Round 4: Humana Challenge in partnership with the Clinton Foundation
January 22 2012
10:05 pm
With this victory: Mark Wilson
Mark Wilson continued to excel when tournaments unfold off schedule in winning the Humana Challenge in Partnership with the Clinton Foundation. It’s his third victory in 13 months (all with unusual final days) and the fifth of his career. With this victory, Wilson:
• Earns 500 FedExCup points and moves to No. 2 in the standings.
• Extends his fully-exempt status through the 2015 season.
• Ties fellow Wisconsin-native Steve Stricker for the most wins on TOUR since the start of the 2011 season with three.
• Posts his 24th top-10 and 57th top-25 of his career.
• Notches the 323rd TOUR victory by a former Nationwide Tour player.
• Posted his lowest round ever on the PGA TOUR when he shot a 10-under-par 62 in the second round on Friday. His round included eight birdies and an eagle.
• Significantly improves upon his previous best finish in this event — T33 in 2007.
• He had to play three holes at La Quinta CC on Sunday morning to complete his third round before returning to the Palmer Private Course for his final round on Sunday afternoon.
This is Wilson’s fifth victory in 245 career starts. All of them have come in the first quarter of the year. Here’s a list of Wilson’s wins:
2012 Humana Challenge in Partnership with the Clinton Foundation
2011 Sony Open in Hawaii, Waste Management Phoenix Open
2009 Mayakoba Golf Classic
2007 The Honda Classic
9:38 pm
Final update: Wilson finishes strong
By Helen Ross, PGATOUR.COM
LA QUINTA, Calif. — Everyone was making birdies. Just not Mark Wilson.
Luckily, though, he had started the day with a three-stroke advantage — and when Wilson finally got that first birdie putt to drop, there was no stopping him as he played his final eight holes in 4 under on Sunday to win the Humana Challenge by two strokes.
With a flair for the dramatic, Wilson sealed the victory with a 10-foot birdie putt in near darkness on the 18th hole to beat Robert Garrigus, John Mallinger and Johnson Wagner by two strokes. After making the turn 1 over, Wilson closed with a 69 to earn the fifth victory of his PGA TOUR career.
"It was a challenge," Wilson said as he talked about the difficulty of staying patient when birdies were flying all around him. "But I guess my experience helped me in this situation knowing that, Hey, there’s a lot of golf left, maybe I want it make my birdies at the end of the round, and thankfully that’s what I did this time."
Wilson regained the lead for good when Garrigus missed a 6-footer for par at the 17th hole. Both then went for the green in two at the par-5 18th with Wilson’s 2-hybrid running through to the back fringe some 68 feet away and Garrigus’ 5-iron coming up 28 feet short.
Wilson putted first, and his ball stopped 10 feet to the left and short of the pin. Then Garrigus’ first putt went 9 feet past. When Wilson made his birdie putt, though, the victory was his.
"I felt like Robert and I really had a good time, and Zach (Johnson, their playing partner) for that matter," Wilson said. "But Robert and I were kind of going back and forth. We enjoyed that. Both making the putts on 16, and then, yeah, it just came down to 18. I didn’t want to give him a chance to make that putt to tie me. So thankfully I rolled mine in and got it done."
Garrigus had started the Humana Challenge on the back nine of the Palmer Course and he was 6 over as he played the 18th hole that Thursday. But he shot a 61 in the wind-delayed third round and played his final 64 holes in 28 under to have a chance to win.
“Just because of the what we are thinking of on the 18th fairway on Thursday to what I was thinking of on the 18th fairway today, I’m like, Can you believe we actually have a shot to win this thing if I make this eagle putt?’ Garrigus said. “It was just, it was exciting and that’s what we live for. And I got a lot of guts, and I don’t like to lay down very easily. So it was a blast.
“We had so much fun this week, and especially the 61. It could have been 54. I was making everything and anything that didn’t go in just hit the lip. It was a blast. I’ll never forget it.”
8:27 pm
Congratulate Wilson on his victory
Mark Wilson has won the Humana Challenge in partnership with the Clinton Foundation for his fifth career PGA TOUR victory and his third in 13 months. Want to send your congratulations? Leave a note in our comments section and we’ll send it to him!
