Third-round results from the $3,000,000 Shark Shootout ... Sunday, Dec. 12, 2010 ... 7,288-yard, par 36-36--72, Tiburon Golf Club at The Ritz-Carlton Resort, Naples, Fla. ... 54-hole PGA TOUR-sanctioned event featuring 12 two-man teams with a different format each day ... Today's format was a two-man scramble ... Sunday's weather: Sunny and warm with highs in the low-70s and winds of 10-20 mph with some gusts to 25 mph.
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Third-Round News & Notes
Ian Poulter and Dustin Johnson held off a final-round charge from Darren Clarke and Graeme McDowell, posting a two-stroke victory for the title. The winning duo birdied seven of their first eight holes and then ran off six birdies in a seven-hole stretch on the back nine for the win (Nos. 11-5, 17). Clarke and McDowell were attempting to overcome a three-shot deficit at the start but fell short in their bid. Poulter and Johnson shared $750,000, while Clarke and McDowell won $470,000.
The win by Poulter and Johnson capped a productive year for the two. Poulter won the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship in February, was a member of the winning European Ryder Cup team and also won the recent UBS Hong Kong Open. Johnson was a two-time PGA TOUR winner in 2010. He claimed the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am early in the year and added the BMW Championship to his resume in September. He finished fifth in the FedEx Cup race and fourth on the final money list.
Bubba Watson and his teammate Rickie Fowler finished T10, but they certainly spread some Christmas cheer. The pair donned Santa Claus suits following their round and then tossed more than 200 candy canes to the spectators along No. 18 as well as to others when they were signing autographs at the conclusion of the day.
Playing a Scramble format in Sunday's final round, four different teams posted 13-under-par 59s, including the top-two finishers. In addition, the team of David Duval/Davis Love III and Greg Norman/Matt Kuchar also posted 59s.
David Duval and Davis Love III finished the tournament as the only team to record an eagle in every round.
Defending champions Steve Stricker and Jerry Kelly fell short in defense of their title, finishing with an 8-under-par 64 for a T3 finish.
The tournament's "oldest" team of Fred Funk and Kenny Perry could not maintain their momentum from Saturday. The pair shared the 36-hole lead with Jerry Kelly and Steve Stricker, but after making a birdie on the first hole, went eight holes without a birdie to fall off the pace. They made a late run on the back nine, shooting a 5-under-par 31 and finished T5.
Greg Norman and Matt Kuchar would probably like a play over from Friday's first round. They posted rounds of 63-59 on the weekend, one of the best efforts in those final two rounds, but an even-par 72 on Friday was their undoing. They finished ninth at 22-under-par 194.
The key to Norman and Kuchar's 13-under-par 59 on Sunday was the nine consecutive birdies they ran off from Nos. 9-17. It was the best stretch by any team in the tournament.
All 12 teams played bogey-free golf on Sunday.