Carballo fills Latin American hero's footsteps with Panama win  Nationwide Tour Media Official PANAMA CITY, Panama -- Fifty-five years after Roberto De Vicenzo claimed the first of his five victories at the Panama Golf Club, fellow Argentinean Miguel Carballo walked the same fairways this week to capture the Nationwide Tour's $550,000 Movistar Panama Championship. "Just winning is great," said Carballo, a 27-year-old native of Bahia Blanca, Argentina, who got his start in golf as a caddie at the age of 11. "But winning in the same place where one of the best golfers from Argentina and the world won is a great thrill."  Miguel Carballo won on the same course as fellow Argintinean Roberto De Vicenzo. (Stan Badz/PGATOUR/WireImage)
Carballo (65) wrapped up the Tour's season-opening event at 5-under-par 65, wiping out a five-stroke deficit at the start of the day to third-round leader Marc Turnesa (73) and eventually finishing two strokes in front of Jim McGovern (66), Hunter Haas (70) and Patrick Sheehan (71). A 15-foot birdie putt on No. 17 -- one of seven on the day to offset just two bogeys -- sealed the deal for Carballo. "My goal at the beginning of the day was to shoot 4 or 5 under, and I was able to do that," said Carballo, who posted his only other professional win at the 2006 Movistar Guatemalan Open -- a co-sanctioned event on the European Challenge Tour and the Tour de Las Americas. "I played so well today under tough conditions and a lot of pressure." Carballo, who lists Eduardo Romero, Angel Cabrera, Ricardo Gonzalez and De Vicenzo among his heroes, becomes the fourth Latin American to win on the Nationwide Tour, joining Paraguay's Angel Franco and Mexico's Keoke Cotner and Esteban Toledo. The victory -- worth $99,000 -- gives him full status on the Nationwide Tour through the end of the 2008 season. "I still can't believe I won," said Carballo, one of nine siblings. "I didn't think I would ever win but I'm happy that I did. To win any Nationwide Tour tournament would be a thrill, but to do it in Latin America makes it even more special. Earning a Nationwide Tour card and having the opportunity to fulfill a goal of mine to play on the PGA TOUR is beyond words." In addition to the success of De Vicenzo at the Panama Open and the Panama Golf Club, Carballo adds his name to a list of winners at the club that includes such legends as Sam Snead, Arnold Palmer and Chi Chi Rodriguez. Those players claimed victories when unofficial "winter tour" events were held here in the 1950s through 1980s. Stiff winds and firm fairways led to a stern challenge this week at what is annually ranked as one of the Tour's toughest courses. Scores were more reminiscent of a major championship than a Nationwide Tour event, with Carballo using his experience in similar conditions to top the mostly American field. The cumulative scoring average for the week at the par-70 club finished at 71.967. "This course was really hard all week long," said Carballo, who turned professional in 2002 and has been honing his skills on the Tour de Las Americas and the European Challenge Tour. "You just had to do your best to hit fairways and greens. I guess I did that better than anyone else this week." Final Round News & Notes: Miguel Carballo's win was the 67th by an international player on the Nationwide Tour. ... Jim McGovern (T2) also finished second at the 2005 Movistar Panama Championship. ... The scoring average for the final round was 71.397, with the par-3 sixth hole ranking the toughest at 3.381 and the par-5 fourth hole the easiest at 4.698. ... The winner of the Movistar Panama Championship has never failed to go on to earn his PGA TOUR card for the following season. ... Only 14 players of the 132-man field finished the tournament under par. ... Miguel Carballo is the first player in Movistar Panama Championship history to come from behind to win the tournament. ... The Nationwide Tour heads Down Under for its next event, the Jacob's Creek Open Championship (Feb. 15-18) in Adelaide, Australia. Copyright 2007 PGATOUR.com. All rights reserved. |
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