COOK BIRDIE BINGE WINS HOPE : CALCAVECCHIA PLAYS WELL BUT LOSES 90-HOLE TOURNAMENT BY STROKE.Byline: Ken Peters Associated Press Associated Press: see news agency. Associated Press (AP) Cooperative news agency, the oldest and largest in the U.S. and long the largest in the world. John Cook, miserable over his golf career, was thinking last January about calling it quits as a full-time player. He didn't, instead spending a quiet couple of days with his longtime teacher, former Tour player Ken Venturi Ken Venturi (born May 15, 1931) was a prominent PGA Tour professional during the late 1950s and early 1960s. Venturi was born in San Francisco, California. Venturi first gained national attention in 1956 when, as an amateur, he finished second in that year's Masters after , and rededicating himself to the game. It has paid off. Cook, playing consecutive rounds that equaled the lowest ever on the Tour, shot a 9-under-par 62 on Saturday and a 63 on Sunday to overtake Mark Calcavecchia Mark John Calcavecchia (born June 12, 1960) is an American golfer. Calcavecchia was born in Laurel, Nebraska. He attended the University of Florida, turned professional in 1981 and joined the PGA Tour in 1982. He earned All-SEC honors in 1979. and win his second Bob Hope Chrysler Classic The Bob Hope Chrysler Classic is a professional golf tournament played each January in California's Coachella Valley. Part of the PGA Tour's early season West Coast Swing, this tournament is well known for its celebrity pro-am, as well as having five daily 18-hole rounds of . Cook finished the 90-hole tournament at 33-under-par, one shot in front of Calcavecchia. Jesper Parnevik Jesper Bo Parnevik (born March 7, 1965) is a Swedish professional golfer. He is the son of the Swedish entertainer Bo Parnevik. Parnevik was born in Stockholm, Sweden. of Sweden finished third, with his 62 leaving him at 28-under. Mark O'Meara Mark Francis O'Meara (born January 13, 1957) is a professional golfer who was a prolific tournament winner on the PGA Tour and around the world from the mid 1980s to the late 1990s. In 2007 he entered his first season on the Champions Tour. was another shot back in fourth, and Tommy Tolles Tommy Tolles (born October 21, 1966) is an American professional golfer who has played on the PGA Tour and the Nationwide Tour. Tolles was born in Ft. Myers, Florida. He has two Nationwide Tour victories and has finished runner-up in two PGA Tour events. and Don Pooley Sheldon George "Don" Pooley, Jr. (born August 27, 1951) is an American professional golfer who has won tournaments on both the PGA Tour and the Champions Tour. Pooley was born in Phoenix, Arizona. He grew up in Riverside, California. finished tied for fifth at 24-under. Cook's 62-63 tied a Tour record for consecutive rounds that he already shared with three others. He did it last year during the middle rounds on his way to winning the St. Jude Classic. ``Twenty birdies in two days'' Cook said after the Hope victory, shaking his head and smiling. ``I hope I didn't blow my quota for the rest of the year.'' The victory was the third in six months for Cook, who came back with a new attitude after turning to Venturi venturi a tube with a decrease in the inside diameter that is used to increase the flow velocity of the fluid and thereby cause a pressure drop; used to measure the flow velocity (a venturimeter) or to draw another fluid into the stream. last March for advice. Before that, Cook hadn't won in four years. ``I got tired of being a regular guy, looking at the board on Friday trying to figure out whether I made the cut,'' related Cook, who in fact missed six of eight cuts to begin 1995. ``I was just physically and mentally beat up.'' He wouldn't divulge specifically what transpired between him and Venturi but did say, ``It took hitting about five balls, a couple of little minor things, and after that it was more of a head-cleansing process. ``I watched him hit some balls, too. I felt like I was 14 again and watching him play.'' Cook went on to make 17 of his next 18 cuts last year, including the two victories. Calcavecchia, who led by three shots heading into the final round and was up by four by the fifth hole, lost despite shooting a closing 67. ``I ran into a buzz saw,'' Calcavecchia said, managing a grin. ``I got beat. You can look at a few putts I missed here and there, and the drive on No. 17 was a mistake. But on the other hand, I shot 32-under, and that's about the best I can do. ``If you can't win shooting 32-under, what can you say? He (Cook) can really play, and he did. He hit every wedge straight at the hole and every putt straight in.'' Calcavecchia added, ``If you've gotta lose to somebody, Cookie's a good guy to lose to. He's the nicest guy I know.'' A drive by Calcavecchia that hit a tree limb and bounded into the rough on No. 17 opened the door for Cook, who took the lead for good with a par on that hole and sealed the win with an 8-foot birdie putt on the final green. Calcavecchia, atop the leaderboard lead·er·board n. A board that displays the leaders in a competition. leaderboard Noun a board displaying the current scores of the leading competitors, esp in a golf tournament for three days, took a bogey 5 on No. 17, his only one of the day, then missed a 40-foot try for an eagle on the 18th. ``I used my driver and I usually hit the ball over that tree,'' Calcavecchia said of his costly tee shot on No. 17. ``But I came up on it a little and hit it low on the club face.'' After Calcavecchia's long putt skidded past the cup, Cook calmly rolled in his birdie putt for the win. ``The way he was playing, I expected him to make it,'' Calcavecchia said. Cook had nine birdies and no bogeys. He caught Calcavecchia on the 11th hole when Calcavecchia missed a 20-foot birdie try Birdie Try is an overhead view golf arcade game released by Data East in 1988. and Cook made his from 2 feet to go to 30-under. The title chase was essentially match play between the two the rest of the way. John Daly John Daly is the name of:
Divots: Tom Kite wasn't around for the finish, but his record was. Kite, who missed the cut this time, set the Hope record with a 35-under total in 1993. . . . Cook, with nine career wins, won the same tournament twice for the first time. He won a five-man playoff, outlasting Gene Sauers with three birdies and an eagle on the four extra holes, to take the Hope five years ago. LEADERBOARD John Cook..........69-69-67-62-63--327 M. Calcavecchia....64-67-66-64-67--328 J. Parnevik........66-70-68-66-62--332 Mark O'Meara.......68-66-68-66-65--333 Tommy Tolles.......65-69-73-65-64--336 Don Pooley.........70-69-63-65-69--336 John Daly..........65-73-64-66-69--337 Grant Waite........68-70-64-68-68--338 Fred Couples.......71-71-64-68-65--339 Craig Stadler......68-69-70-67-65--339 CAPTION(S): Photo, Chart Photo: Mark Calcavecchia watches as his putt rolls past the cup on the 16th green. Associated Press Chart: LEADERBOARD: (see text) |
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