8:18 pm
Wilson wins Humana Challenge
LA QUINTA, Calif — With the shadows settling over the Palmer Course at PGA West, Mark Wilson drained a 10-footer for birdie at the 18th hole to win the Humana Challenge by two strokes.
Robert Garrigus, who had bogeyed No. 17 to fall out of a tie for the lead with his playing partner, had a chance to finish solo second. But he missed a 9-footer for birdie that would have separated him from John Mallinger and Johnson Wagner, who won the Sony Open in Hawaii last week.
The victory was the fifth of Wilson’s career. Three of them have now come in the first five events of the last two seasons – Wilson won the Sony Open last year and will defend his title at the Waste Management Phoenix Open in two weeks.
Wilson closed with a 69 and didn’t make a birdie until the 11th hole in the final round. He played his final eight holes in 4 under to seal the victory.
7:54 pm
Wilson leads with one left
LA QUINTA, Calif — Mark Wilson is one hole away from his fifth PGA TOUR victory.
He made a 28-inch putt for par at the 17th hole after his good buddy Robert Garrigus missed from 6 feet so Wilson now owns a one-stroke lead at 23 under.
The 18th, though, is a 536-yard par 5 that appears tailor-made for Garrigus, who ranked fourth in driving distance on the PGA TOUR last year. Wilson, though, made birdie there when he played the hole on Friday, as did Garrigus on Thursday.
Johnson Wagner just birdied the 18th to take the clubhouse lead at 22 under. John Mallinger, who is also 22 under, is about to hit his third shot there while Garrigus has just teed off.
7:49 pm
Watch: Wilson holes out from bunker
Mark Wilson is atop the leaderboard with one hole remaining at La Quinta. His journey back to the top was aided by this nifty little sand shot.
Wilson's birdie blast
Mark Wilson holes a 49-foot bunker shot on the par-3 12th hole for a birdie two.
7:37 pm
Wilson, Garrigus on top by one
LA QUINTA, Calif. — And then there were two.
Mark Wilson went first and rolled in an 11-footer for birdie at the 16th hole, coaxing it into the cup at the last minute. Robert Garrigus then did what he had to do, making his own 10-footer to remain tied with Wilson, this time at 23 under.
So John Mallinger will head to the final hole, a generous 536-yard par 5, trailing by one while Johnson Wagner is already in the fairway on the same hole two strokes in arrears.
7:18 pm
And Garrigus makes it three — again
LA QUINTA, Calif. — Robert Garrigus took advantage of the fourth of five par 5s on the Palmer Course and joined Mark Wilson and John Mallinger at the top of the leaderboard.
Garrigus rolled in a bomb of a 37-footer for the tying birdie at No. 14 while Wilson squandered a golden opportunity when a 6-footer refused to fall. The final group has four holes remaining as the shadows continue to lengthen in the desert.
Meanwhile, Jeff Maggert is the leader in the clubhouse at 21 under after two-putting for birdie on the 18th hole. Maggert, who turns 48 next month, won the last of his three PGA TOUR titles in 2006.
Johnson Wagner is also 21 under as he heads to the 18th hole, a 536-yard par 5 which is playing as the 15th easiest this week.
6:59 pm
Mallinger ties Wilson for lead
LA QUINTA, Calif. — John Mallinger just keeps moving forward as he stalks what would be his first PGA TOUR victory.
The Long Beach resident just jumped back into a tie for the lead with Mark Wilson at 22 under as he made a 4-footer at the par-5 15th hole.
Mallinger has only made one bogey in his last 54 holes. He’s 6 under through 14 holes in the final round.
6:46 pm
Mickelson builds on third round
LA QUINTA, Calif. – Phil Mickelson will likely head home to San Diego in a much better frame of mind than he might have two days ago.
The popular lefthander shot a bogey-free 66 in the wind-delayed third round, making birdie on the last hole to assure himself of a spot in the final round. Mickelson is currently 4 under through 16 holes after making six birdies and two bogeys.
Next up for the soon-to-be World Golf Hall of Famer is the Farmers Insurance Open, where he has three wins and a second-place finish last year. The tournament begins at Torrey Pines on Thursday.
PGATOUR.com is part of Turner - SI Digital, part of the Turner Sports & Entertainment Digital Network 
