Smith repeats as NCC champion
He beats Vana on 2d hole of playoff
From about 4 feet, Phil Smith watched his putt trickle toward the first hole at Presidents Golf Course in Quincy and quietly congratulated himself "for finally making one" yesterday.
He was wrong, because the par-save attempt on the first playoff hole lipped out. But minutes later Smith had no such worry. His 20-foot roll from the fringe was dead center and with a birdie at the par-3 second to defeat Frank Vana Jr., Smith became just the second player to successfully defend his title in the Norfolk County Classic.
"[Saturday], I seemed to make 'em all," said Smith, referring to an opening 3-under-par 67 that had given him a share of the lead. "But today [71] was kind of frustrating."
Tell that to Vana, the perennial Massachusetts Golf Association Player of the Year who was seemingly in position to grab an improbable victory with a spectacular round. Four back to start the day, Vana was 5 under on his round, 4 under for the tournament, and feeling like he was in command of a "63 or a 64 round." But the quick and difficult greens at Presidents jumped up and bit Vana down the stretch - missed birdie putts inside 6 feet at the par-5 16th and par-4 17th, then a wild four-putt double bogey at the par-3 18th.
It left him with a 67 -138, and while Vana signed his card and waited to see how things played out, Smith was on the homeward holes and getting updates. Having made his fifth bogey of the day, at the par-3 13th, Smith was 3 over on his round, even par for the tournament, and in need of some stellar play to give him a chance. He made something happen with birdies at the par-4 14th and par-5 15th, then got word that Vana was in at 2 under, so the golfer out of Vesper CC in Tyngsboro knew a closing birdie could win it.
Little did he realize it would take him until the second hole of a playoff to do so.
"It was like three days in one," said Smith, a former pro who became a reinstated amateur in 2005 and has made quite an impact on the local scene. Last year's NCC was one of four titles he won, the most prestigious being the MGA Mid-Amateur Championship, though he didn't realize until later just how close he came to not winning this one.
Vana's slip-up at the 18th was followed by a three-putt bogey at the first playoff hole, though he remained alive when Smith missed his 4-foot par-save attempt.
"The greens are fast and I was walking on eggshells down the stretch," said Vana, who had an 18-footer for birdie on that second playoff hole, but was wide. "I played great, but the finish leaves a sour taste in my mouth."
Larry Rentz of the Boston Golf Club in Hingham (72-67 -139) finished third, offering a similar look to last year's tournament when Smith, Rentz, and Vana finished 1-2-3.
PGA - Ryudi Imada claimed his first tour victory, beating Kenny Perry in a playoff at the AT&T Classic in Duluth, Ga., after losing the same suburban Atlanta tournament a year ago on the 73d hole.
The two finished regulation tied at 15-under 273, but Perry's ball wound up in the water on the first playoff hole even though his second shot easily cleared the pond in front of the green.
Unfortunately for Perry, he struck a pine tree behind the green about 10 feet up the trunk. The ball ricocheted straight back across the putting surface and didn't stop rolling into it was in the water, the gallery groaning in disbelief.
Imada, who drove into the rough, laid up with his second shot and two-putted for a winning par. After taking a drop, Perry nearly spun back his wedge into the cup, then missed a 12-footer which would have forced another extra hole. Imada stepped up and calmly knocked his ball straight in the cup from 4 feet for the victory.
Imada has been a runner-up three times on the PGA Tour, including twice already this season. A year ago, he got into a playoff with Zach Johnson at the TPC Sugarloaf, only to knock his second shot in the same pond that claimed Perry's ball.
Camilo Villegas shot a closing 66 but missed an eagle putt at the 72d hole that would have gotten him in the playoff. He wound up one shot back at 274.
LPGA - Lorena Ochoa overcame a balky putter to shoot a 1-under 71 and post a one-stroke victory over five players for her third straight victory in the rain-shortened
The victory was Ochoa's 22d since April 2006, and pushed her career earnings past the $12 million mark, making her the fastest player on the LPGA Tour to reach that plateau. Ochoa accomplished it in just over five years, more than four years faster than the old mark set by Annika Sorenstam.
Champions - Andy Bean saved par on No. 18 after hooking his drive left and bogeying the previous hole, holding on for a 2-under 70 and a one-stroke victory over Loren Roberts in the Regions Charity Classic in Hoover, Ala.
Nationwide - At Greer, S.C., David Mathis won the BMW Charity Pro-Am, closing with a 3-under 68 for a three-stroke victory over Roger Tambellini. Wayne Gretzky teamed with Chris Nallen to win the Pro-Am title.
European - Richard Finch shot a 2-under 70 to win the Irish Open in Adare by two strokes.
Material from the Associated Press was used in this report. 