Sunday, January 20, 2013

2013 Humana Challenge post-tournament recap

Play is complete at the 2013 Humana Challenge in partnership with the Clinton Foundation.  What was thought to be a runaway with a clear winner turned into an exciting finish in Palm Springs.  Scott Stallings entered the final round with a five stroke lead.  That lead was maintained for much of the round, until Stallings started to falter on the back nine.  Stallings was tied with Charles Howell III, Brian Gay, and rookie David Lingmerth at 25-under par heading into the final hole.

On 18, Stallings hit a perfect drive and had a 6-iron into the par-5.  Stallings second shot, however, hit the bank on the edge of the green and ended up in the water.  He ended up making a bogey and dropped a shot out of the playoff at 25-under.

The playoff started on 18 again, where Howell III and Gay made birdies and Lingmerth was eliminated with a par.  Both Gay and Howell hit perfect drives on the second playoff hole, 10, but Howell's second ended up in a bunker while Gay's finished 6 feet under the hole.  A missed par putt by Howell allowed Gay to make the birdie and win The Humana Challenge.

The win was Gay's 4th career PGA Tour win.  He moved to the #1 spot in the FedEx Cup point standings.  Howell finished with his second-straight top-3 finish and is 4th in the FedEx Cup standings.  Rookie Russell Henley, who won last week, is second in the standings and Dustin Johnson is third.

Gay had not won on tour since 2009, when he took the Heritage and the John Deere Classic.  He also won at Mayakoba in 2008.

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