Final round: Love for life after winning at Disney
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) -- Davis Love III hit into the rough and a bunker on the last two holes. Then he hit the jackpot.
Love scrambled for pars on both holes and closed with an 8-under 64 to win his first tournament in more than two years, holding off a late challenge from Tommy Gainey for a one-shot victory Sunday in the Children's Miracle Network Classic at Disney World.
It was the 20th career PGA TOUR victory for Love, giving him a lifetime exemption. Among active players, only Tiger Woods, Vijay Singh and Phil Mickelson have won at least 20 times.
"I always questioned, 'Am I doing the right thing? Why am I still doing this?'" the 44-year-old Love said. "I didn't doubt my desire, or that I could still compete, it was just the little things I had to do."
Gainey, who had $65,405 in earnings heading into the final tournament of the year, shot 30 on the back nine including birdies on the final two holes for a 64. He made $496,800 to go from No. 228 to No. 148 on the money list. That gets him into the final stage of q-school, and his conditional status for being in the top 150 should get him about 15 starts next year.
"I played horrible, terrible this year," Gainey said. "I had one week, and this was the week. I definitely assured myself of a place to play next year."
Love stepped in a hole playing a recreational round last year and tore two ankle ligaments. During his time off, he worked harder on conditioning and spent time with sports psychologist Bob Rotella, who convinced him to adopt a take-no-prisoners approach.
That came in handy over the final two holes.
With a two-shot lead, Love's tee shot on the 17th nearly found the water but still was buried in deep rough, leaving him no shot at the green. He laid up 100 yards short, hit wedge to 7 feet and saved par. From the right rough on the 18th, his ball came out hot and flew the green into a back bunker. Needing par to win, he blasted out to 3 feet and made the putt.
"I was in trouble (on 18) but I was still confident I could get the ball up and in," Love said. "I didn't worry about winning or losing or screwing up."
Love went 64-64 on the weekend, the best final-36-hole score in the tournament's 38-year history.
Gainey went to the driving range after Love hit his second shot on the 18th into the sand.
"I thought that would be a tough downhill shot, and I thought I had to go to the range to loosen up," Gainey said.
He had barely begun loosening up when his ears told him everything he needed to know.
"You could hear the crowd," Gainey said. "The crowd said it all. When I'd heard he chipped within 3 feet, or 2-foot-11-inches or whatever, I knew Davis Love wasn't going to miss that.
"I took my gloves off and put them back in the bag."
Scott Verplank and Steve Marino, tied for the lead going into the final round, each closed with 71 and tied for third. Verplank shot 38 on the front nine, and four straight birdies to start the back nine were not enough to get him back into contention.
Verplank has been the 54-hole leader at Disney three times without winning.
Marino, however, matched birdies with Love and was tied for the lead when it all fell apart on the easy par-4 13th. With his tee shot just short of the green, Marino's pitch failed to clear the bunker and plugged into the slope of the sand. His next shot caromed off the lip of the bunker, and he took bogey to fall two shots behind.
The win was Love's seventh top-five finish in the tournament and his 15th straight round in the tournament in the 60s, breaking the record held by Tiger Woods.
Erik Compton, who has had two heart transplants and was playing on a sponsor's exemption, shot an even-par 72 and finished tied for 60th. The 28-year-old will be playing in the second stage of q-school next week, only six months after his second transplant.
"It's frustrating, because I know I can play," Compton said. "It's just getting my stroke back. My body's holding up, and I feel more energetic now than at a-school."
Jeff Overton, playing less than three weeks after an emergency appendectomy to try to secure his card, was 125th on the money list but tied for 21st to easily retain his card.
One of the biggest shots belonged to Martin Laird, who holed an 8-footer for par on the last hole for a 71 to tie for 21st. That enabled him to move up to No. 125 on the money list and secure his full card for next year.
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| Sunday's Best |
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The par-5, 526-yard 10th was easiest with a Sunday scoring average of 4.386.
The par-4, 500-yard 9th was toughest with a Sunday scoring average of 4.386.
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Davis Love III's bunker save at the 18th hole sent him on to victory -- the 20th of his PGA TOUR career -- during the 2008 Children's Miracle Network Classic. 
Davis Love III had a perfect Sunday in Lake Buena Vista; he shot a
bogey-free, 8-under 64. Tommy Gainey also shot 64, but the winner gets the nod. | QUOTE OF THE DAY | ||
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INSIDE THE ROPES WITH THE PGA TOUR NETWORK
XM Satellite Radio announcer Bob Stevens offers these observations from Sunday's action. Listen to PGA TOUR Live coverage on XM 146 or right here at PGATOUR.COM.
The practice green at the "Happiest Place on Earth" Sunday was more tense than I have seen before any round of any tournament all season. After all, for many of the players, this was their final job interview. Tommy "Two Gloves" Gainey knew anything short of winning was still going to force him to conquer q-school again and was visibly nervous as he knocked in putts with a pair of white baseball gloves before his round. I got the funniest look from him when I asked if this round was his Space Mountain or his Tower of Terror.
