BARON SEKIYA / WEST HAWAII TODAY
Dana Quigley birdied two of the last three holes to capture the MasterCard Championship.
KA'UPULEHU-KONA, Hawaii >> For the first two days of the MasterCard Championship here at the Hualalai Golf Club, Dan Quigley told reporters after interviews in the media center, "I'll see you guys tomorrow." Hualalai ends up
as Quigley’s gigBy Randy Cadiente
rcadiente@starbulletin.comTrue to his word, Quigley was back for the third time.
But instead of coming as the co-leader, Quigley answered questions as the champion.
"I told you guys I'd see you again," said Quigley, who fired a final-round 67 to win this year's MasterCard title with an 18-under-par 198. "It's (the win) pretty hard to describe. For a guy who was a career club pro, to have this kind of success on the tour with these kind of players, it is beyond anything I could've ever dreamt.
"And believe me," he added, "it's more than a dream come true."
Quigley, who pocketed the first-place check of $250,000, was one stroke better than 2002 MasterCard winner Larry Nelson and three better than Fuzzy Zoeller at the 7,097-yard, par-72 Hualalai Golf Club. Finishing in a tie for fourth was Tom Watson, who closed with a 67, and Stewart Ginn, who had a third-round 69.
Steve Veriato, who grew up in Hilo but makes Texas his home now, was all alone in sixth after a 2-under 70 gave him a three-day total of 204.
Rounding out the top 10 at 205 were Tom Jenkins (70-66-69), Allen Doyle (70-66-69), Bruce Fleischer (68-65-72) and Bruce Lietzke (68-65-72).
Jack Nicklaus had a final-round 66 to finish in a tie for 11th with defending champion Tom Kite (70).
Other notables included Lee Trevino (71) at 210, Hubert Green (70) at 212 and Arnold Palmer (77) at 226.
It was a three-man race between Quigley, Nelson and Zoeller at the start of yesterday's final round.
Nelson made the first move with birdies on the first two holes to go to 15 under. But Quigley and Zoeller pulled even with birdies of their own at Nos. 3 and 4. Zoeller, however, fell off the pace with a double bogey on the 205-yard, par-3 fifth. He gained a stroke back with a birdie on No. 6 and took the temporary lead at 16 under with an eagle on the par-5, 551 yard seventh.
Not to be outdone, Nelson forged ahead again on the same par 5 with an eagle of his own to go to 17 under.
"I kind of felt like Larry and Fuzzy were running away from me at that point," said Quigley, who was behind by two after seven holes.
It looked as though Nelson took himself out of the race when he bogeyed the eighth, a tricky par 3 that shares the green with No. 4, and double-bogeyed the 451 yard, par-4 ninth to fall back to 14 under. But another eagle, this one at the 566-yard, par-5 No. 10, put him right back in it.
"I expected him to make birdies," Nelson said on Quigley.
"The only thing is," he added, "I didn't make many (myself) at that point to open up any distance."
Zoeller, meanwhile, didn't do much after his eagle on No. 7.
A bogey at the par-4, 416-yard No. 11 set him back a stroke, and he fell out of the picture with another bogey on the 519-yard, par-5 No. 14 that put him at 14 under.
"I hit some good shots and I hit 'some other ones,' " Zoeller said.
"But that's golf."
Surprisingly, it was at the 14th that Quigley grabbed the lead at 16 under.
The former club pro who joined the over-50 circuit six years ago sank a 3-footer for birdie and moved to 17 under with another birdie on the 16th. Then on the 410-yard, par-4 closing hole, Quigley stuck a 60-degree sand wedge to within a foot and a half of the pin for his last birdie of the tournament and a one-shot lead over Nelson, who had back-to-back birdies on Nos. 16 and 17.
Needing a birdie at No. 18 to tie Quigley and force a playoff, Nelson hit a tee shot that left him 109 yards to the pin, which was tucked precariously close to the left bunker, four paces in from the edge. He grabbed a sand wedge and gave it a good whack, only to watch it hit the fringe and roll into the trap.
"I tried to make birdie and I made a bogey," said Nelson, who, despite his misfortune, still earned a $150,000 check.
"I had a hanging lie," he added, "and it's kind of hard to hit a finesse shot with that kind of lie and I just pulled it.
"But Dana played well and it's a good start for him. I think I have something to build on after this week. I shot real well -- shot three rounds in the 60s, and I'm happy I beat everybody but one person."
That person was Quigley.
"I don't judge my success on whether I win or not," said Quigley.
"If I played the best I can or tried as hard as I can, I'm very happy with the results. It just shows if you have enough faith and the good Lord is shining on you, a lot of good things can happen."
Good start: The victory was Quigley's eighth on the Champions Tour and marked the fourth consecutive year he has won.
Best of the best: Bruce Lietzke had the best nine in the three-day competition when he eagled both par 5s (566-yard No. 10 and the 519-yard No. 14) and birdied both par 3s (167-yard No. 12 and 164-yard No. 17) on the backside for a 30. Fuzzy Zoeller posted the best 18 with his record-tying course record 63 on Saturday. It was his lowest round as a member of the Champions Tour. Zoeller, Larry Nelson and Dana Quigley all matched the best 36-hole record in MasterCard Championship history with 13-under-131s.
Arnie's still got it: Arnold Palmer, who waited for a plane to pass overhead before attempting his 33-foot par putt on the closing hole -- a slight dogleg left, downwind, 410-yard par 4 that is protected by a series of six bunkers on the left side of the fairway -- never forgot his fans. Despite finishing with a bogey, he again took the time to sign autographs. Palmer even stopped to sign one for 16-year-old Jeff Myers of Kona, who chased the King down the pathway to his room.
Jack is back: Jack Nicklaus fired his best round since The Tradition in 1996 after he fired a 6-under 66 yesterday to finish at 206.
What a bag: Carrying Quigley's bag this week was Chris Sutton, who used to work with Quigley at the Crestwood Country Club in Rehoboth, Mass., but now is at Makena.
By the numbers: The toughest hole in the tournament was the par-3 fifth, with an average score of 3.269. It yielded just seven birdies for the three-day event. The easiest was the par-5 No. 10, with an average score of 4.222. There were 12 eagles and 64 birdies recorded there.
MasterCard Championship
