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NATIONWIDE - Panama Claro Championship Preview
From The Sports Network
| DATES: Thursday, March 1st through Sunday, March 4th |
| SITE: Golf Club of Panama, Panama City, Panama |
| COURSE ARCHITECT: Jay Reviere (1976) |
| Hole-By-Hole: | 1 - Par 4 413 Yds | 10 - Par 4 440 Yds | |
| 2 - Par 4 432 Yds | 11 - Par 4 502 Yds | |
| 3 - Par 4 473 Yds | 12 - Par 5 597 Yds | |
| 4 - Par 5 525 Yds | 13 - Par 3 189 Yds | |
| 5 - Par 4 413 Yds | 14 - Par 4 417 Yds | |
| 6 - Par 3 218 Yds | 15 - Par 4 422 Yds | |
| 7 - Par 4 409 Yds | 16 - Par 4 432 Yds | |
| 8 - Par 3 156 Yds | 17 - Par 3 175 Yds | |
| 9 - Par 4 485 Yds | 18 - Par 4 465 Yds | |
| ------------- | ------------- | |
| 35 3,524 Yds | 35 3,639 Yds | |
| Annual: | 9th |
| Television: | None |
| Defending Champion: | Mathew Goggin (Not defending) |
| Runner-Up: | Darron Stiles, Alistair Presnell |
| Tournament Record: | 265 (Fran Quinn, 2010) |
| 54-Hole Record: | 194 (Fran Quinn, 2010) |
| 36-Hole Record: | 130 (Tripp Isenhour, 2006) |
| Course Record: | 62 (Fran Quinn, 2010) |
| Total Purse: | $550,000 |
| Shares: | 1st Place - $99,000; 2nd Place - $59,400; 3rd Place - $37,400 |
| 2011 Finish |
| Player | Score | Player | Score |
| Mathew Goggin | 269 | Scott Sterling | 273 |
| Darron Stiles | 271 | Gavin Coles | 273 |
| Alistair Presnell | 271 | Cliff Kresge | 273 |
| Tommy Biershenk | 272 | Kyle Reifers | 273 |
| Erik Compton | 272 | Three players at | 274 |
| Past Panama Claro Championship Winners |
| Year | Winner (Score) -- Runners-Up |
| 2011 | Mathew Goggin (269) -- Darron Stiles, Alistair Presnell |
| 2010 | Fran Quinn (265) -- Brian Smock |
| 2009 | Vance Veazey (273) -- Garrett Willis |
| 2008 | Scott Dunlap (277) -- Arjun Atwal, Jeff Klauk |
| 2007 | Miguel Carballo (274) -- Hunter Haas, Jim McGovern, Patrick Sheehan |
| 2006 | Tripp Isenhour (269) -- K.Gessino-Kraft, P.McLachlin, B.Pappas |
| 2005 | Vance Veazey (272) -- C.Villegas, J.McGovern, J.Mills, S.Bertsch |
| 2004 | Jimmy Walker (273) -- Tom Scherrer |
| Note:Formerly called Panama Digicel Championship (2009), Movistar Panama |
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Championship (2006-08), BellSouth Panama Championship (2004-05).
