Monday, July 29, 2002 | 9:55 a.m.
Dean Juipe's column appears Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. His boxing notebook appears Thursday. Reach him at [email protected] or (702) 259-4084.
Robert Gamez lives on the TPC at Summerlin, so he knows all about the necessity of going low on a golf course that's routinely aligned for birdies.
He also knows about playing in the heat, being a lifelong Las Vegan.
Factoring in that he had played well the week before and that he entered the final round of Sunday's John Deere Classic tied for the lead, it appeared as if the situation was set up perfectly for Gamez to end what is now a 12-year run without a victory on the PGA Tour.
Once again the course, the TPC at Deere Run in Silvis, Ill., was susceptible to low scores and once again the heat and humidity were stifling as the players gulped bottles of water.
And once again Gamez did not win.
These have been bittersweet weeks for the Clark High graduate. Despite four rounds in the 60s last week at the B.C. Open and a tie for third place and more than $94,000 in prize money, he left knowing he could have won had his final round been played with a little less staccato. And now this, a faulty final round in Illinois brought on by too many missed fairways and too many erratic putts.
Gamez may be in the process of righting his game, or he may be doing nothing more than capitalizing for a week or two while the bigger names in the sport have been idle or elsewhere. But it is encouraging to see him back in contention, years now after having lost his fully exempt tour card.
He's one of five Las Vegans with access to most of the tour's events, but, as is the case with local colleagues Edward Fryatt, Craig Barlow and Bob May, Gamez is very cognizant of where he stands on the money list, as Chris Riley is the only local assured of finishing in the all-important top 125. Given that Gamez is the only player in that group with a victory and those were back in 1990, it has made for a long, long dry spell since a Las Vegan has hoisted a championship trophy or was asked to pose with an oversized check.
Gamez was in position to win as the day began, opening play at 18 under par and tied with J.P. Hayes. But while Hayes found the accelerator and posted two quick birdies, Gamez was in a stop-and-go mode brought on by hitting only three greens in regulation on the front side.
After hitting a fairway wood over the green on the fly at No. 9 and taking a bogey to fall four behind, Gamez was toast. He missed a six-foot putt for a birdie at No. 10, managed a birdie from 12 feet at the 11th, then destroyed whatever chance he had left by missing a two-foot birdie putt at the 13th and gambling and losing at the par-four 14th when he went for the green from the tee only to hit it wide right.
He played for second place from there in and that's where he landed, shooting an even par 71 and taking home $324,000 for his best finish in five years. Added to the $348,000 he had won going into the week, Gamez comes out with $672,000 largely on the strength of four top-10 finishes so far this year.
He has been in contention and, it can be argued, he is coming around.
Yet the drought continues, not just for Gamez but for all of the Las Vegans on tour, and it's an unpleasant one not only for them but for their impatient fans.
archive
