Verplank holds on for win

Two big birdie putts allowed Scott Verplank to survive a few scary moments down the stretch today, but he hung on to win the Canadian Open and douse any concerns about his selection to the Ryder Cup team.

Despite a double bogey on No. 16 and having to scramble for par on the final hole, Verplank closed with a 3-under 67 and won for the first time this year, beating Bob Estes and Joey Sindelar by three strokes.

John Daly, coming off his first victory in six years, was tied for the lead after nine holes and finished fourth, four strokes back.

Verplank was a controversial captain's pick to the U.S. team, the first rookie ever selected. Captain Curtis Strange took him over three others who finished higher in the standings, including Tom Lehman.

Strange wanted him on the team for the courage Verplank displayed in coming back from three elbow surgeries, and his steady play. Both were evident on a warm, blustery afternoon at Royal Montreal Golf Club.

He finished at 14-under 266, matching the winning score last year by Tiger Woods at Glen Abbey Golf Club. Woods never had a chance to become the first player in 50 years to win the Canadian Open in consecutive years. He had a 69 and finished 10 strokes back.

Verplank led by one stroke going into the final round and was caught twice, but he never trailed. He took the lead for good with a 10-foot birdie putt on No. 9, then expanded his margin with a 30-foot birdie putt on 15 and an 18-footer on 17.

In between was a double bogey, in which he left it short of the green, chipped over and then flubbed a chip that went only about 6 feet.

None of it mattered in the end. Estes missed the 18th fairway by 30 yards and took bogey, and no one else could sustain any kind of a run.

"I missed a lot of putts that could have made a difference, but I just missed too many fairways and too many greens," Estes said.

Verplank won for the fourth time in his career, one of those the 1985 Western Open when he was an amateur at Oklahoma State.

He earned $648,000 and moved to seventh on the PGA Tour money list, more evidence that his selection for the Ryder Cup team wasn't so farfetched.

Sindelar, who lost his PGA Tour card last year, felt like a winner when he was done. A tie for second earned him $334,200, more than enough to secure his card for next year. He didn't even realize that his 269 might be good enough for a playoff.

"I just wanted to take care of my card, and I did," Sindelar said.

David Morland of Canada was within one shot of the lead after 10 holes, but played the rest of the way 1-over and wound up at 271, tied for fifth with Sergio Garcia and Paul Gow. It was the best finish by a Canadian in his national open since Dave Barr tied for fourth in 1988.

No one charged up the gallery quite like Daly. He simply overpowered the course with his driver, keeping it in play and only making bogey when he hit iron off the tee.

His drive landed just short of the green on the 377-yard 2nd and rolled into the bunker. He had a 341-yard drive on No. 8 -- into a stiff breeze -- and his pitch rolled over the cup, leaving him a 12-foot birdie.

A winner for the first time in six years at the BMW International Open last week in Germany, Daly looked like he might win again. He joined the leaders by chipping in for birdie from 20 feet on No. 9, walking after the ball as soon as it left his club and thrusting his fist at the hole as it dropped.

He had a 30 on the front nine, but Daly couldn't keep it up and was 1-over on the back nine for a 66.

Woods never got anything going, especially after a bogey on the opening hole. He finished with a birdie for a 1-under 69 and finished in a tie for 23rd. He hasn't finished better than 20th in four of his past five tournaments, the exception being his seven-hole playoff victory two weeks ago at Firestone.

"I never really did get on any kind of a roll," Woods said.

Verplank certainly did, and will ride it to St. Louis for the World Golf Championship this week, then on to the Ryder Cup.

Divots: Verplank's victory means Stewart Cink and captain's pick Paul Azinger are the only U.S. players on the Ryder Cup team who have not won this year. ... Frank Lickliter withdrew after nine holes with a rib injury. ... Traffic was a problem all week with only one road leading onto the suburban island of Ile Bizard. It got so bad Sunday that police escorts were needed for virtually every player. Dudley Hart remembered the traffic from the '97 Canadian Open and rented a house near the course. It still took him 30 minutes to get to Royal Montreal one day. ... The Canadian Open will be played next year at Angus Glen outside Toronto.

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