Australian Mathew Goggin ends Challenge Tour drought by winning CLARO Championship
The Challenge Tour Panama CLARO Championship came to a conclusion yesterday at the par-70 picturesque Panama Golf Club with Mathew Goggin of Australia being the winner after four rounds. The Australian had under par scores in all the four rounds and had
a total aggregate score of 11-under par 269. He was flying high throughout the tournament as his game continued to shine and had momentum in his swing. The Australian finished the final round with a two-under par 68 to lift the title.
Goggin who is 36 years old started the day placed at third and was four shots behind the leader. He settled with a score two-under par which was comfortable for winning the championship. The experienced Australian who has been playing for a long time on
the Challenge Tour had three birdies and a lone bogey on his card. The only bogey came on the par-4, 9th where he was wayward off the tee and had to settle with a blemish on the card. This is his second win on this tour since more than eleven years.
The tied second spot was occupied by American Darron Stiles who played well, but failed to curb the challenge of the Aussie. He had a final round of four-under par 66 with a total aggregate four rounds score of nine-under par 271. Stiles had five birdies
on his card and only a single bogey which came on the par-4, 2nd where his approach shot to the green was not accurate.
Alistair Presnell, who is a countryman of the winner, finished at the tied second position with a rather forgettable final day score of three-over par 73. He only needed to card a round of even-par 70 to win the trophy, but failed to manage the pressure
situation. Presnell had five bogeys and only two birdies on his card due to which he had to be content with the second spot with American Stiles. His total aggregate score was nine-under par 271.
The overnight leader Erik Compton had a one stroke lead but failed to curb the challenge of his competitors and slipped on the leader board after the final round. He had a disastrous round of five-over par 75 on the final day Sunday and was tied for the
fourth spot with Tommy Biershenk of the USA. Compton had three bogeys on his card and misery followed him in the finishing par-4, 18th where he made a double bogey.
Goggin has been playing on the Challenge Tour as well as the Professional Golfer’s Association Tour, but has not performed well on both the tours. His best finish on the PGA Tour was in 2009 at The Open Championship where he was tied for the fifth spot.
Since then, things were not going in the right direction for the Aussie.
After the tournament finished, the Aussie in his interview said, "It's been a long time that I have been playing on this tour. I've had some opportunities over the years but it's tough to win."
The Australian managed to win in a dramatic manner and felt proud after finally reaching a milestone in his career. Goggin captured the trophy and the cheque of $99,000.
Tags: