Football
Associated Press 19y

Purtzer finds disappointment again in Concord

CONCORD, Mass. -- Tom Purtzer had enough trouble playing the
17th hole at Nashawtuc Country Club just three times in a
tournament.

A fourth time proved to be too much.

Purtzer missed a birdie putt on No. 17 after Mark McNulty sank a
longer one Sunday, giving McNulty the Bank of America Championship
title on the second extra hole. It was the second consecutive year
that Purtzer took the lead into the final round and finished
second.

"Seventeen hasn't done me any favors over the years," Purtzer
said of the 166-yard par 3, where he had a double bogey in the
final round last year while squandering a four-stroke lead to Craig
Stadler.

"It's a different year. You really can't put much stock in
what's happened in the past," said Purtzer, who finished fourth
here in 2003. "But it is getting frustrating."

It was the fourth consecutive Champions Tour event to end in a
playoff, with Don Pooley shooting 65 -- the day's best round -- to
join Purtzer and McNulty at 12-under 204. Pooley was eliminated
when he bogeyed the first playoff hole, No. 18, but the other two
parred the 521-yard par 5.

The easiest hole in the par-72, 6,728-yard course, the three
playoff participants had seven birdies there in nine tries in
regulation.

"It's pretty sad not to make par on the par-5 in the playoff to
keep playing," Pooley said. "That should not have happened."

The course was then cleared because of the threat of
thunderstorms, but the rain never came and play resumed about an
hour later with the two remaining golfers on the 17th tee. McNulty
put his tee shot about 14 feet from the cup and was happy to be
away.

"First-in normally wins," he said.

McNulty learned to play golf in Zimbabwe, on greens made from
sand mixed with used engine oil that needed to be raked of
footprints. That helped the reigning Champions Tour rookie of the
year develop one of the best putting touches on the 50-and-over
circuit.

"When you smell something, when a great player smells
something, when Tiger or Phil smells a win ... you want to make the
putt so much that you're going to make it," McNulty said after
earning $240,000 for his first victory of the year. "I never
thought about missing it."

Pooley birdied the final two holes of regulation, making up four
strokes on Purtzer on the day. That left him in the clubhouse as
the leader, with about 45 minutes to wait until the others
finished.

He figured he was done because the leaders still had a chance to
play No. 18. But when Purtzer, at 12 under, hit his tee shot into a
trap on No. 17 and made bogey, Pooley headed back to the range to
warm up.

On the 18th, Purtzer left a long eagle putt about 3 feet from
the cup and converted the birdie to return to 12 under. McNulty got
up and down from the far bunker to make it a three-way playoff.

They went back to the 18th tee, and Pooley couldn't get up and
down after hitting his approach into the rough behind the green.
McNulty missed a long birdie putt and Purtzer missed his chance to
win from about 6 feet away.

Temperatures cooled only slightly from Saturday, when the
thermometer hit the mid-90s and the tour waived its ban on carts.
Sunday's readings were in the low 90s; golfers were back to walking
in the morning, but given the option of a cart for the back nine.

Tournament director Tracy West said misting machines were
scattered around the course. About a dozen people were treated for
heat-related symptoms; one spectator was taken to the hospital.

"Another 10 degrees lower in heat would have been nice," she
said, noting that rain kept the crowds away the previous two
years.<
^Divots:@ McNulty moved to third on the money list with $912,009.
... Dana Quigley finished tied for 12th; he had finished in the top
seven six consecutive times. ... Mike Reid, who won the Senior PGA
Championship, withdrew because of a sore wrist. Mike Hill also
withdrew because his wife was sick. ... Gary Player finished with a
68 -- his low round of the year. It's the second time in his career
the 69-year-old Player has beat his age.

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