Garrigus bags crucial win at Miracle Classic
Robert Garrigus won his first ever PGA Tour event this week at the Children's Miracle Network Classic in Florida, shooting eight-under-par 64 to record the lowest round of the day to put the memory of a cruel St Jude Classic loss behind him.
Beginning the day five strokes off the pace, Garrigus started with four birdies on the first five holes of the Magnolia course, going on to notch up a further four over the course of the round without dropping a shot.
The 33-year-old finished three strokes ahead of Roland Thatcher, who could only come home level par on Sunday after making three bogeys on the back nine - two of them coming on the 16th and 17th as Thatcher crumbled, eventually finishing 18-under for the tournament. Rickie Fowler was a stroke further back on 17-under, having shot six birdies for a final round of six-under.
Garrigus' long awaited maiden victory could scarcely have come at a more opportune moment, with the player 122nd on the money list and requiring a finish in the top 125 to avoid the arduous business of earning a tour card for 2011. Victory here takes care of that scenario, Garrigus shooting up to 51st in the money list after the weekend's performance - although his place on the list is immaterial now, as a PGA Tour win automatically grants the victor a two year exemption.
Ironically, Thatcher too had been in danger of losing his exempt status for 2011, starting the tournament at 179th on the money list. But with his second place finish here, Thatcher moved up to 122nd place - the same position held by Garrigus before this tournament, and within the magic 125 places.
If Thatcher was understandably pleased even with the loss, then, Garrigus was delighted with the win, which also serves as redemption. Earlier this summer, Garrigus had wasted another clear cut opportunity to score his first ever tour win, when he contrived to squander a three stroke lead at the final hole of the St Jude Classic in June.
Unthinkably, Garrigus triple-bogeyed the hole to take the tournament to a play-off, which he subsequently lost to Lee Westwood, granting the Englishman his first PGA Tour victory in more than a decade, thus playing a role in Westwood's current ascent to his rank as world No. 1.
As difficult a defeat as that must have been to deal with, however, Garrigus admits he has overcome more trying circumstances. In 2004, the Idaho-born player spent a month in rehab in a successful bid to overcome drug and alcohol dependency. Now, at the final event of the PGA Tour, Garrigus has proved he can be a winner on tour as well as in life.
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