Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard
Thursday Mar 13 – Sunday Mar 16, 2008 · Bay Hill Club & Lodge · Orlando, FL

Allianz Championship: Final-Round Notebook

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Feb. 10, 2008
By Dave Senko, PGA TOUR Staff

BOCA RATON, Fla. -- With his victory in the Allianz Championship, Scott Hoch won for the second time on the Champions Tour and the 13th time in a PGA TOUR-sanctioned event. An 11-time winner on the PGA TOUR, Hoch won last year's FedEx Kinko's Classic in Austin.

Bruce Lietzke
His tie for second was Bruce Lietzke's best finish in a year and a half. (Badz/PGA TOUR/WireImage)

• Hoch claimed a check for $247,500 with his victory, the largest of his brief Champions Tour career (this was his 27th career start) and he also earned 248 points in the season-long Charles Schwab Cup race.

• After three events, Fred Funk continues to lead with 300 points, followed by Jerry Pate (285), Scott Hoch (248), Allen Doyle (188) and Brad Bryant (182).

• Scott Hoch was using Zach Johnson's regular caddie, Damon Green, this week. Johnson is taking a month off from the PGA TOUR and Green rejoined Hoch, who he had worked with previously when Hoch competed on the PGA TOUR.

• Hoch's decisive birdie on No. 18 which gave him a one-stroke win came as no surprise. He birdied the hole all three days. In fact, he was a combined 7 under par on the three easiest holes in the tournament, Nos. 18, 1 and 11. Brad Bryant was also 7 under par on those three and Lietzke was 6 under par.

• With his tie for second, Bruce Lietzke enjoyed his highest finish since late in the 2006 season, when he also tied for second at the rain-shortened Administaff Small Business Classic. He was tied for 30th after the opening round before shooting rounds of 65-68 on the weekend.

• Jerry Pate, who held a one-stroke margin after 36 holes and was bidding for successive wins, slipped to a tie for 10th on Sunday. Pate's final round included 35 putts, eight more than he needed on Saturday. Pate led all players in greens in regulation with 47 of 54 (87.0%).

• Hole No. 18 remained the easiest in this tournament, just as it was a year ago. The scoring average was 4.385 (-.615). There were eight eagles and 141 birdies and just 13 bogeys. A year ago it was the easiest finishing hole on the Champions Tour at 4.411 (-.589). A year ago there were 12 eagles and 121 birdies. The most difficult hole was No. 14 at 3.278 (+.278).

• The field scoring average nearly matched last year's average of 71.381. It averaged 71.380 this year.

Donnie Hammond and Mitch Adcock were nudged out of possible top-10 finishes when Jerry Pate birdied the final hole. Hammond and Adcock would have earned berths into this weeks ACE Group Classic in Naples had they finished in the top 10. The pair was one of four players finishing tied for 11th.

• Defending champion Mark James finished tied for 18th. Walter Hall eagled the final hole on both Saturday and Sunday. Joe Ozaki had the fewest putts in the tournament, 80, and finished tied for 15th. Mark Wiebe led in driving accuracy at 80.95% (34 of 42).

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