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| Top Contenders in the Field |
| Player | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | | |
| Alistair Presnell | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | T-42 | T-2 | | |
| Darron Stiles | mc | --- | --- | --- | mc | --- | --- | T-2 | | |
| Cliff Kresge | --- | T-44 | T-25 | --- | --- | --- | mc | T-6 | | |
| Sam Saunders | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | T-10 | | |
| Mark D. Anderson | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | T-4 | T-13 | | |
| Ron Whittaker | --- | --- | --- | mc | --- | mc | mc | T-13 | | |
| Bubba Dickerson | --- | T-16 | --- | --- | mc | T-54 | mc | T-16 | | |
| Diego Velasquez | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | T-16 | | |
| Camilo Benedetti | --- | --- | --- | T-5 | mc | T-13 | 50th | T-18 | | |
| Scott Gardiner | --- | --- | --- | --- | T-56 | T-10 | mc | T-18 | | |
| Andrew Svoboda | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | T-42 | T-38 | | |
| Fran Quinn | T-58 | mc | T-37 | mc | --- | mc | Won | mc | | |
| Scott Dunlap | --- | --- | T-60 | mc | Won | mc | T-36 | mc | | |
| Vance Veazey | T-38 | Won | --- | T-32 | T-19 | Won | --- | mc | | |
| Skip Kendall | --- | --- | --- | mc | T-17 | T-13 | --- | --- | | |
| Andres Gonzales | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | |
| Sports Network Selections |
| Pick to Win - Andres Gonzales |
| Darkhorse - James Hahn |
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| Last Week's Pick to Win (David Lingmerth) - Finished tied for 50th |
| Last Week's Darkhorse (Jeff Gove) - Missed the cut |
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| NOTES: |
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The Nationwide Tour travels to Central America this week for the Panama Claro
Championship. A fixture on the Caribbean Tour for years, this tournament was
the first Nationwide Tour event staged in Central America in 2004.
The top three finishers from the season-opening Pacific Rubiales Colombia
Championship are in the field - Skip Kendall, Andrew Svoboda and Andres
Gonzales. Kendall captured his fourth Nationwide Tour event in Colombia, and
first since 2007. He finished tied for 49th last week at the Mayakoba Golf
Classic on the PGA Tour.
Last year, Australian Mathew Goggin shot rounds of 68-66-67-68 to win by two
strokes over Darron Stiles and Alistair Presnell. Goggin, who won for the
third time on the Nationwide Tour, finished at 11-under-par 269. It was his
first win since the 1999 Omaha Classic. The gap between wins on the Nationwide
Tour for Goggin was 11 years, six months and 19 days, the third longest
stretch in tour history.
Goggin will not be on hand to defend his title, as he earned his PGA Tour card
for 2012 by finishing third on the 2011 Nationwide Tour money list. Goggin has
made only one cut in five events this year on the PGA Tour, with a tie for
35th at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am being his best finish.
In 2010, Fran Quinn jumped in front by five strokes following a third-round,
course-record 62 and held on to win by two over Brian Smock. Quinn, who
picked up his fourth Nationwide Tour title, finished at 15-under-par 265.
After smashing the 54-hole scoring record, Quinn also crushed the 72-hole
scoring mark of 269, which Tripp Isenhour set in 2006.
In 2009, Vance Veazey made a two-putt par to win a playoff, collecting his
fourth Nationwide Tour victory. Veazey and Garrett Willis needed two extra
holes to decide the tournament, with Veazey finally ending things at Panama
Golf Club's par-four 10th hole. Veazey also won this event in 2005.
In 2008, Scott Dunlap shot rounds of 65-68-73-71 to win by one stroke over
Arjun Atwal and Jeff Klauk. Dunlap finished the event at three-under-par 277.
Dunlap, Atwal, Klauk and Chris Smith were the only players to finish the
tournament under par. The final round scoring average was 73.677, which made
it the toughest single day in tournament history and the toughest round on the
Nationwide Tour in 2008.
In 2007, Miguel Angel Carballo fired a five-under 65 in the final round to
win. Carballo finished at six-under-par 274 for a two-shot victory over Hunter
Haas, Jim McGovern and Patrick Sheehan. With his victory in 2007, Carballo
became the first player from Argentina to win a Nationwide Tour event. His
victory came at the same course, Panama Golf Club, where another famous
Argentine golfer won the Panama Open, Hall of Famer Roberto De Vicenzo.
The Nationwide Tour will return to South America next week for the inaugural
Chile Classic at Prince of Wales Country Club in Santiago.
02/28 15:18:30 ET
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As of February 28, 2012, at 03:18 PM ET
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