The 2009 Shark Shootout, held at the Tiburón Golf Club at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Resort in Naples, Florida, ended on Sunday, won by the team of Jerry Kelly and Steve Stricker. The team went into the lead on Friday's first round, tying with the team of Justin Leonard and Scott Verplank, dropped back on Saturday but rallied, and prevailed on Sunday by 1 shot. Stricker is number 3 in the world, and Kelly won the 2006 Shark Shootout with Rod Pampling also against Leonard and Verplank. Greg Norman hosts the annual tournament, but couldn't play in his own event for the first time in 21 years due to shoulder surgery this September
In the first round, Stricker and Kelly did well on the first 9, and struggled on the back 9. They birdied at 5, eagled at 6, birdied at holes 7 through 9, then birdied on 12, but managed 1-over on the last 6 holes. The team of Leonard and Verplank birdied on 4 of their last 6 holes and were 3-under after 6, but pulled a double-bogey at hole 9.
On Saturday, Kelly and Stricker were trailing most of the day but then rallied near the end to still hold the lead at the end of round 2. They finished with a 1-stroke lead at 13-under 131, after they birdied 5 of their last 6 holes, including hole 18.
If not for the birdie at 18 giving them a 1-stroke lead, the second round would have ended in a 4-way tie. They would have remained tied with Leonard and Verplank, but there were also 2 other teams who were at 12-under at the end of the second round: J. B. Holmes and Kenny Perry, and the team of Dustin Johnson and Steve Flesch. Stricker's final birdie put them in the lead and the 3 trailing teams in a tie for second place.
It seemed questionable whether or not they'd hang on to even a tied lead after managing 35 on the front 9, but they got that down to a 30 on the back 9. They shot 29 in the first 9 on Friday, and 37 in the back 9, making Saturday's game for them a complete reversal. On Saturday, after 2 birdies in the first 12 holes and 10 pars, Kelly got a chip on hole 13 to start their birdie streak. Hole 17 was a dramatic 158 yard drive for Stricker than stopped 8 feet from the hole, which he easily putted in, putting them ahead.
J. B. Holmes and Kenny Perry were 3 strokes ahead of the victors when there were 5 holes left to play, but both men missed birdie putts on hole 18 that had they sunk, would have ended things in a tie and forced a play-off. Sunday, in the final round, Stricker and Kelly won the scramble, ending the day at 13-under 59 (and the tournament 26-under 190) with a 1-stroke victory over 3 teams that tied for 2nd place.
Photo Credits: cmiked, proforged
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