCorso of Guelph, ON and Darren Griff of Salt Spring Island, BC were among a group of four at 14-under 274.
If you were looking for a nailbiting finish with as many clutch shots as you will see in this sport, then Glendale is the place you wanted to be Sunday afternoon.
After both Daniel and Anderson canned lengthy birdie putts on the final hole in regulation to force extra holes, things came to a dramatic end early in the playoff. Anderson, putting from just off the fringe, rolled one just by the hole before Daniel left a 15-foot birdie try on the lip. It looked like the duo would trek back to the 18th tee to try again but, needing to make a short two-foot par putt to prolong the match, Anderson, 24, lipped out.
Daniel, who toiled in relative obscurity for most of his Canadian Tour career before this week, certainly made a name for himself here. Prior to the Edmonton stop, Daniel had pocked a paltry $8,682 in career earnings, with $4,275 of that coming this season. On Sunday, with a lively Edmonton crowd cheering both Anderson and Daniel shot-for-shot, the 1993 B.C. Junior champion collected the $24,000 winner's cheque in one of the best Tour finishes in recent memory.
"This feels so good right now, I can't really describe it," said Daniel. "If I had thought about the pressure, I wouldn't be here talking to you. I knew I could do it, no matter what the doubters had to say. Even as a kid, I knew I could get on the Canadian Tour and win here. I've had to grind it out over the past few years, and the doubters have been all over the place. But I got it done."
Tied with Anderson at 17-under just before the turn, Daniel canned a 15-foot eagle putt on the par-5 ninth, while Anderson grabbed birdie. Anderson pulled even when Daniel bogeyed number 10, but Daniel jumped back ahead on the next hole and stayed in front until Anderson pulled off what was likely the shot of the week on the par-5 17th. Sitting 225 yards out, he crushed a five iron to within ten feet of the pin before sinking the eagle putt to pull even. With Rocha just about to putt ahead on the final hole, a huge roar could be heard from the gallery behind the Brazilian as Anderson made the putt. Even those watching Rocha and Barber from the 18th grandstand cheered when the leaderboard was changed to show Anderson and Daniel at 20-under heading home.
"The fans here were unbelievable and, even though Stuie was the hometown boy, they rooted for me all day long as well," Daniel added. "This is a game of bounces, and I got a few this week. I thought the pressure would get to me today, but I recovered every time. Stu played fantastic golf, and it was too bad one of us had to lose. He is a good buddy of mine and I guarantee you that is one guy that will be back."
Sunday marked the third time this year that a Canadian won a Tour event, coming on the heels of back-to-back wins by Rob McMillan and Derek Gillespie two months ago in Myrtle Beach, SC. It was the first time since 1996 that three different Canadians won a tournament title in the same season.
With several family and friends in his gallery and the hometown crowd virtually adding another club in his bag, Anderson was visibly disappointed when it was all over. He embraced his father just after missing the final putt, and apologized for not being able to become the first Canadian to win to win on his home province's soil since Mike Weir did it in 1997. No apology was needed.
"This one hurts a little right now, but I had a great week," admitted the 6'4, 230-pound Anderson, who finished T9 in Vancouver two weeks ago. "I think I rushed that putt, and I've been having problems with that lately. But I'll learn from that. I'm learning something new every week, and it will help me down the road. It can be a funny game, but I need to take the positives and go from there."
After three days of nearly perfect scoring conditions, Mother Nature threw a wrench into the plans Sunday. Strong winds whipped throughout Glendale most of the day, and the skies opened just after the leaders teed off. The rain lasted for just over an hour, but sunshine and warm temperatures returned for the latter stages of the day.
Rocha, a rookie on the Canadian Tour, was at 19-under before a three-putt bogey on 17 took him out of the running.
"Right now I am a lot more disappointed than happy, but I gave it my best," said Rocha. "But this was a fantastic event, one of the best I have ever played- the people of Edmonton opened their arms and hugged us all. It was great."
The Canadian Tour now moves on to Winnipeg for the MTS Classic, which gets underway Thursday.
