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Fernandez hangs on for third
Toledo, Ohio -- In a showing reminiscent of Saturday’s performance,
Vicente Fernandez found trouble at the beginning of his round
and looked it danger of dropping in the standings. Then he
pulled it all together with brilliant play on the later holes
that kept him at third place to finish.
He’s just glad he was able to play at all.
"I didn’t think I could play [Sunday] because I have
a spasm in my lower back," said Fernandez. After a visit
to the medical trailer before his round, he was given aide
for his back and decided to go through with the round. It
would prove the right decision.
"I’m very happy to finish…and to play well," said
Fernandez. "When I start feeling better, I play better."
The Argentinean golfer, a veteran of the European Tour, came
into the final round tied with Tom Watson for second place.
He was able to hold onto third by carding a 1-over 72, hitting
14 pars throughout the day. It would help Fernandez finish
the U.S. Senior Open with a 4-under 280, making him one of
only three players (with Tom Watson and winner Bruce Lietzke)
to survive the week at Inverness under par.
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| Vincente Fernandez was happy to finish third, his best
showing at the Senior Open since 1998.(Steve Gibbson/USGA) |
It’s been a rough year Fernandez, who lost four people close
to him to death. He nearly didn’t play because he lost a bulk
of his money in the stock market the last few years. In fact,
acquaintances financed his trip this week.
Still afflicted by back problems, Fernandez got into trouble
from his first shot of the day. Fernandez hit an awful drive
off the first tee that hooked far left. His recovery shot
landed in the rough on the hillside, leaving him with a challenging
downhill lie. He overshot the green with his next shot, hit
an underwhelming chip out, missed a putt and finally tapped
it in for a double-bogey 6.
"I was little bit struggling the first few holes,"
said Fernandez.
He wouldn’t get back below par (or even par) for the rest
of the day. But thankfully, his back got better, and so did
his game, as the hazy Toledo afternoon wore on. He managed
to take back some of the damage with birdies on the 4th
and 17th holes, his only two birdies of the day.
Fernandez owes much of his Sunday success to his monster
drives off the tee. With drives averaging 310 yards today
-- yes, averaging -- he took bold chances to hit for
length while most players stuck to 3-woods and safe plays
off the tee. Sunday’s length off the tee even far outpaced
his previous efforts. On Saturday he averaged 30 yards less
off the tee. On Friday, (the day of his sizzling 7-under 64)
his drives averaged only 295.
This year’s third-place finish is Fernandez’s second-best
finish at the Senior Open. Fernandez finished the 1998 Senior
Open in second place thanks to a strong final round of 68.
He has played four Senior Opens since, missing the cut twice
and finishing within the top 25 the other two times.
He’s certainly glad he showed up this year.
"I didn’t have fun on the first few holes because I
was struggling but otherwise I had a lot of fun," said
Fernandez. "I never considered myself that good to be
unhappy finishing third."
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