Despite shooting 3-over in the final round on Sunday, Martin Laird came back late to win the Arnold Palmer Invitational 2011 with an 8-under final total. Starting the day 11-under, Laird made three bogeys in the front nine and then double-bogeyed the 11th hole to reach 6-under. He birdied the next hole, but then lost a stroke with a bogey on the 14th hole.
Not deterred by these hardships, Laird birdied the 15th and 16th holes to reach 8-under and then made par on the last two holes. As he made his way toward the end of the day, Laired also had to contend with Steve Marino, who was at 2-under for the day with four holes left to play. A bogey on the 15th hole and a double-bogey on the 17th hole put him at 1-over for the day and 6-under for the tournament. A birdie on the 18th hole temporarily gave Marino the lead at 7-under as he entered the clubhouse, but Laird came up with those pivotal birdies on 15 and 16.
Laird, a native of Glasgow, Scotland, became the fifth non-American and the first European to win the tournament, taking home a $6 million purse.
Here are the top 10 finishers:
1. Martin Laird (-8)
2. Steve Marino (-7)
T3. Justin Rose (-6)
T3. Marc Leishman (-6)
T3. David Toms (-6)
T6. K.J. Choi (-5)
T6. Spencer Levin (-5)
8. Sergio Garcia (-4)
T9. Mark Wilson (-3)
T9. Fredrik Jacobson (-3)
Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods both finished tied for 24th at 1-under.
For more on the PGA Tour, check out SB Nation’s golf blog, Waggle Room.
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