Outback Pro-Am news and notes

By Bryan Burns and Rodney Page, Times Staff Writers
In print: Monday, April 21, 2008

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Mover of the day

Jay Haas entered the final round at 1 under and stayed there through six holes. At No. 7, he chipped in for eagle, catapulting the St. Louis native to 7-under 64, the day's low round.

"It was a pretty tough chip, and I hit it just like I wanted to and knocked it in for an eagle," he said. "The next hole I made about a 15-footer, and all of a sudden, I was 3 under for the day instead of even, and it's just a whole different mind-set.

"One shot changed my day."

He birdied 12-15 to finish tied for second for the second straight year.

Quote of the day

"I've got warning track power, at best."

Jay Haas, asked if ex-Ray and pro-am competitor Fred McGriff, a member of his foursome Sunday, helped him with his left-handed power stroke

Hole of the day

No. 15, par 4, 452 yards
It changed the leaderboard. Tom Watson, playing in the group ahead of then-leader Mark Wiebe, birdied it. Wiebe made triple bogey, erasing a three-shot lead. His partner, Scott Hoch, made par. "That's the hole that won the tournament for me," Watson said.

By the numbers

2 Wins in Florida for Tom Watson in 96 tries.

5 Shot difference between Watson's winning score of 4 under in 2007, when the tournament was in February, and this year.

11 Shot difference between Mark Wiebe's second round (65) and his third (76).

25 Players who broke par for the tournament, out of 75.

50 Wins on the PGA and Champions Tour combined for Watson

72.031 Scoring average for three days, nearly two shots better than last year (74.071).

Umm …

Nick Price tries to bite his putter after missing a putt on the 16th hole. He finished at 4-under 209 to tie for eighth.

Score one for FSU

Florida State and Miami don't hook up on the football field until Oct. 4, but Bucs linebacker Derrick Brooks and former Bucs quarterback Vinny Testaverde gave bay area fans an early preview Sunday, links style.

Testaverde, 44, a Miami alumnus, teamed with Curtis Strange to post a pro-am leading 187. Two groups behind, former FSU star Brooks, 35, and partner Fulton Allem were in contention. Brooks and Allem needed par on No. 18 to win the tournament outright.

With Testaverde and Strange watching on TV behind the scoring trailer, Brooks, a 15 handicap, converted a two-putt from about 100 feet, knocking the first to within 2 feet and calmly sinking the second for the win.

"Definitely, before the match it was Seminoles vs. Hurricanes," Brooks said. "(Vinny) knew it and I knew it when we looked at each other warming up. It was fun to see Vinny back in town playing this event. Two local guys being competitive coming down the stretch."

Brooks likened the winning putts to a late-game situation in football.

"When there's two minutes to go in the game and the offense is driving, you want to get out on the field on defense and make the big play," the 14-year NFL veteran said. "I couldn't ask to be in a better position today to deliver a couple of shots with a little bit of adversity."

Around
the course

The 17th hole at TPC of Tampa Bay was the hardest for the three-day event — but not for Dale Jarrett. The former NASCAR driver chipped in for birdie Saturday and nearly aced it Sunday before draining a 6-foot putt for birdie. … Tampa's Gary Koch made a little noise, eagling No. 1 and shooting 4-under 31 to get to 8-under overall, but he played the back nine in 5-over 41, including double bogey on the par-4 10th, and faded to 3 under and a tie for 12th. … Jim Albus and St. Petersburg's Robert Eanell entered Sunday with the pro-am lead at 20 under but withdrew after nine holes when Eanell injured his back.

More pictures

A photo gallery is available online: golf.tampabay.com.

Bryan Burns and Rodney Page,
Times staff writers