Luke PentonyUpdated December 16, 2012 18:25:59
Daniel Popovic completed a fairytale victory at the Australian PGA Championship at Coolum, coming from behind to win by four strokes.
Popovic had trailed Rod Pampling by a shot with three holes to play in Sunday's final round but his birdie on the 17th and a flush of bogeys from his more seasoned rival saw the unheralded Victorian snare the Kirkwood Cup with a total of 16-under-par.
The emergence of the 26-year-old Popovic over the past four days was always going to be the story of the tournament, regardless of the result on Sunday.
He had spoken of the inspiration provided by his father Radi, who was diagnosed with terminal cancer earlier this year, and how he had considered stalling his career so he could help care for the man who introduced him to golf.
Popovic also admitted that his meagre earnings as a professional meant he had stints working in traffic control and at a Melbourne pizza restaurant and he further endeared himself to the Coolum galleries with his laidback and friendly demeanour on the fairways.
The confidence Popovic carried to the first tee each day, having at least shared the lead after every round, was impressive and it helped him manage the growing expectations surrounding his campaign.
"I knew if I had that same mentality that I had every single day leading into every round this week I was going to be fine," Popovic said.
"I turned up today and I was more confident than any of the other days."
Aside from the shiny silverware and the biggest pay cheque of his career, the win means Popovic has earned a start in next year's WGC-Bridgestone Invitational in Akron, Ohio.
He had trouble containing his excitement when informed about the invitation, while also hoping the positive news will lift his father's spirits.
"Two weeks ago I entered Q-(qualifying) school for next year for Australia and was thinking I would play one tour because of my father's illness," Popovic said.
"But now next year is going to be bigger and better and hopefully he (his father) keeps pushing on as well."
Popovic led the tournament by two shots going into Sunday but he dropped back to second place when Pampling tore up the front nine with six straight birdies.
Pampling held a one-stroke advantage heading into his back nine and he maintained the buffer until he posted back-to-back bogeys on the 16th and 17th holes.
Popovic, playing in the group behind Pampling, leapt into a two-shot lead ahead of the final hole courtesy of his birdie on the 17th to set up a thrilling finish.
The pressure told on the more experienced Pampling when he found the water with his second shot on the 18th en route to registering a double bogey, allowing Popovic the luxury of knowing his lead had increased.
Popovic then reached the green with his second shot and just missed a birdie putt to finish with a round of 69.
Pampling, who made the turn on Sunday with a score of 30, finished with a 3-under 69 to be 12-under overall.
He finished equal second with Anthony Brown, who shot a 71 for his final round.
Geoff Ogilvy, a winner at Coolum in 2008, shot a score of 69 to finish fourth on 11-under alongside Brad Kennedy.
Pampling conceded that his shot into the water on the 18th hole was simply due to his attempt to reapply the pressure on Popovic.
"I was trying to be aggressive," he said.
"It certainly wasn't a great shot to hit. I knew I had to try and make birdie to put pressure on him (Popovic)."
Pampling started the day on 9-under before reeling off his run of birdies to charge up the leaderboard to be 15-under through nine holes.
His score of 30 saw him lead Popovic by a shot at the turn.
Popovic, who entered the final round on 13-under, produced birdies on the second, fourth and fifth to be 16-under after five holes.
But the pressure of leading the championship seemingly began to take a hold on the par-three eighth hole.
He found the trees from his tee shot and duffed his efforts to get on the green to eventually double bogey the hole.
"I told myself 'you're not out of this tournament, if you can stay calm, stay focussed you can do this'," Popovic said.
"I just kept backing myself. I never doubted myself after it."
Popovic did regain his composure and he stayed a stroke behind Pampling when both collected birdies on the par-five 12th hole.
The first cracks in Pampling's game appeared on the 16th hole when he found the trees from his tee shot, only for the ball to encounter some luck and bounce onto the rough just to the right of the fairway.
But Pampling's good fortune deserted him with his next shot landing in a fairway bunker before he dropped his first stroke of the round on the par-four hole and fall back to share the lead with Popovic on 15-under.
Pampling seemed shaken and when he missed a par putt on the 17th hole his title hopes were effectively dashed, as only moments later Popovic moved ahead by two shots via his birdie.
Tags: sport,
golf,
coolum-beach-4573,
qld,
australia First posted December 16, 2012 17:07:53
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