Vincent Publishing - Index

Vincent Publishing - 2008 Travelers Championship Magazine - Index

"I just kept plugging away," he said. "Jay gave me a
little opening on 18 and I'm glad I made it."
Williamson was just seven feet away, but he pushed
his putt right.
"I hit it too hard and I hit it too high," he said. "I'm
not proud of either putt, but I'm proud of the way I
played today."
Mahan earned just over $1 million for the win, and
Williamson got $648,000 for second.
The second-place finish was enough to earn
Williamson a trip to the following week's Buick
Open. He was hoping to earn back his PGA TOUR
card with a win.
"I really feel like if I was a great putter, I would have
won by a lot today," Williamson said. "But I know
what I need to work on to get to that next level. I
learned that I can play with these guys. And I
learned that I'm going to be a golfer for a while."
Williamson has had 279 other PGA TOUR starts,
and his best finish had been a tie for third in the
2003 BellSouth Classic. He did eventually finish
123rd on the money list with $835,515, earning him
an exemption for the 2008 campaign.
Nick O'Hern shot a 66 to finish at 11-under, good
enough for third place, and Vijay Singh shot a 65 for
fourth. Mahan made four consecutive birdies,
starting on No. 10, and led Williamson by two
strokes coming down the stretch.
Williamson got back to within a stroke by making
birdie on the 15th, and Mahan dropped into a tie for
the lead with a bogey on par-3 16th. Mahan then hit
his second shot on 17 over the green, and twoputted
for bogey.
Williamson went straight for the pin and just missed
a 20-foot birdie putt, burning the lip right, but his par
gave him the lead going into the final hole.
Bo Van Pelt had the shot of the day, following up
bogeys on the 14th and 15th holes by acing the 171yard
16th hole with a 7-iron.
"Bill Haas had hit a really good shot with a 7-iron
right before me, so I knew it was the right club," Van
Pelt said. "It took one hop, and I think then it just kind
of dribbled in -- pretty exciting."
It was the second ace of this tournament and the
28th in the tournament's history. Craig Perks had a
hole in one on Thursday on the par-3 eighth hole.
Van Pelt finished the tournament at 8 under, good
enough to tie for sixth place.
PHOTO: (ABOVE) JAY WILLIAMSON
AND HUNTER MAHAN PLAYOFF.
Official Championship Magazine 25