Dunlap rallies to win season opener in Panama by a shot
By Joe Chemycz, PGA TOUR Staff
PANAMA CITY, Panama -- Scott Dunlap emerged from a packed leaderboard late Sunday in Central America to win the Panama Movistar Championship, the opening tournament on the 2008 Nationwide Tour schedule.
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Dunlap's final-round 1-over-par 71 was good enough to better the field at the difficult Panama Golf Club, where only four players bested par for the week. Dunlap's 3-under 277 total was one stroke better than Jeff Klauk (69) and third-round leader Arjun Atwal (74). Chris Smith (74) finished at 1 under par to round out the quartet of sub-par scores.
"It's the first tournament of the year and you almost don't have any expectations," said Dunlap, who hadn't had a top-3 finish since winning the 2004 Mark Christopher Charity Classic, a span of 79 starts. "I hadn't played a round of golf since Christmas.
"You come out here and you hope to play well but you never know until the first tee," he added. "I mean, I was hitting it good on the range, but you never know if that will transfer to the golf course."
The final nine holes, much like most of the week, would turn into a game of Survivor, which was only fitting since that particular television show was filmed off the Panama coast a few years back.
Atwal began the final round with a birdie to get to 7 under, but gave four shots back to the field by the turn. He wouldn't make another birdie the rest of the way and fell two back with a bogey at No. 15.
Smith also struggled out of the gate, with a consecutive bogeys starting at No. 5. He still held a share of the lead at the turn but bogeys at Nos. 10 and 11 forced him to play catch-up on a golf course that produced a final-round scoring average nearly four strokes over par (73.677).
Klauk, the first-round leader, played one of the steadier rounds on Sunday, a 1-under 69 that put him in the clubhouse at 2 under and hoping the others would fall back to him.
"It's almost like U. S. Open conditions here," said Dunlap, who held the second-round lead at minus 7. "The wind blows and the golf course gets firm. You know that scoring won't be that far under par. It's the same every year. Par is always a good on this course."
Dunlap's birdie at the par-5 12th put him at 4 under and in first place, but he promptly carded a bogey on the next hole. Dunlap took command at the 409-yard 15th hole when he stuffed a 6-iron from 171 yards to 5 feet and canned the birdie putt for a two-stroke lead.
"I saw the board and knew I had the lead at that point," said Dunlap. "You can't shoot 10 or 12 under on this golf course. Well, maybe Tiger (Woods) can, but not the rest of us. I can hit good iron shots and two-putt with the best of them. It was going to be that kind of day."
Playing in the next-to-last group, Dunlap opened the door slightly when he missed the green at No. 18 and failed to get up-and-down, missing a 5-footer for par.
"I have some issues and my putting can be one of them," said Dunlap, who will switch his putting grip usually depending on the length of the putt. "I know what I have to work on. All of us are a work in progress."
When the final twosome failed to make birdies, the trophy and first-place check of $108,000 was secured.
"To win on this golf course is very rewarding," said Dunlap, who had conditional status on Tour to start the week. "This essentially gives me a two-year exemption. This sets me up for the rest of the year and gets me about halfway to earning my PGA TOUR card for next year."
Klauk had nothing but pars on his scorecard for the final 11 holes and steadily made progress forward, while it seemed most of the field had it in reverse. "It's just a hard golf course," said the St. Augustine, Fla., resident. "We're not used to these difficult conditions sometimes. I'm a grinder and I like it when it's tough and par is a good score."
Klauk's tie for second is his best finish since won the 2003 Preferred Health Systems Wichita Open and only his sixth top-3 in 152 career starts. "This is very encouraging," he said. "My coach, Cody Barden, and I have been working very hard on a lot of things in the off-season and it's nice to see that pay off."
Final-Round News & Notes: Sunday's scoring average was 73.677, making it the toughest single day in tournament history. The cumulative scoring average was 72.982. ... Kim Felton's 3-under 67 in Thursday's opening round was the only bogey-free round of the tournament. ... The Nationwide Tour heads to Morelia, Mexico, next week for the inaugural Mexico Open presented by Corona. The tournament will be held at the Jack Nicklaus-designed Tres Marias Golf Club Jan. 31-Feb. 3.
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