Molder wins 6-hole playoff with Baird – Frys.com Open
SAN MARTIN, Calif. – Bryce Molder earned the first win of his career as he outlasted Briny Baird on the sixth playoff hole on Sunday. Molder and Baird finished 72 holes tied at 17 under par 267 and had to go extra holes for the decision. Both players were seeking their maiden win on tour.They had chances throughout the playoff, but it was Molder’s birdie at the sixth extra hole that sealed the deal.
Molder did not want to view his victory as “finally” coming, but rather tried to look at the win as if there were no expectations prior to it.
“It's just -- it's very gratifying,” Molder said of his feat. “It's a lot of fun to be in contention and want to be there. And to be honest, that was my biggest hurdle for the last few years is I've gotten myself into contention; and to be brutally honest, I didn't want to be there, and I wasn't ready for dealing with the nerves yet and the shots, and really the failure yet.
“And all of a sudden, once you're ready to deal with the failure, all of a sudden you can free things up and play, so that's what I've been working on for a little while now,” Molder continued. “And it's fun to be out there to -- and hit some shots in those circumstances knowing everything's on the line, and you really -- you really don't care that much. And it's a fun way to play golf.”
As the playoff went on and darkness neared, Molder said he thought about not wanting to come back to finish on Monday. He realized that there were a lot of people needing to catch planes.
“I kept thinking let's just -- we don't need to come back tomorrow,” he said. “I'm sure everybody else was thinking that as well, but it was, we were almost kind of laughing to each other, that you know, we're trying to finish this thing, too, guys.”
Baird had come into the week at No. 148 on the money list and had registered to go back to Q-school. But, the $540,000 second-place check moved him up to 93rd, meaning a refund of his $4500 Q-school entrance fee will be forthcoming.
An eagle at 17 had gotten him to 17 under par and in sole-possession of the lead. That was short-lived as Molder, playing ahead of Baird, birdied his final hole to tie for the lead. When Baird parred the last, the playoff was on.
“I wasn't feeling great, but I figured if I could just stick to my game plan and stick with a routine, and I did that really, really good,” Baird said of his approach to the final-round.
“I played good. I mean I'm not -- I'm pissed, but I'm not angry. I guess there's really not that much difference. I don't know if you can really say that or not, but it's disappointing, and I mean I know how long I've played, and I lost my concentration one time today and it was one of the putts that I had to win the golf tournament. And I looked ahead, and that was a mistake, and I don't know if I missed the putt because of that or what, but I did some really good things today. I was happy with that, and as happy as I was with that, like said, I'm not happy with the outcome, but what are you going to do?”
Bud Cauley, a rookie looking to avoid Q-school, took a big step in that direction with a sole-third finish at 15 under par. Shane Bertsch and Ernie Els tied for fourth at minus-14, John Rollins was another shot back for sole-sixth and Paul Casey tied for seventh-place with Spencer Levin and six other players.
In his first start since missing the cut at the PGA Championship in Atlanta last August, Tiger Woods had a positive result. While not getting the win he came into the event seeking, Woods bounced back from a 2 over par start to record three straight 3 under par 68s. His 7 under 277 total left him in a six-way tie for 30th.
“I got better every day, and unfortunately, a couple times where I kind of didn’t get the momentum going when I had a couple of chances to make putts or I hit a bad shot, like, for instance, today, I was rolling there,” Woods said. “I was 4-under. And at 16 all you do is dump the ball to the left, and I struck the ground and hit it to the right. Actually, I hit the wrong club. I should have taken one more and put it to the left. But that right there, you make par there, birdie 17, easy pin on 18. I could have just really got it rolling, and I had a couple opportunities like that, both yesterday and again today.”
Woods is still in the midst of a swing change and, while he sees progress, he is still not where he wants to be. He has positive feelings, but still seems a bit frustrated at his inability to sustain good runs on the golf course and take it low.
“It's getting there,” Woods added. “It's a process. I don't know what the end is. You know, that's one of those things when the career is all said and done, then you know. But I'm in the midst of it and I know I'm getting better and that's the tough part.”
Perhaps not as tough as it was for Baird, who was a runner-up for the fifth time in his career. He was still able to joke, though.
When asked about being in the final threesome with Paul Casey and Ernie Els, who he practices with on a regular basis, Baird said, “It helped. Honestly, I don't think it would have made too big a difference who I played with, but -- I shouldn't say that. It probably did help. Ernie's a great guy. I don't think I make him too nervous. So that's good.”
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