New Palmer, old result
The name was familiar. So was the charge.
The highlight of Ryan Palmer’s rookie season on the PGA Tour came seven months ago across town at Bay Hill, when he met Arnold Palmer for the first time.
That changed Sunday in the Funai Classic at Disney in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., where the 28-year-old rookie made a name for himself with a comeback that would have made the King proud.
Palmer made five birdies on his first six holes to get into contention, then pulled away with four straight birdies down the stretch for a 10-under 62 and a three-shot victory over Vijay Singh and Briny Baird.
“To beat the No. 1 player in the world … who was pretty much unstoppable the last few weeks was just awesome,” Palmer said. “That’s awesome knowing I can go out and beat the best player in the world.”
He got into the record books along the way.
Palmer’s 62 tied the lowest closing round by a winner at Disney. He also became the fifth PGA Tour rookie to win this year, the most since the tour began keeping track in 1970.
“What a feeling,” Palmer said. “I knew I could play. It was a matter of proving it to myself.”
Not many paid attention to Palmer — no relation to that other Palmer — when the Texan started the final round five shots out of the lead.
No one could stop him at the end of a sunny day at Disney World — not even Singh.
Along with two tap-in birdies set up by flawless wedges, Palmer chipped in from 40 feet on 15 and made a 45-foot birdie on No. 17 that would have gone some 12 feet past the hole if it didn’t catch the back of the cup.
He finished at 22-under 266, then had to wait for an hour to see if anyone could catch him.
Singh, trying to win his fourth straight PGA Tour event, was relentless as ever.
He made three straight birdies to get within two shots of the lead with four holes to play, but his aggressive play cost him.
The 41-year-old Fijian hit driver on the 16th and found a fairway bunker, a tough spot to get the ball close. His approach was 50 feet beyond the pin, and he three-putted for bogey to end his chances.
Singh closed with a 67 to earn $369,600 and now has over $9.8 million. He needs to earn $174,834 over the final two weeks to become golf’s first $10 million man.
Champions Tour
Mark McNulty and Hale Irwin had roughly the same thought as they collected their big trophies and bigger checks: How did Tom Kite let all this great stuff slip away at the Charles Schwab Cup Championship?
And after his final-round collapse at the Champions Tour’s season-ending event in Sonoma, Calif., Kite had trouble comprehending it himself.
McNulty rallied from five strokes down in the final round, making five birdies in the last eight holes to beat Kite by one stroke at Sonoma Golf Club.
McNulty shot a 6-under 66 to finish at 11-under 277, matching the day’s best round and providing half of a double dose of heartbreak to Kite, the three-day leader who made four early bogeys and struggled to an even-par 72.
In addition to a two-stroke lead and the $440,000 first-place check, Kite also blew a golden opportunity to rob the ailing Irwin of the Schwab Cup, awarded to the points leader in a season-long competition of 30 tournaments.