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By Seth Soffian
Fort Myers News-Press
November 15, 2004
Five consecutive pars in the middle of Sunday's final round of The Franklin Templeton Shootout ended any hope for victory for Greg Norman and Scott McCarron, but tournament host Norman was nonetheless encouraged by his play during the week in his first tournament since August.
"I felt very happy about the way I played," said Norman, who teamed with McCarron to tie for fourth place, four shots behind winners Jeff Sluman and Hank Kuehne. "I felt very comfortable. It's a good sign for me."
Norman, slowed in recent years by back, shoulder and hip problems, will head to Australia in two weeks for the Australian PGA Championship, then return to his homeland in late January for another event.
He'll be back in Florida after that facing a decision on where to play when he turns 50 on Feb. 10. Norman has said he'll play some events on the Champions Tour, although he didn't have The ACE Group Classic, scheduled for Feb. 18-20 in North Naples, in his plans.
TOO EASY?
Asked if the Tiburó n course he designed was too easy for the pros this week, Norman chuckled and said he didn't expect any changes.
"I think all the resort and member players here love it," he said. "The golf course played beautifully. I think all the players liked it and enjoyed it. In this format, that's what you need, a little bit of fun and not a whole lot of pressure. I think the performance of the golf course was right there."
Sluman and Kuehne's winning total of 29-under-par 187 was the second highest in the four years the event has been held at Tiburó n. Brad Faxon and Scott McCarron were 33-under in 2001, Rocco Mediate and Lee Janzen were 31-under in 2002, and Sluman and Kuehne tied with two other teams at 23-under last year before winning in a playoff.
Fred Couples and Raymond Floyd hold the tournament record, shooting 34-under at Sherwood Country Club in Thousand Oaks, Calif., in 1990, the second year the tournament was held.
REACH
In Friday's first round, the 6-foot-3 Nick Faldo held his hand aloft for 5-8 teammate Fred Funk to give him a high-five after sinking a putt. Funk jumped and couldn't reach him.
After making a 20-foot birdie putt on No. 18 on Sunday, Funk summoned caddie Mark Long to cup his hands and give Funk a boost to reach Faldo's outstretched hand.
"That old man needs all the help he can get," said Faldo, who is close friends with Funk. "He was trying to reach the heights of Nick Faldo."
DISPERSE
From Southwest Florida, the 24 players in the Shootout scattered in varied directions.
Bill Haas was headed to California for the second stage of PGA Tour qualifying school. His father, Jay, and Scott Hoch were headed to Kiawah Island, S.C., for the UBS Warburg Cup, a Ryder Cup-style event for veteran players.
Norman is due in St. Augustine today to introduce Isao Aoki as he enters the World Golf Hall of Fame.
Rory Sabbatini left on a charter Sunday for Atlanta, where he would catch an all-night flight to London and connection to Sevilla, Spain, for next week's World Cup.
Paul Azinger is staying in Southwest Florida. The Bradenton resident will play in a fund-raiser at Palmira in Bonita Springs for the Florida Gulf Coast University men's golf team, coached by friend and instructor Jim Suttie.
John Daly will play in the ADT Skills Challenge today in West Palm Beach. Sluman will leave today for Chicago, but Kuehne wasn't sure where he and wife Nicole were headed.
"I'm staying the night with family," Sluman said of victory plans for he and Kuehne. "We haven't talked to the wives yet."
ATTENDANCE UP
Tournament director Taylor Ives said estimates for attendance, parking and concessions were up 20 percent over last year going into Sunday's final round. Attendance last year was estimated at between 30,000 and 35,000 for the five days of the event.
- Dave Kempton contributed to this report.
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