November 27, 2006 in Sports

‘King of the Skins’ edged out by rookie Ames

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LA QUINTA, Calif. – Stephen Ames took the big bucks in his first Skins Game.

Ames rolled in a 3-foot birdie putt on the third playoff hole Sunday for $270,000 that gave him the championship with a total of $590,000.

“I forgot about the golf swing and just started playing golf,” Ames said. “I made some nice putts and hit some good shots where I made some skins early on.”

Five-time champion Fred Couples finished second with $385,000. John Daly won one skin worth $25,000 and ruined his chance at the $270,000 still up for grabs when he drove into a fairway bunker on the third playoff hole.

Fred Funk was shut out in his second trip to the Skins.

Couples and Funk were eliminated on the second playoff hole, when Ames and Daly each had birdies.

Couples, who was making his 13th appearance and is known as “King of the Skins,” ran his career earnings in the event to $3.9 million.

Although he didn’t win this time, Couples played the best golf of the foursome, with 10 birdies and an eagle over 20 holes.

“Freddie should have won,” Daly said. “No offense to Stephen, but Freddie played better than all three of us. Stephen just got it at the right time.”

In Skins competition, a player wants to win the big-money holes as the pot builds up. Ames won the title by taking eight skins and Couples won nine, but for but less money.

Ames, the first touring pro from Trinidad and Tobago, made his Skins Game debut after winning The Players Championship earlier this year.

The 42-year-old Ames, now a Canadian citizen, made $250,000 with a 1-foot birdie on No. 12, then rolled in an 18-footer for another birdie and $70,000 on No. 13.

All four players had tied with birdies on the first playoff hole.

Blanked the first day, Ames earned a cool quarter of a million dollars after hitting his wedge within a foot of the pin on the par-4, 377-yard 12th. He quickly picked up another $70,000 on the next hole when he rammed in an 18-footer, the ball striking the back of the cup, bouncing up, then dropping in.

The prize money on the first six holes was $25,000 each; Nos. 7-12 $50,000 apiece; 13 through 17 worth $70,000 each. The final hole was a “Super Skin” for $200,000. When a hole was tied, that money carried over until one of the players won a hole outright.

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