Fuhrer Invitational: Shields shoots 74, holds on for win

Thursday, July 27, 2006

It was this kind of day at Butler Country Club, where the greens were faster than the left lane on Route 8: Kevin Shields couldn't run any putts at the hole, fearful his ball would slide away on the tricky surfaces. And the rest of the field couldn't make a run at Shields, no matter how desperately they tried.

When it was all over, Shields stood under a tree near the clubhouse, holding an oversized $25,000 check for winning -- and, probably more appropriately, surviving -- the Frank B. Fuhrer Invitational, a 72-hole walking tournament that tested patience, putting strokes and probably some of Dr. Scholl's foot products.

Shields, a teaching assistant at the Robert Morris University Island Sports Center, could afford to shoot a final-round 74 and still win by a comfortable two shots, even with a bogey at the final hole. That's because none of the players who were chasing him could manage much better.

The lone exception was Sean Farren of Totteridge, who had a 2-under 68 and moved nine spots up the leader board to finish second.

"I had this delusional idea I'd get a bunch of birdies early and close the door, but the greens wouldn't allow me," said Shields, who began the final round with a four-shot lead. "But I figured it out that nobody else was, either. No one was doing anything."

And so it was that Shields outlasted the elite field of 40 players yesterday by not making anything worse than bogey and avoiding the putting pratfalls that befell his playing partner, Brad Westfall, who four-putted the 15th green for double bogey to end his chances.

Shields finished at 3-over 283, tying the highest winning score in relation to par in the 22-year history of the Fuhrer Invitational (formerly the Pittsburgh Open).

It was the second time in four years Shields has won the tournament, which offers the second-largest prize among PGA sections in the country.

"He played good enough to win," said Westfall, who owns Tygart Lake Golf Course near Morgantown, W.Va. "No one put any pressure on him."

Westfall, former PGA Tour player Bob Friend and former national club-pro champion Barry Evans of Charleston, W.Va., all began the day four shots behind Shields. But Westfall, a former two-time winner of the event, and Friend each shot 74 to finish tied for third at 287.

Evans would have been in that group, too, but he was assessed a two-shot penalty on the par-3 fourth hole when his caddie stood directly behind him when he putted -- a violation of Rule 14-2, which prohibits a caddie from standing "in the line of the putt behind the ball." The infraction gave Evans a final-round 76 and left him tied with four other players, including Oakmont's Bob Ford, at 289.

"Kevin played well, but nobody played well enough to put any pressure on him," said Friend, the West Penn Open champion. "It's tough when you give a guy who is a great player and basically give him free rein of the place."

The end for Friend came at the par-4 ninth when he pitched his third shot from in front of the green 12 feet past the hole and three-putted, missing a 30-inch putt for bogey. He three-putted again at the par-3 10th, this time from the shelf of the two-tiered green, to fall six shots behind Shields.

Westfall's four-putt from 40 feet at No. 15 -- he missed a 4-footer to save par -- put an official end to his bid for a third title. But he gave away a good chance at the par-5 12th when he three-putted for par, missing a 3-foot putt for birdie that would have narrowed the lead to two shots.

The missed birdie proved especially excruciating when Shields pulled a similar gaffe at No. 13, missing a makable 15-footer for birdie then missing a 2-footer to save par.

"I think it could have been different if I make that [birdie at 12]," Westfall said. "I hit the ball good all day. But it's tough for someone who uses the long-putter on these greens because it's tough to slow the ball down."

Shields, though, overcame his gaffe at the par-4 13th to par the next four holes. His bogey at the final hole did nothing more than allow Farren, another former champion, to creep another shot closer to the top. As it were, Farren finished at 285 and collected $11,000 for second.

"I probably appreciate this more than the first one because I didn't have two kids when I won the last time," said Shields, whose wife is expecting their second child in September. "And $20,000 can go pretty fast when it comes to kids."

Almost as fast as the putting surfaces.

(Gerry Dulac can be reached at gdulac@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1466. )

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