This Time, Nelson Can’t Catch the Leaders

Larry Nelson, the hottest player on the Senior PGA Tour, seemed to be in the perfect position to strike in the final round of the Toshiba Senior Classic. From his spot in the final group, Nelson had a firsthand view of the implosion of Terry Mauney and Bob Gilder, two leaders fading spectacularly on a blustery Sunday at Newport Beach Country Club.

After a birdie on the par-four seventh hole, Nelson looked over at the leaderboard and saw that he had moved within two shots of the co-leaders at the time, Mauney and Gil Morgan.

But Nelson, who had won two of his four tournaments this year and six of his last 10, never got closer. He wound up with a one-over-par 72 and finished in a tie for seventh, three shots out of the playoff between Morgan and Jose Maria Canizares.

“I couldn’t get anything going because I didn’t hit two good shots in a row,” Nelson said. “So I knew that it was going to be a struggle. I was hoping that maybe it might turn around and I might find something on the back side.”

He did have birdies on the 10th, 12th and 15th holes, but a bogey on the par-three 13th made sure he never threatened the leaders. Nelson said he fought his game all week, despite the eight-under 63 he posted in Saturday’s second round.

“I couldn’t hit the ball solid,” he said. “I couldn’t get it started in the right direction. That’s kind of how it’s been for the last three weeks. The good thing is I finished in the top 10 all three weeks. If I can continue finishing in the top 10 when I play bad then I’ll feel pretty fortunate.”

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Gilder was not quite so fortunate. He shot six-over 77, including an especially brutal stretch on the front nine. Gilder was at 12 under after five holes, but lost seven strokes to par in the next four.

It started at the par-four sixth, where his approach landed in the bunker and his sand shot was short and on the fringe. On his first putt, he was distracted by the gallery and eventually three-putted for double-bogey six.

“I got spooked there for a second,” Gilder said. “Somebody moved and I couldn’t get it out of my mind very well.”

On the par-four seventh, he hit his third shot in the bunker, left his next in the trap and took a triple bogey. He also had a double bogey from the sand on the ninth hole.

Gilder, a senior tour rookie who won the Verizon Classic at the TPC of Tampa Bay last month, recovered to shoot par on the back nine, but the damage was done.

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Defending champion Allen Doyle continued his good play here, shooting 66 and finishing third, one stroke out of the playoff. In three appearances at the Toshiba, Doyle, who made the four-way playoff in 1999 and won the rain-shortened event in 2000 with a 69 and 67, has never posted a score worse than 69.

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The predicted rain that threatened to shorten the tournament to two rounds for the second year in a row never materialized.

It was a huge victory for tournament director Jeff Purser, who resisted the suggestion from tour officials to send players off both the first and 10th tees Sunday morning, to shorten the event in an effort to avoid the storm. Purser said he decided against that option because it would take away prime afternoon time for sponsors, many of whom were stung by last year’s rainout, to entertain their guests.

“We wanted to take the chance,” Purser said, “and roll the dice to see if we could get it in.”

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For the second consecutive year, the tournament raised $1 million for charity, tournament co-chairman Hank Adler announced. In the four years since Hoag Memorial Hospital became the tournament organizer and lead charity, the event has raised more than $3.5 million for charity.