| Janzen/Mediate
win after final day 58 Lee
Janzen fired an 8-iron from 157 yards to 3 feet and teammate Rocco Mediate tapped
it in to win the Franklin Templeton Shootout on Sunday. The
former Florida Southern teammates came into the final round with a three-shot
lead in the unofficial PGA Tour event at Tiburon Golf Club. Janzen,
a two-time U.S. Open Champion, said his strategy for the event, founded and hosted
by Greg Norman, was simple. "I
want to hit a great shot, get it as close as I can, make birdie, win the tournament,
no playoff," Janzen said. He
accomplished all five with one swing. "I
knew he was going to do something silly there," Mediate said. "I had
a feeling he was going to hit it about 5 or 6 feet." Playing
a scramble format, Matt Kuchar and David Gossett, a group in front of the leaders,
birdied No. 18 to get to 30-under 186 to tie Mediate and Janzen. First-round
leaders John Huston and Jeff Maggert were one shot back going into No. 18, a par-4
dogleg left around a lake with a precarious back left pin position. After
Mediate hit a good drive, he hit his approach first, but it landed on the back
of the green. However, Janzen stuck his. Huston and Maggert hit their approach
to 20 feet, with Maggert sinking the birdie putt to temporarily tie Mediate and
Janzen. "Lee
hit a pretty awesome shot there," Maggert said. "They knew they had
to make birdie there to have a chance to win, so that was a pretty impressive
shot." Huston
and Maggert's eagle on No. 17 gave the team a chance, cutting their deficit to
a shot. Janzen
and Mediate split $500,000, and the teams of Maggert and Huston and Kuchar and
Gossett each split $260,000. "It
just doesn't happen that often," Mediate said. "You don't get the chance
to win. You might play a bunch (together), but to win it's kind of cool."
Mark O'Meara
and John Cook, who started the day five shots back, tied Mediate and Janzen with
a birdie by O'Meara on No. 13 at 25-under-par. But the two couldn't close strong
enough, finishing two shots back in fourth place at 188. Kuchar
and Gossett, who also were five back, birdied 16 of their 18 holes for a 56, one
shot off the tournament record for the scramble format. They birdied their first
seven to get within striking distance. "It
would have been something to birdie every single hole today, but 16-under is awfully
good," Kuchar said. The
12 two-man teams played modified alternate shot in the first round and better
ball in the second. Norman designed the layout at Tiburon.
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