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Halfway leader DiMarco earns return trip
Chris DiMarco didn't know
it until he walked off the course. By making two birdies in the
last three holes, he finished among the top 16 and ensured a return
trip to the Masters.
He was below
the cutoff line until he made birdies on Nos. 16 and 18 to finish
tied for 10th.
``Oh, really?''
DiMarco said, when informed he wouldn't have to worry about his
spot on the money list, or any other criteria. ``I'm glad I finished
strong.''
After leading
the first two rounds, DiMarco struggled over the weekend. He shot
72 on Saturday, and opened the final round with six bogeys over
the first 14 holes.
``I learned
a lot this week,'' he said. ``Mostly, I learned to slow down and
be patient.''
DiMarco qualified
for his first Masters by finishing 19th on the money list in 2000.
LANGER
SHINES
Even though
he didn't feel his best, two-time Masters champion Bernhard Langer
stayed on a roll that began two weeks ago when he finished third
in The Players Championship.
Langer shot
a 69 on Sunday to tie for sixth at 9 under.
His opening-round
73 was his worst round of the week, and that was when he was still
dealing with flu-like symptoms.
``I'm very
pleased,'' said Langer, who won the Masters in 1985 and 1993. ``Anytime
you finish in the top 10 in a major, it's outstanding, especially
when you shoot a 73.''
SPOILS OF VICTORY
Tiger Woods
collected the biggest prize - $1,008,000 and a green jacket for
winning the Masters.
Still, there
was plenty of loot to go around.
David Duval
received $604,800 for finishing second, in addition to a silver
medal and a silver serving dish. He also got two crystal vases for
low rounds both Friday and Sunday.
Japan's Toshi
Izawa, who finished fourth, will need to buy an extra suitcase to
get his bounty home. Along with a $246,400 paycheck, he picked up
two crystal vases for tying Duval's low score in the second and
fourth rounds, not to mention three pairs of crystal goblets for
each of his eagles in the tournament.
In fact, everyone
in the top six received extra prizes except Phil Mickelson, who
had to settle the third-place check of $380,800.
MONEY
MATTERS
Mark Calcavecchia
birdied No. 18 tie for fourth place. That moved him into third place
in the Ryder Cup points standings, although he was barely aware
of it.
``I was more
thinking about the money,'' he said when somebody asked about the
Ryder.
At least he's
honest. Calcavecchia won $246,400 - an extra $56,560 for making
the birdie.
SINGH STARTS OVER
As promised,
2000 champion Vijay Singh started on a new streak of rounds under
par, shooting 69 to finish the tournament at 6 under.
On Saturday,
he shot 73 to end a tour-high string of 34 rounds of par or below.
When told about the end of the streak, he said it was OK, he'd just
have to start a new one Sunday.
``I played
OK,'' Singh said. ``I still left a lot out there. It was disappointing
the second and third day for me. I just didn't take advantage.''
Masters champion
Tiger Woods holds the current streak with 22 rounds of par or better.
BITTERSWEET HOMECOMING
Franklin Langham
hoped to play better in his first Masters. Still, he could brag
about two birdies at the hole where he once worked.
Langham, who
grew up near Augusta, operated the scoreboard at the par-3 16th
as a teen.
On Sunday,
he knocked a 6-iron over the pond to 8 feet and dropped the putt
en route to a closing 72.
``I have fond
memories at that hole,'' said Langham, who nearly had a hole-in-one
Friday before tapping in. ``It was nice to birdie it a couple of
days.''
Otherwise,
Langham struggled with his putter and was even warned about slow
play on Saturday, leading to angry criticism of the rules officials.
He finished the tournament with a 4-over 292.
``I had good
shots, I had bad shots,'' he said. ``But I learned a lot. Hopefully
I can use it in the future.''
THE TIGER FACTOR
Once again,
Tiger Woods' presence on the leaderboard is having a big impact
on television ratings.
CBS did a 7.9
rating with a 19 share Saturday, its second highest third-round
overnight rating ever. The only better numbers came in 1997, when
Woods won his first Masters.
Last year,
CBS pulled a 6.6 rating with a 15 share on Saturday.
A ratings point
represents 1.02 million households. The share is the percentage
of in-use televisions tuned to a given show.
DIVOTS
Phil Mickelson
missed a birdie putt on 18, costing him a chance to become the first
Masters player to shoot four straight rounds in the 60s. His final
scorecard: 67-69-69-70. Woods almost pulled off the feat. Only an
opening-round 70 prevented it. ... Stuart Appleby had 50 straight
holes of par or better to break the 53-year-old Masters record of
43, held by Ben Hogan. Appleby's string was stopped on No. 1 with
a bogey. The consistency didn't pay off; he finished even par for
the tournament. ... David Toms birdied No. 4 three times to finish
3 under for the week, the best cumulative score ever on that hole.
... Brad Faxon played himself into contention, standing 8 under
through 10 holes. Then he played himself out in one hole - a quadruple-bogey
8 on No. 11. Faxon's second shot landed in the short apron area
on the front-right side of the green, but his pitch trickled off
and into the water. ... With a tie for fourth, Toshi Izawa had the
best finish ever for a Japanese golfer. Several of his countrymen
had finished eighth. He equaled the best rounds both on Friday (66)
and Sunday (67), but was knocked out of contention with a 74 Saturday.
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