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Faxon edges out Toledo to retain title
Not even his not-so-trusty driver could
prevent Brad Faxon from making a little history at the B.C. Open.
Faxon, whose tee shots seemed to hit more branches than fairways
today, still managed to shoot his third 68 of the tournament and
beat Esteban Toledo by a stroke when the Mexican
boxer-turned-golfer's putt for birdie on the final hole stopped
just to the left of the hole.
In so doing, Faxon became the first repeat winner in the B.C.
Open's 28-year history.
``I was very fortunate. I hit some squirrelly shots and made up
for it a lot with the putter,'' said Faxon, who flew back across
the Atlantic on Tuesday to defend his title after failing to
qualify for the British Open. ``It never seems to be easy out here.
It's never like coming up the last hole with a nine-shot lead like
Tiger (Woods) does. Certainly, it's much more suspenseful.
``Walking to the first tee, somebody in the crowd yelled to me,
`You're lucky you're here because you couldn't have beat him
anyway,''' Faxon said with a smile after finishing at 18-under-par
270. ``Whoever that guy was, he's right.''
But he was just good enough to edge Toledo, who had never
experienced quite so much pressure. He withstood it well, though.
After a birdie on No. 17 moved him within a shot of the lead,
Toledo was intent on forcing a playoff.
``I thought I was going to win it,'' said Toledo, who missed
only one green on the day. ``When I made birdie on 17, I told my
caddie if I can keep it on the fairway I'd be all right. I was
hitting my irons perfectly.''
And Faxon was crashing his drives off tree after tree. His tee
shots hit so many branches he felt compelled to provide a little
levity by handing a twig to a young fan after hitting out from
under a couple of maple trees on No. 8.
But his luck held out just long enough. His drive on 18 hit in
the trees lining the right side of the fairway, but the ball
bounced right back out into the middle and he was able to make par.
Toledo still had a chance, though, and when his second shot
landed 10 feet from the hole a playoff seemed imminent. But Toledo
misread the downhill putt and had to settle for second.
``He was lucky,'' Toledo said. ``He hits it on the right side
and it bounces into the fairway. I feel very sorry for my (10)
sisters and brothers. They were expecting me to win, but my turn
will come.''
The missed putt was reminiscent of one Faxon made last year at
18 to force a playoff with Fred Funk.
``I saw Brad last year make a putt kind of from that angle,''
said Toledo, who led the first two rounds before falling into a tie
with Faxon. ``It broke a lot, so I thought it was going to break
and it didn't. I had a chance. I just missed. I just couldn't
believe it.''
Faxon collected $360,000, the biggest payday of his career, for
his seventh career victory on the PGA Tour.
Tied for third at 274 were Glen Hnatiuk of Canada and Bill
Glasson. Brett Quigley, Richard Zokol, Dave Stockton Jr. and Jerry
Kelly were another shot back, and Mathew Goggin was alone at 276
after a closing 66.
It was the best finish for Toledo since he joined the tour
full-time in 1998. And he kept the crowd guessing right to the
final stroke.
Faxon, who came from five strokes back on the final round last
year and defeated Funk in a two-hole playoff, put the pressure on
Toledo early with a birdie on No. 1. Faxon followed with another
birdie on No. 3, a 554-yard par-5, to go up by two shots before
trouble struck on the fourth.
When Faxon's second shot bounced off the green and into a water
hazard, Toledo had his first chance to close the gap and let it
slip away with a bad putt. Both settled for bogey and Faxon still
had his two-shot lead.
Faxon quickly rebounded with three straight birdies to serve
notice that he would be difficult to beat. When the final round
began, 10 players were within five shots of the lead, but only
Toledo had any real chance after Faxon's flurry of birdies.
``I was almost laughing on the front nine, the putts were just
going in,'' said Faxon, who needed just 25 putts on the round. `The
whole week I made every single putt I had to make.''
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