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Coceres holds on for
second PGA win
Needing two putts to win
on a green that only 30 minutes earlier was under water, Jose Coceres lagged the
first one 6 feet short to give Davis Love III one last glimmer of hope.
Love should have known better.
Having met every challenge
thrown at him Sunday, Coceres calmly rapped in the par putt to win the National
Car Rental Classic at Disney World.
When it was over, the 38-year-old
from Argentina held up a pillow case on which he had written in Spanish, ``Happy
Mother's Day for all the mothers.'' Sunday was Mother's Day in Argentina, and
Coceres couldn't think of a better gift.
And that wasn't the only
message he sent.
A former caddie who learned
to play golf using branches and rocks, Coceres proved that his first PGA Tour
victory in April was no fluke. He pulled away from the pack with three straight
birdies at the turn and closed with a 4-under 68 to become the first international
player to win at Disney.
``I felt like I was a mouse
and there was a whole bunch of cats behind me,'' Coceres said.
Love and Skip Kendall caught
him, but only briefly.
Coceres quickly put three
strokes between them, and left them grasping at air.
``He did exactly what he
had to do,'' Love said. ``He stayed patient, he stayed ahead and he never really
got in trouble, never really made a mistake.''
Coceres finished at 265
for a one-stroke victory over Love, who had a 66 but was haunted by blown opportunities
on the back-nine par-5s.
Jerry Smith had a 63 and
tied for third, giving him more than enough money to secure his card for next
year.
Coceres earned $612,000
and became the ninth multiple-winner on the PGA Tour his year, both victories
after a delay. In April, he had to return Monday morning to win a playoff at Hilton
Head over Billy Mayfair.
With a two-stroke lead and
his drive safely in the 18th fairway, a blinding rain covered the 18th green with
an inch of water and suspended play for 49 minutes.
Coceres had to endure a
few anxious moments when he returned to the Magnolia course. He hit his approach
into about 30 feet but then left the first putt well short.
``Everyone on the green,
except for him, kind of perked up,'' Love said. ``It was exciting for just a minute.
That's the way he has been playing. He went in there real solid.''
For Love, it was the second
time this year he played in the final group and posted a 66, only to finish second.
He was beaten by Scott Hoch's 64 in the Western Open.
Tiger Woods birdied three
of his last six holes for a 69 and tied for 16th at 272.
Coceres is one of five players
to start the season with no status and do well enough to get his card for next
year. His second victory makes him exempt through the 2004 season.
It also showed he has plenty of game to challenge anyone.
Starting the final round
with a three-stroke lead, he made only one bogey and very few mistakes. A lesser
player might have caved in to the pressure of low scores being posted throughout
the day.
Love hit a sand wedge into
2 feet for birdie on No. 8 to catch Coceres at 19-under, joined by Kendall who
was in the group ahead.
It didn't last long. Love
hooked his tee shot on No. 9 into the trees, had to punch out to the fairway and
a 20-foot par putt caught the left lip of the cup. Coceres rapped in a 10-foot
birdie putt for a two-shot swing, then birdied the next two holes.
Love had his chances. He
failed to get up-and-down from the bunker on the par-5 10th, missing a 6-foot
birdie putt, and lost a big advantage on the par-5 14th.
Trailing by two strokes,
Love belted a drive 333 yards into the wind and tried to reach the green in two
with his 3-wood. It ballooned ever so slightly, enough to come down about 10 feet
short of the green and into a bunker.
With the pin only eight
paces on the green, Love caught his bunker shot heavy and had to get up-and-down
just to make par. Coceres' 6-foot birdie putt curled in the right side for birdie
and a three-stroke lead.
Love birdied the next hole
from 3 feet, but a 15-footer caught the left lip on No. 16, and he failed to take
advantage of a 328-yard drive on the 17th, hitting sand wedge 20 feet over the
hole.
Kendall didn't make a birdie
on the back nine and finished five strokes back.
Coceres wasn't even planning
to come to Disney World until a tournament in Portugal was canceled -- otherwise,
he would have stayed in Europe.
Now, he is closing in on
a spot in the Tour Championship and is a strongfavorite for rookie of the year
on the PGA Tour.
Divots
A couple of mistakes on
the final hole proved costly. Jesper Parnevik made bogey to drop from a tie for
fifth into a seven-way tie for sixth. That was worth about $30,000, and the Swede
-- now 31st on the money list -- trails Kenny Perry by $677 for the last spot
in the $5 million Tour Championship, with one tournament remaining. Paul Azinger
took double-bogey on 18 that cost him about $40,000. That would have put him 32nd
on the money list, but he remains at No. 36. ... Danny Ellis had a hole-in-one
on the 183-yard 15th, using a6-iron.
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