As focused as he was, I'm sure he had no idea how his gallery grew as he began his hot stretch through the back nine; but, by the 13th hole, it was five times the size it was at the beginning of the round. By No. 15, even Tommy knew he was in the hunt, swearing it was the first time he'd looked at a scoreboard. His caddie, Don Donnatello, a "Big Breaker" himself, nursed Tommy through the finishing gauntlet, and with birdies at Nos. 17 and 18, the guy who signs his autograph "2-gloves" was within one shot of Davis Love III.
He watched from ringside as Love hit his second shot into the 18th into a tough spot in the back bunker, then went to go hit some wedges, just in case there would be a playoff. His day ended where it began, 200 yards away on the practice range, with the roar of Love's winning putt. But Gainey might have gotten his "real" Big Break, winning nearly $500,000 in one week after winning only $65 grand all year, a Cinderella story where the hero had a homemade swing, a homespun style, and wore two gloves -- both black.
| What the top finishers said... | ||||||||||||
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2008 COMES TO AN END -- WHO WAS SMILING?
How competitive was the PGA TOUR in 2008?
Ask Martin Laird. He missed only nine cuts the entire season -- and still nearly missed keeping his card for 2009.
The rookie from Scotland ground out a tie for 21st in the Children's Miracle Network Classic presented by Wal-Mart to move from 126th on the money list to 125th.
| 1 | Number of players who played their way into the top 125 this week -- Martin Laird |
| 5 | Number of players who played their way into the top 125 in the Fall Series with wins |
| 60 | Number of days until the 2009 PGA TOUR season begins |
Over half of Laird's 2008 earnings came in a three-week burst in August, when he finished in the top 10 three weeks in a row.
Shane Bertsch, who missed the cut by only two shots, wound up 126th, $11,504 behind Laird.
The race for the 125th spot wasn't really that close. Brad Adamonis, who finished 124th, was a full $10,000 ahead of Laird. It was a good thing Adamonis had a large cushion -- he missed the cut in each of his last three starts of the season.
Those already inside the top 125 had other incentives to think about as the season came to a close. The top 30 on the money list receive invitations to next year's Masters. Two guys had that goal in sight this week, but only one made it.
Ken Duke -- who was the Nationwide Tour Player of the year in 2006 -- clinched his ticket to Augusta on Sunday. His impressive run at the Ginn sur Mer Classic last week moved him to 31st on the list, and he held on to scoot up three spots to 28th after four days at Disney World.
Who didn't make it? Steve Marino. The guy who has threatened to put together four rounds for a win several times this year stumbled on his last round of the season and lost his way to the top 30. After a final-round 71, Marino fell out of contention for the win in Lake Buena Vista and ended his trip up the money list at 34th.
FINAL-ROUND NOTEBOOK: CHILDREN'S MIRACLE NETWORK CLASSIC
• Jeff Overton finished 118th on the money list to earn his TOUR card for 2009. Overton underwent an appendectomy on Oct. 21 and tied for 18th a week later at the Ginn sur Mer Classic to move from No. 126 to No. 125 on the money list. Two days prior to the surgery, Overton was at No. 122 on the money list following his tie for 69th at the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open.
• Verplank has a streak of 15 straight rounds at par or better dating back to the first round at the BMW Championship in September. The current leader in rounds at par or better is Marino, with 18.
• Verplank has been at par or better at the Disney event since 2004, a streak of 19 straight rounds. Verplank only has five rounds over par in the 53 career rounds at the Children's Miracle Network Classic.
• Love III has appeared 16 times at the Children's Miracle Network Classic. Love has seven top-10 finishes in his career at this event, which ties Larry Nelson and Payne Stewart for the most in tournament history. All of Love's top 10s have been inside the top five -- the most of any player.
• Erik Compton, playing on a sponsor's exemption, shot a 6-under 282 to tie for 60th -- just five months after his second heart transplant. Compton last played in a PGA TOUR event in 2005; he tied for 44th at the Ford Championship at Doral. Coming into this event, Compton had played in 11 PGA TOUR events since 2000, making the cut five times. Compton played in his first PGA TOUR event as an amateur in 2000.
• Davis Love III now has 15 consecutive rounds in the 60s at this event, which is the longest active streak and breaks the tournament's all-time streak of 14, previously held by Tiger Woods.
• Steve Marino has tallied 49 made cuts in 65 career starts with 23 top-25 finishes and 10 top-10 finishes. His best career finish (second) came this year at the Mayakoba Golf Classic.
• Love's $1,955,950.30 in career winnings at Disney is the highest in tournament history ahead of Tiger Woods ($1,542,166.67) and Vijay Singh ($1,525,303.57).
• To read more notes from the final round, click here.
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