Gamez, Pavin making comebacks
By Bill Kwon
Special to The Advertiser
Most of the focus in today's final round of the Sony Open in Hawai'i will be on Ernie Els and "The Kid," Aaron Baddeley — the three-time major winner vs. the 21-year-old Australian who's looking for his first PGA Tour victory.
Gregory Yamamoto • The Honolulu Advertiser
But don't overlook the rest of the contenders who flew in under the radar.
"Probably I'm a smarter player and a better player than I was in my rookie year," says Robert Gamez, who is tied for third at Waialae.
Robert Gamez shot a 5-under 65 and moved into a tie for third with Chris DiMarco and Briny Baird with a 54-hole score of 200 in the first full-field event of the season. They can't be counted out even if it shapes up as a little match play between Els and Baddeley.
"I've got 18 holes tomorrow. Who knows what can happen," Gamez said.
Thirteen years ago, Gamez was the new kid on the block, winning the Tucson Open in his first official PGA start. Two months later, Gamez won again, holing out a 7-iron for an eagle-2 on the 72nd hole to beat Greg Norman in the Nestle Invitational.
Two wins and $461,407. Nothing to it, right?
Wrong.
Gamez, who once represented Ko Olina, is still looking for victory No. 3 after all these years and is a prime example that nothing can be taken for granted, especially in golf. He tumbled out of the top 125 money list for the first time in 1998, before finally returning last year.
In 1998, Gamez was in an auto accident, which sidelined him for a month.
"I'm back to where I was before my car accident. Probably I'm a smarter player and a better player than I was in my rookie year. I'm looking forward to this year. I'm ready to go."
Gamez, 34, moved up on the leaderboard yesterday with an eagle at the par-5 ninth and birdied 11, 12 and 13 to be at 10-under before parring in.
"I'm happy where I'm at. I wish I was a little closer," he said. "A couple more birdies coming in would have been nice," he said.
Gamez feels re-energized, he said.
"I felt great coming in. I've been off for three months, I was ready to go. I've been working hard on my game; (the) short game especially," he said.
Another player with new resurgence is Corey Pavin, who appeared on the scoreboard like days of old at Waialae by shooting 6-under after 11 holes to be one back of Baddeley early in the day. Pavin finished with a 68 and is eight shots behind the leader.
Back-to-back winner of the Hawaiian Open in 1986 and '87, Pavin hasn't won since 1996, much less been in contention.
When Pavin made the turn in 4-under 31 and birdied the 10th and 11th holes, fans were recalling the guy who won nearly $10 million on the tour and the 1995 U.S. Open with one of the most memorable 4-wood shots in history.
"It's the best I've seen him play since the 1990s," said Pavin's caddy, Eric Schwarz.
"Things were going well," Pavin said. "I actually had a couple of putts in the 10-foot range that I didn't make. Things were going smoothly."
It should not have been surprising. There's something about Waialae that brings out the best in him, admitted Pavin, who first played here in 1984.
Pavin's bid to horn in on Baddeley and Els might be remote.
"Maybe 7- or 8-under might give myself a chance to win," he said.
Even if he doesn't win, Pavin can earn more money with a top-10 finish today than what he collected in back-to-back victories at Waialae.
"It's a good starting point for this year," Pavin said.
