Normally when a golfer begins the final round of a tournament
tied for the lead and ends up losing by five strokes, he’s not very
happy with himself.
Pebble Beach – Normally when a golfer begins the final round of a tournament tied for the lead and ends up losing by five strokes, he’s not very happy with himself.
That wasn’t the case Sunday at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am for Sacramento native Kevin Sutherland, who finished second behind a record-tying Phil Mickelson.
“I’m not all that disappointed,” said Sutherland, who settled for his third career runner-up finish. “What did Phil shoot? 66? I don’t know if I had that in me today.”
While much of the attention went to Mickelson and him burying the slump that had plagued him since his epic collapse on the final hole of last year’s U.S. Open, Sutherland had to walk away with a similar feeling of satisfaction.
After all, he hadn’t had a top-10 finish since 2005 and finished last season 115th on the money list – the lowest spot he had occupied since finishing 135th after his rookie season in 1996.
“It was a big day for me,” Sutherland said. “I haven’t had a top-10 in two years. I haven’t played as well as I can.”
Sutherland, who finished the tournament at 15-under par – one stroke ahead of rookie John Mallinger – also had to feel good about his strong finish.
A frustrating day that including a double bogey on the ninth hole and several missed putts from inside 10 feet was concluded with a birdie on the 18th to put himself in sole possession of second.
“I was very much aware of that,” Sutherland said of where he stood on the leaderboard entering the final hole. “I knew if I could make birdie, it would make up for some of the things that happened on the course.”
A pro since 1987, Sutherland, 42, formerly played on the Nationwide Tour and is still looking for his first career win in a PGA stroke play event (he won the 2002 World Golf Championships – Accenture Match Play Championship).
And while he doesn’t deny that it’s something important to him, Sutherland is concentrating on things he has more control of, such as improving his short game.
“The more you try to win a tournament, the harder it is,” he said. “I won’t try to dwell on it too much. I feel like I’m playing good. Hitting good iron shots is the key to my game.”
