Laird loses out, Kuchar cruises to win at Barclays
Martin Laird led by some five strokes after the first two holes at the final round of the Barclays in New Jersey yesterday - but the Scotsman ultimately frittered that lead away, eventually losing in a play-off to the USA's Matt Kuchar.
The rot set in with a double bogey on the third, but by the time Laird had completed the 18 at Ridgewood Country Club he was on level par for the day, a bogey on the 18th condemning the 27-year-old to a play-off with Kuchar, who had come home with a flawless five-under-par 66 to draw level with Laird.
Taking to the par-four 18th once more for the first play-off hole, both men managed to miss the fairway before Kuchar's approach shot ended up just a few feet away from the pin. While Laird's second shot also found the green, he could only two-putt for par while Kuchar birdied his effort to take the victory.
Steve Stricker and Kevin Streelman were tied for third place on 10-under, while Rory Sabbatini, Vaughn Taylor, Ryan Palmer and Jason Day shared fifth place on nine-under.
Tiger Woods, so impressive on the opening day here, had to settle for 12th place on seven-under. Although a final round of four-under is encouraging for the world No. 1, Woods' continuing erratic play - on the Saturday, he began his round with a horrible triple bogey on the 1st - suggest the end of his marriage is not quite the panacea for the 14-time major winner's problems that Thursday's opening round implied.
The highest-placing European was England's Paul Casey, and like Woods he was tied for 12th place after carding a bogey and three birdies in his final round. Casey's decent showing was not enough to spare him the axe in the Ryder Cup however, European captain Colin Montgomerie opting not to take Casey as one of his three wildcard selections.
Another Englishman, Justin Rose was the other big name casualty, Rose failing to impress Monty despite two victories on the PGA Tour this summer. He finished a shot worse than Casey yesterday, six-under in total but one-over on the day after a disappointing round that saw the 30-year-old ship three birdies and four bogeys.
Fellow countryman Luke Donald finished on the same overall score as Rose, after a front nine that will live long in the memory - and a back nine the 32-year-old surely hopes will fade rather sooner. Donald made six birdies on the opening six holes, before carding another on the 9th - but on learning mid-round that he had made the Ryder Cup team, Donald's game took a turn for the worse, the world No. 11 hitting just one more birdie amidst five bogeys.
And Padraig Harrington, another of Montgomerie's wildcard picks along with Italy's Edoardo Molinari, had a hugely disappointing final round, finishing one-under-par for the tournament after coming home four-over-par 75 yesterday. Despite that poor showing, Harrington's experience and the fact that he's the only multiple major winner that Europe can call on was seemingly reason enough to see the Dubliner make the Ryder Cup team.
At least Harrington fared better than Rory McIlroy. The Ulsterman qualified automatically for the Ryder Cup, but the 21-year-old could only finish one-over for the tournament after carding two birdies and three bogeys yesterday. McIlroy had picked up eagles on Friday and Saturday on the 5th, but those were rare highlights over the last three days.
The lad from Holywood shipped five bogeys and no birdies on Friday, while as well as the aforementioned eagle on Saturday, that round also yielded three birdies, three bogeys, and a double on the 13th.
If such erratic play hardly augurs well for the Ryder Cup, it's not just the European camp who had its share of underachievers. The USA's Anthony Kim missed the cut after shooting six-over for the first two days, though Kim has the excuse that he's returning from injury. But Phil Mickelson, apparently doomed never to rise above the No. 2 spot (though on current evidence, he could find himself slipping) also missed the cut, after finishing four over for the first two days.
These are tough times for Lefty, who recently revealed he is suffering from a form of arthritis. The 40-year-old believes the treatment he is currently undergoing has nullified the effects of the disease, but his finishes have been less than stellar this year since that brilliant victory at the Masters in April. But maybe the Californian is saving his A-game for Celtic Manor.
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