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The Players Championship Notebook

Gump dumps one in water, sees tournament fly away

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Posted: Sunday March 28, 1999 09:01 PM

Gump's second-place finish was by far his best in a big-time event, and netted him $540,000 to boot. AP

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. (AP) -- The guys in the pro shop estimate about 120,000 balls a year plop into the lagoon that guards the No. 17 island hole at the Stadium Course.

That's about three for every golfer who plays.

Scott Gump dumped only one in there Sunday, but that was one too many, considering he was trying to catch the best player in the world.

Gump's tee shot into the water on No. 17 at The Players Championship on Sunday was the difference in his two-stroke loss to David Duval.

"It's a crazy game, isn't it?," Gump said when asked about the most famous hole on the course, one he played at 4 over for the tournament.

Trailing Duval by one stroke, Gump refused to go conservative as he stared down the hole, the sun setting to his left, the water menacing straight ahead.

The pin was set on the far right side, edging toward the back of the green. He knew a 9 iron wouldn't get the ball to the hole, so he grabbed an 8 out of his bag.

"I thought it was the aggressive play," said Gump, who finished at 1-under 287, two strokes behind Duval. "I just choked down on it, really smoothed it. Unfortunately, I knew it as soon as I hit it, it was in the water. I was trying to hit just a little cut, and I killed it."

It plunked onto the green and, like so many other shots this week, kept on rolling, right into golf's version of the Bermuda Triangle. With it, the chance for his first PGA victory were gone.

Just to show he wasn't giving up, he sunk a 12-foot putt on No. 18 for birdie, celebrating with an uppercut through the air and putting at least a little pressure on Duval.

By making that putt, he joined Duval as the only other player to finish under par during a week of treacherous conditions - slick greens, thick rough, tough winds.

It was, by far, the best finish in a big-time event for the 33-year-old Floridian. He earned $540,000 and didn't feel he had much to complain about despite that wicked island.

Couples Rallies

When he walked off the course, well before the leaders had made the turn, Fred Couples predicted his biggest move up the leaderboard would come while he was in the clubhouse.

"I have a feeling that by the end of the day, I could move up to fifth or sixth," Couples said. "That shows how tough this course is."

He knew what he was talking about.

Playing in the morning, before the wind kicked up, Couples shot 4-under 68, the best round of the day. He finished the tournament at 1-over, good for a fourth-place tie with Hal Sutton.

Stricker's rough day

When he holed his second shot on the par-4 fourth hole, Steve Stricker figured it might be his day.

Over the next five holes, he found out differently.

On No. 7, a par putt completely circled the cup before bounding out, forcing him to settle for bogey.

On No. 8, he clipped the needles from a pine tree on his drive, sending it well into the rough, but still managed to save par.

On No. 9, his tee shot hit a spectator, his second shot dribbled into the rough, his third shot went into a sand trap and his fourth barely climbed onto the fairway.

The most amazing thing about that hole was that by the time he reached the green in five, he had ascended into a first-place tie with Duval, who was struggling a few holes back, at 3 under.

Stricker finished the day with a 74 and the tournament at 290.

"The wheels just fell off," Stricker said. "No matter what I tried to do, I couldn't keep myself from hitting sideways. It was tough, the conditions were tough. I was just trying to survive and not beat myself up coming in."

Recovering Friend

After posting an 87 on Saturday, the second-highest round in the history of the tournament, Bob Friend recovered for a 2-under 70 in the closing round.

"There was no way in my mind I was going to finish on my stomach," Friend said. "I wanted to shoot under par and I didn't want to finish last in the tournament and I figure this will do it."

His overall score of 12-over 300 left him tied for 62nd, ahead of 17 others who made the cut.

He went out first and played the round alone. He said the few fans who watched him were exceedingly nice.

"I think everybody felt sorry for me," Friend said. "Here's a guy, playing by himself after shooting a snowman with a hockey stick [87]. They were all pretty nice."

Burning Barron

Doug Barron's story offered yet another example of just how deep the rough has been this week.

His approach shot to the 18th green strayed wide, but when Barron arrived to the location, he couldn't find the ball.

Neither could a total of 15 others on the course, including caddies, playing partner Chris DiMarco and several course workers who were standing close to where the ball hit.

A rules official arrived seven minutes later and another search ensued, lasting another 10 minutes or so.

Barron took a one-stroke penalty and after the drop, topped the ball, rolling it 80-90 yards toward the hole. He had a triple-bogey 7 to close a 4-over 76 and finish at 10 over for the tournament.

Barron left the interview area without speaking to reporters.

Divots: Phil Mickelson, who began the day two shots off the lead, shot 82 to finish the tournament at 295, tied for 32nd. ... For all the trouble No. 17 seems to cause, it didn't score too badly. It played at .148 strokes above average, the 11th most difficult hole on the course. ... Not a single player finished the tournament without shooting a 6 or higher.

 

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Duval wins TPC by two strokes, takes over No. 1 spot Players Championship Scores
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