Round 4 Notes – Honda Classic
Ernie Els victory today comes at the age of 38 years, 4 months and 15 days.Ernie Els victory is his first since the 2004 World Golf Championship-American Express Championship, a span of 49 PGA TOUR events and 3 years, 4 months and 29 days.
Ernie Els victory is the first on American soil since the Memorial Tournament in 2004, a span of 56 PGA TOUR events and 3 years, 8 months and 26 days.
Ernie Els earns 4,500 FedExCup points and moves from No. 182 to No. 11 on the season points list.
Ernie Els collects a first-place check of $990,000 and brings his season total to $1,030,000 and moves him from No. 154 to No. 13 on the money list.
Ernie Els collects the 222nd PGA TOUR win by a former Nationwide Tour player and the fifth this year:
218. Daniel Chopra Mercedes-Benz Championship
219. D. J. Trahan Bob Hope Chrysler Classic
220. Steve Lowery AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am
221. Brian Gay Mayakoba Golf Classic
222. Ernie Els The Honda Classic
A total of 99 different former Nationwide Tour players have won on the PGA TOUR. Ernie Els leads all former players with 16 career wins. David Duval and Jim Furyk have each won 13 times. David Toms is next on the list with 12 wins.
This is the biggest comeback in Ernie Els’ career. Els now has 16 career wins and the furthest he has come back, prior to this week, was two strokes:
1994 U. S. Open led by 2 shot 73 won in playoff
1995 GTE Byron Nelson Golf Classic led by 3 shot 68 won by 3
1996 Buick Classic led by 6 shot 71 won by 8
1997 U. S. Open trailed by 2 shot 69 won by 1
Buick Classic led by 3 shot 69 won by 2
1998 Bay Hill Invitational led by 6 shot 73 won by 4
1999 Nissan Open trailed by 2 shot 68 won by 2
2000 The International won
2002 Genuity Championship led by 8 shot 72 won by 2
British Open led by 2 shot 70 won 4-man playoff
2003 Mercedes Championship led by 2 shot 67 won by 8
Sony Open in Hawaii trailed by 2 shot 67 won in playoff
2004 Sony Open in Hawaii trailed by 1 shot 65 won in playoff
the Memorial Tournament led by 2 shot 66 won by 4
WGC – American Express led by 2 shot 69 won by 1
2008 The Honda Classic trailed by 3 shot 67 won by 1
Scoring Averages for the week:
Front 9 – 35 Back 9 – 35 Total – 70
Thursday 35.566 36.559 72.126
Friday 35.275 36.655 71.930
Saturday 34.844 35.377 70.221
Sunday 35.844 36.831 72.675
Cumulative 35.394 36.431 71.825
Yong-Eun Yang was the first man off the tee and played as a single Sunday. Yang hit his first shot at 8:03 a.m. and finished up at 9:56 a.m. – shooting a 1-over 71 in the process.
Monday qualifier Michael Letzig enjoyed the best week of his rookie season. Letzig posted rounds of 70-69-68-71 and tied for seventh place in just his 6th career start. Letzig is a 27-year old rookie on TOUR. He graduated from the University of New Mexico in 2003. Letzig finished No. 12 on the 2007 Nationwide Tour money list after posting seven top-10 finishes in 28 starts. He closed the year with a runner-up finish at the Nationwide Tour Championship at Barona Creek. Letzig would have made the field this week on his number, had he decided not to try and Monday qualify.
Brett Quigley has now qualified for Major Medical Extension status for the remainder of the 2008 season. Quigley tied for 12th this week and earned $115,500. He had seven events this year to earn $67,769 in order to gain his status. Quigley played in 25 events in 2007 before his season ended with arthroscopic (right) knee surgery on Sept. 7. He had earned $717,411 and needed to reach the equivalent of No. 125 on the 2008 money list ($785,180). Quigley had missed the cut in his first two starts this year.
Both Dudley Hart and Ben Crane moved closer to achieving their Major Medical Extensions for the 2008 season as well. Crane finished T12 and collected $115,000. He still needs $38,499 in his next 13 starts to reach his intended goal. Hart finished T15 this week and collected $88,000. He still needs $74,960 in his next 11 starts to reach his goal.
Australian Nathan Green birdied the final hole for a 3-under 67. Green’s 4-under 276 total put him in fifth place at the time he finished. As the field backed up late in the day, Green moved up to finish third, which matches his career best. Green missed the cut in his first two starts this year but has now made four cuts in a row. Green’s previous best career finish was a T3 at the 2007 John Deere Classic.
Mathew Goggin finished tied for 7th place, his 9th career top-10 in 176 career TOUR starts. Goggin’s best finish in 2007 was a T5 at the Turning Stone Resort Championship. His career-best is a 2nd at the 2006 Cialis Western Open.
Alex Cejka (70) finished in a tie for 7th this week, his first top-10 of 2008. Cejka has now made the cut in five of seven starts. He tied for 19th at last week’s Mayakoba Golf Classic. This is his best finish since a T6 at the 2007 Fry’s Electronics Open.
Luke Donald’s runner-up finish is his best on TOUR since he tied for second at the 2007 Sony Open in Hawaii. Donald finished T3 at the Northern Trust Open. He collects 2,700 FedExCup points and moves up 17 places to No. 14 on the current list.
Third-round co-leader Matt Jones was one stroke back of Ernie Els, who had completed play at 6-under par, when his hopes for a title were dashed when he his tee shot into the water at the par-3, 17th hole. Jones made a double-bogey 5 and wound up tied for 4th, three back of Els. Nonetheless, it’s the best career finish for the 27-year old rookie, who moves up to No. 38 on the season money list.
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