11. Principal Charity Classic

Final Round

The high winds returned, bringing rain with them which, in turn, softened and slowed up the greens considerably. Having said that, the conditions worked in the players' favour as every guest posted a sub-70 round. Les Souter had had a torrid time in the first half of the event, but today he looked to have found something close to his A-game and a 68 was the result. A solitary bogey spoilt Bob Fletcher's card, and missing a few makeable putts had him wondering what might have been instead of a still praiseworthy 65, the best round of the final day. Randy Grant shot his second successive 68 to finish in a creditable tie for 12th spot but, again, he missed out on some Charles Schwab Cup points by one shot - just as he'd done in the Regios Traditions major two weeks ago. Jared Kingsley registered his best finish to date after shooting his second successive 66 of the tourney, enough to claim a share of 3rd place and enhancing his reputation. After a rather average opening round Ian McKinley found another couple of gears and had carved out a two-shot lead going into today. He stuck to his attacking brand of golf and it paid off again, his second 66 of the week increasing his lead over the rest of the field to five shots, a very convincing winning margin. So Ian wins his second tourney of the season, adding to the Allianz Championship he won in November and, on this form, only a brave, or foolish, man would bet against him winning in the third Major of the season next week!