February 16, 2011
By Staff Reporter
By John Manley
Strange things were in the air through the first 36 holes of the Buick Invitational at Torrey Pines in La Jolla, Calif. Defending champion Phil Mickelson failed to survive the cut, making this the fourth straight week on tour that an event’s defending champion has been in direct line of the axe. And Mickelson was looking to win this event for the third straight year. Then we have Tiger Woods, who just made the cut. But well above him on the leaderboard, with shots to spare was Richard Coughlan.
The warm and fuzzy glow ends there. After shooting consecutive 70s over the first two days, Coughlan coughed up a 74 on Saturday to fall out of contention. Sunday was worse. He left the San Diego environs with a tie for 75th place after shooting 78. He did earn $6,624 for four days’ work, however. Jose Maria Olazabal’s 275 won the championship.
Sunshine Tour
Ciaran McMonagle strung together four respectable rounds to finish tied for 32nd place in the Nashua Masters at the Wild Coast Sun Country Club in Port Edward, South Africa. McMonagle, opened with even-par 70, then shot 69 each of the next three days. His 277 was 12 shots off Justin Rose, who won for the second time this year. Failing to make the cut were James Loughnane, with 142 (74-68) for 36 holes, and Paddy Gribben, who came in with 146 (77-69). A score of 141 or better was needed to advance.
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