Associated Press
Sunday, February 27
CARLSBAD, Calif. -- Two of the world's top four golfers went head-to-head Sunday -- and no one seemed to care.
David Duval and Davis Love III drew only a handful of spectators as they played the consolation match in the Match Play Championship. Almost everyone was watching Tiger Woods and Darren Clarke in the final a few holes behind.
Those that didn't see it, missed some pretty good golf, at least on Duval's part.
Trailing 1-down, Duval, ranked No. 2 in the world, chipped in on No. 8 to get even, sparking a streak of six birdies in seven holes to close Love out.
The final birdie came at the par-3 14th, where Duval's putt curled into the hole to give him a 5 and 4 win over Love.
Duval earned $400,000 for the third-place win, which gave him five wins in six matches. The only match he lost was Saturday afternoon to Clarke, who beat him 4 and 2.
"I got a lot of positives to take away from this week," Duval said. "Today I bounced back and played very well."
For Love, it was the second straight match he was beaten 5 and 4, after winning his first four matches. Woods beat him in the semifinals by the same score.
"Once he got ahead, he played very, very well," Love said of Duval.
Love, the fourth-ranked player, took home $300,000 for his week -- or $50,000 for each match he played in.
What pressure?
Clarke walked down the fairway smoking a cigar. He smiled at fans and exchanged greetings with some followers. While Woods was stoic, Clarke appeared to be trying to have some fun, even with $1 million at stake. After Woods made his second straight birdie at No. 8 in the opening round -- only to see Clarke make his own, Clarke smiled as he walked to the ninth tee. "Oh, a lot of fun, isn't it?" he asked a London writer. Challenging Monty
Butch Harmon, who has fashioned the swings of Woods and Clarke, said the win will do wonders for Clarke's career. "Confidence-wise, this will be the greatest thing that ever happened to him," Harmon said. Harmon said Clarke could become better than Colin Montgomerie, who has dominated the European Tour, but has not had success in the United States. "Darren will give Monty a run for his money," Harmon said. "Colin hasn't won a tournament ini this country and all of a sudden another European Tour member has." Never happy
For a guy who hits it 300-plus yards, has an astonishing short game touch and has won almost everything he has looked at, Woods is a hard person to satisfy. Woods blamed swing breakdowns for his troubles Sunday, saying he could never find the right combination. But he was also philosophical about it. "It's just the way golf is sometimes," Woods said. "You can go out and play beautifully, and a couple of shots later you can't find it." So long, La Costa
For the first time since 1968, La Costa Resort and Spa will not be hosting a PGA Tour event next year. The Match Play Championship is moving to Melbourne, Australia, for a year, and the Mercedes Championships that were played for years at La Costa are now in Hawaii. La Costa began hosting PGA Tour events in 1969 when the Tournament of Champions was played at the resort. The tournament later became the Mercedes. The same fate will also be faced by the Firestone Country Club in 2002. The course, which has held the World Series of Golf, now the NEC Invitational, since 1962, will host it this year and next but not in 2002. Divots
Harmon was more than an interested observer in the championship match. Harmon has been Woods' swing coach since he was 16, and a year ago began working with Clarke.
Clarke needed only 10 putts on the first nine of the championship match.
Woods will return to La Costa on Monday morning to give a one-hour exhibition for American Express.
Sunday, February 27
CARLSBAD, Calif. -- Two of the world's top four golfers went head-to-head Sunday -- and no one seemed to care.
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| Duval birdied everything but No. 12 from the eighth hole on. |
Clarke walked down the fairway smoking a cigar. He smiled at fans and exchanged greetings with some followers. While Woods was stoic, Clarke appeared to be trying to have some fun, even with $1 million at stake. After Woods made his second straight birdie at No. 8 in the opening round -- only to see Clarke make his own, Clarke smiled as he walked to the ninth tee. "Oh, a lot of fun, isn't it?" he asked a London writer. Challenging Monty
Butch Harmon, who has fashioned the swings of Woods and Clarke, said the win will do wonders for Clarke's career. "Confidence-wise, this will be the greatest thing that ever happened to him," Harmon said. Harmon said Clarke could become better than Colin Montgomerie, who has dominated the European Tour, but has not had success in the United States. "Darren will give Monty a run for his money," Harmon said. "Colin hasn't won a tournament ini this country and all of a sudden another European Tour member has." Never happy
For a guy who hits it 300-plus yards, has an astonishing short game touch and has won almost everything he has looked at, Woods is a hard person to satisfy. Woods blamed swing breakdowns for his troubles Sunday, saying he could never find the right combination. But he was also philosophical about it. "It's just the way golf is sometimes," Woods said. "You can go out and play beautifully, and a couple of shots later you can't find it." So long, La Costa
For the first time since 1968, La Costa Resort and Spa will not be hosting a PGA Tour event next year. The Match Play Championship is moving to Melbourne, Australia, for a year, and the Mercedes Championships that were played for years at La Costa are now in Hawaii. La Costa began hosting PGA Tour events in 1969 when the Tournament of Champions was played at the resort. The tournament later became the Mercedes. The same fate will also be faced by the Firestone Country Club in 2002. The course, which has held the World Series of Golf, now the NEC Invitational, since 1962, will host it this year and next but not in 2002. Divots
