McCarron's final-round 62 another step in comeback
By Melanie Hauser, PGATOUR.COM Correspondent
IRVING, Texas -- Scott McCarron came sprinting up the hill at No. 18, high-fiving fans on the way, then swung right and grabbed the railing on the scoring trailer stairs.
"That,'' he said to no one in particular and everyone in earshot, "was fun."
Ya think?
A final-round 62. Birdies on the last three holes. One bogey all day. And, at the time, leader in the clubhouse.
So when did McCarron realize it was a special day? Not until he saw that birdie fall on the 72nd hole.
"I felt really loose today,'' said McCarron, who eventually settled for a share of fourth place. "Joking with the fans on the first tee, and I just felt really good. I've been feeling good all week, hitting the ball solid.
"I think I tied for first in driving accuracy, which you need to do here at this golf course, fifth in greens in reg (regulation), so I felt very confident in my game, trusting my swings, and I just needed to make some putts, and I was able to do that today.''
Indeed. McCarron blitzed the front nine with birdies at the third, fourth, fifth, sixth and ninth holes to turn in 30. He came home in 31.
And the exclamation point? An 8-iron to No. 17 that landed 12 feet from the pin.
"At that point I had to fire at the flag, and I knew a couple more birdies would get me right up there close, so it was a perfect 8 iron for me and I aimed just left of the flag and hit it right where I was looking,'' said McCarron, whose 62 was one off the course record held by Justin Leonard, Charlie Rymer and Billy Mayfair. "Very proud of the fact that I got up there and hit a good shot."
His only oops all day was a bogey at the 11th hole. He had 292 yards to the front and hit driver -- into the water. "I just hit a little bit off the heel and a little thin... " McCarron said. "For me I feel like I can put that ball either on the green or in that right bunker eight out of 10 times, and I just didn't hit the shot.
"Maybe a little bit of doubt creeped in there. I felt like I was aimed a little left with my feet and I didn't stop myself, and unfortunately I hit it in the water. And then I got right back up there and hit driver in the bunker and got up and down. So I would do the same thing again. That was the play for me. I've been driving the ball so good, so straight, it's the best club in my bag. I just didn't hit the shot.''
It's been a tough few years for the affable McCarron, who underwent elbow surgery in 2006 and played last year on a Major Medical Exemption. He's a three-time winner on the PGA TOUR, but hasn't captured a title since the 2001 BellSouth Classic. And, while he's played fairly well this year, his best finishes until this week were a tie for 10th at the Northern Trust Open and a tie for 17th at last week's Valero Texas Open, where he opened with a 70 and followed with three consecutive 67s.
We should have seen this week coming. What we didn't see was the question from the crowd asking if McCarron was more relaxed when he was trying to chase down the leaders.
"No, I'm more relaxed when I'm ten shots clear of everybody,'' he said, drawing a laugh. "But there was some pressure out there certainly.
"For me coming back, my job wasn't guaranteed until the end of the year last year, so I've got off to a pretty good start this year, made a lot of cuts but haven't made a lot of money. You know, there's a lot of pressure for me to do well. I still want to win, and I wanted to give myself the best opportunity today, and I felt I did that.''
He may have to wait two weeks to get his next chance, though. Despite finishing 108th on last year's money list, he wasn't given an invitation to the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial. Normally, a top-10 finish puts a player into the field for the following week, but not so with an invitational. McCarron is currently the seventh alternate, so he'll have to wait and see.
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