Scores and earnings Sunday after the final round of the Canadian Tour's $150,000 TELUS Edmonton Open played at the 6918-yard, par-72 Glendale G&CC (x-won on first playoff hole):
1 x-Daniel, Matt Richmond, BC 67-66-67-67_267 -21 $24,000.00
2 Anderson, Stuart Ft. McMurray, AB 66-68-67-66_267 -21 $14,400.00
3 Rocha, Alex Brazil 66-67-68-69_270 -18 $9,000.00
4 Barber, Aaron Minneapolis, MN 71-63-68-69_271 -17 $7,200.00
5 Quiroz, Alex Mexico 70-68-67-67_272 -16 $6,000.00
T 6 DeCorso, Bryan Guelph, ON 70-68-66-70_274 -14 $4,837.50
T 6 Gemoets, Rafael El Paso, TX 68-70-68-68_274 -14 $4,837.50
T 6 Griff, Darren Salt Spring Island, BC 66-70-69-69_274 -14 $4,837.50
T 6 Grob, Mike Billings, MT 66-72-66-70_274 -14 $4,837.50
10 Bingham, Brett Red Deer, AB 69-66-71-69_275 -13 $4,050.00
T 11 Greenwood, Chris Valdese, NC 70-72-68-67_277 -11 $3,600.00
T 11 Johnson, Andy Orlando, FL 69-66-73-69_277 -11 $3,600.00
T 13 Enloe, Jason Dallas, TX 71-67-68-72_278 -10 $2,900.00
T 13 Gillespie, Derek Oshawa, ON 67-70-73-68_278 -10 $2,900.00
T 13 Hend, Scott Australia 68-66-72-72_278 -10 $2,900.00
16 McMillan, Rob Winnipeg, MB 65-71-71-73_280 -8 $2,550.00
T 17 Bohn, Jason Atlanta, GA 69-68-69-75_281 -7 $2,175.00
T 17 Schultz, Jason Columbia, MO 74-65-73-69_281 -7 $2,175.00
T 17 Turpen, Tim West Palm Beach, FL 71-68-70-72_281 -7 $2,175.00
T 17 Webb, Brennan Bracebridge, ON 66-72-69-74_281 -7 $2,175.00
T 21 Jonas, Philip Vancouver, BC 75-68-72-67_282 -6 $1,725.00
T 21 Mathis, David Raleigh, NC 66-73-69-74_282 -6 $1,725.00
T 21 Parry, Bryn North Vancouver, BC 69-72-72-69_282 -6 $1,725.00
T 21 Pleis, Steve Parrish, FL 66-74-71-71_282 -6 $1,725.00
T 21 Veress, Zoltan Kitchener, ON 69-72-72-69_282 -6 $1,725.00
26 Fisher, Jason Bakersfield, CA 75-66-71-71_283 -5 $1,500.00
T 27 Doohan, Todd Sarnia, ON 65-71-71-77_284 -4 $1,315.00
T 27 Goti, Ramiro Argentina 73-68-71-72_284 -4 $1,315.00
T 27 Kalinowski, Bobby Scottsdale, AZ 68-66-73-77_284 -4 $1,315.00
T 27 Martin, Wes Calgary, AB 74-69-68-73_284 -4 $1,315.00
T 27 McKenzie, David Australia 71-69-75-69_284 -4 $1,315.00
T 27 Wood, Jeff Fortuna, CA 72-71-73-68_284 -4 $1,315.00
T 33 Capone, Mike Cranston, RI 69-67-71-78_285 -3 $1,068.75
T 33 Fukushima, Kent Grande Prairie, AB 70-68-75-72_285 -3 $1,068.75
T 33 Heffernan, Wes Calgary, AB 67-71-74-73_285 -3 $1,068.75
T 33 Massey, Rich Harrington Park, NJ 74-68-67-76_285 -3 $1,068.75
T 33 Matthew, Craig Ile Bizard, QC 70-68-74-73_285 -3 $1,068.75
T 33 Reese, Mikkel Chandler, AZ 71-71-69-74_285 -3 $1,068.75
T 39 Devenport, Paul New Zealand 68-69-72-77_286 -2 $918.75
T 39 McCann, Brian Mississauga, ON 70-72-72-72_286 -2 $918.75
T 41 Corral, Jorge Mexico 75-68-73-71_287 -1 $789.00
T 41 Flugstad, Brian Seattle, WA 69-71-71-76_287 -1 $789.00
T 41 Hearn, David Brantford, ON 65-76-73-73_287 -1 $789.00
T 41 Kral, Scotty Victoria, BC 68-69-73-77_287 -1 $789.00
T 41 Mitchell, Michael Chevy Chase, MD 68-71-71-77_287 -1 $789.00
T 46 Matyczuk, Davidson Thunder Bay, ON 72-68-76-72_288 0 $686.25
T 46 Scutt, Gordy Victoria, BC 69-71-74-74_288 0 $686.25
48 Welder, Jamie Calgary, AB 72-70-76-71_289 1 $652.50
T 49 Ford, Scott Lake Worth, FL 70-70-76-74_290 2 $622.50
T 49 Kovacs, Kyle Sherman Oaks, CA 69-74-76-71_290 2 $622.50
T 51 Conrad, Bob Seattle, WA 67-76-72-76_291 3 $585.00
T 51 Parker, Perry Dana Point, CA 72-71-78-70_291 3 $585.00
T 51 Sutterfield, Brad St. George, UT 68-73-69-81_291 3 $585.00
T 54 Mezei, Mike (A) Lethbridge, AB 74-69-74-75_292 4 $0.00
T 54 Saltus, Bryan Costa Mesa, CA 71-71-78-72_292 4 $555.00
T 56 Curtain, Michael Australia 73-68-78-74_293 5 $534.00
T 56 Miskolczi, Terry Toronto, ON 71-71-73-78_293 5 $534.00
T 58 Karr, Jim Jupiter, FL 72-70-75-77_294 6 $510.00
T 58 Smith, Tony Clovis, CA 72-70-77-75_294 6 $510.00
60 Buttar, Blair Leduc, AB 69-71-78-77_295 7 $492.00
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