Vincent Publishing - Index

Vincent Publishing - 2008 Wachovia Championship - Index

2007 TOURNAMENT REVIEW
26
Above: Rory Sabbatini reacts
to a missed putt during the
final round.
Right: Arron Oberholser let it
get away on the 18th, making
double bogey after his
ball found the creek.
On Saturday, the roars were
coming from all corners of the
course in reaction to a recordtying
18-hole score, three
eagles from the fairway, an
ever-changing leaderboard and
trouble for those who dared to
take on too much.
Rory Sabbatini holed out a
sand wedge for eagle on his opening hole, and picked
up even more ground with an 18-foot birdie putt on the
final hole to tie the course record with an 8-under 64
and to get the final pairing he wanted with Tiger
Woods.
“There was a sense of Augusta because typically this is
a golf course where there’s a lot of people out there and
you’re fairly close, so you can hear everything that’s
going on,” Sabbatini said. “There were a lot of big roars.
It was a fun day of golf.”
Right after that, he tugged on Superman’s cape.
Asked about a final-round pairing with the world’s No.
1 player, Sabbatini relished the chance.
He was bitter about his victory at the 2006 Nissan
Open, saying he has heard whispers that it happened
Below: Steve Stricker was in contention on Sunday after
birdieing the 17th but saw his chances evaporate when
he found the water on 18.
without having to beat Woods
because he had withdrawn on the
weekend with the flu.
“He’s here this week — best opportunity
I’ve had to put any of that
criticism or doubt aside,” said
Sabbatini, who was at 11-under
205.
Woods struggled down the stretch
on a gray afternoon of light rain
and an unlimited supply of excitement,
and he wasn’t alone.
Phil Mickelson was in contention
until a peculiar decision to hit a
hybrid out of the thick grass on the
bank of the creek, the ball going too
far and into the water for a double
bogey.
Oberholser, who earlier holed out for
eagle on the third hole, was tied for the lead and in the
fairway bunker on the 18th when he came out too far
left, into the creek, and took double bogey. That gave him
a 69.
Singh, whose eagle from 161 yards on the 12th was the
best of the three, also went into the creek, but his ball
didn’t. It stayed in the thick grass, and he rolled up his
pants to his knees, got into the water and blasted out of
the hazard down the fairway. He nearly escaped with
par until his 45-foot putt cruelly caught the left edge of
the cup. He also shot 69 and joined Oberholser at 9under
207.
Steve Stricker (66) and Ken Duke (68) were another
shot back at 208, while Mickelson wasted a solid round
on his final hole and settled for a 68 that put him in the
group at 209.
2008 Wachovia Championship Official Event Program