OHL Classic 2014: Daily Leaderboard Analysis, Highlights and More

There isn't a cabal of top-flight golfers in Mexico for the 2014 OHL Classic, but the players who made the trip were determined to make the weekend hotly contested.

Below is a look at the daily leaderboards and recaps from all the action.

Day 4 Leaderboard and Recap

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Charley Hoffman apparently needs triple-digit tournament droughts to get back in the winner's circle. Hoffman shot a five-under 66 to capture the 2014 OHL Classic and snap a 108-tournament drought without a win.

"It's been awhile between wins," Hoffman said, per The Associated Press. "I kept calm and kept hitting good shots."

The 37-year-old Las Vegas native won despite bogeying No. 18, a mistake that seemed like it would be critical. Shawn Stefani could have forced a playoff had he been able to par No. 18. Instead, his tee shot flew into a fairway-side bunker and forced him into a bogey. Stefani finished one shot behind Hoffman at 16-under overall and shot a two-under 69. 

Position	Player	Score	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Round 4
1	Charley Hoffman	-17	66	68	67	66
2	Shawn Stefani	-16	66	65	68	69
T3	Danny Lee	-15	66	69	67	67
T3	Andres Gonzales	-15	69	67	66	67
5	Jerry Kelly	-14	69	66	67	68
6	Brice Garnett	-13	66	68	71	66
T7	Tony Finau	-12	65	72	70	65
T7	Jason Bohn	-12	66	65	67	74

Coming into the day in second place, it looked like Stefani would be going head-to-head against Jason Bohn. Bohn was the 54-hole leader at 15-under and seemed to have the course playing into his hands. Unfortunately, everything fell apart Sunday for Bohn. He shot bogeys on Nos. 2 and 7 and then followed the latter with a double on No. 8.

While he righted the ship to play the last nine holes under par, the damage was done. Bohn's three-over 74 sent him descending down the leaderboard to seventh place, where he tied with Tony Finau. His score was tied for the third-worst of the day at the El Camaleon course, with only Alvaro Quiros and Erik Compton carding worse numbers.

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Bohn's day proved a stark contrast to Hoffman, who was in control throughout his round. Playing a steady round where no part of his game really stood out—he hovered around tour average in nearly every major category—Hoffman made shots when they counted. He made three consecutive birdies from No. 4 to No. 6 and then added his fourth birdie on No. 9 to make the turn at 32.

Two more under-par scores on No. 13 and No. 16 put Hoffman just clear enough of the field that he could survive his late mistake. The win is the third of his career following the 2010 Deutsche Bank Championship and the 2007 Bob Hope Chrysler Classic. A late bloomer who didn't make the PGA Tour until he was 29, Hoffman's story is one of perseverance.

It'll be interesting to see how he performs going forward. If history is any indication, we can fast-forward a few years before expecting him to contend for another victory.

Day 3 Leaderboard and Recap

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Saturday is widely heralded as "moving day" on the PGA Tour, as players on the outskirts of contention generally attempt to make huge pushes up the leaderboard. Well, at the 2014 OHL Classic, the players who did the most significant amount of moving were the leaders.

Jason Bohn and Shawn Stefani continued to improve their positions through three rounds after shooting a 66 and 68, respectively, and remaining as the field's top-two players heading into the final round.

Here's a look at the leaderboard following 54 holes of action: 

Pos.	Player	Score	R1	R2	R3
1	Jason Bohn	-15	66	65	67
2	Shawn Stefani	-14	66	65	68
T3	Charley Hoffman	-12	66	68	67
T3	Alex Cejka	-12	66	67	68
T5	Andres Gonzales	-11	69	67	66
T5	Jerry Kelly	-11	69	66	67
T5	Danny Lee	-11	66	69	67
T5	Ken Duke	-11	69	63	70
9	Fred Funk	-10	69	65	69

After two blemish-free performances, Bohn began strong once more on Day 3, birdieing three of his first five holes. PGA Tour tweeted his hot start:

He did run into some trouble off the tee on the par-four sixth, resulting in his first dropped shot of the tournament. Although, he rebounded nicely, notching another birdie on the par-three eighth to make the turn with a three-under 33.

Bohn didn't slow down on the back side, as he fired another birdie on the par-three 10th and another on the par-five 13th. Take a look at his brilliant tee shot on the 10th:

Unfortunately, Bohn would three putt the 18th hole, dropping his second stroke on the day and finishing with a four-under 67 on the day.

Stefani continued to provide chase on Saturday. He recorded two birdies on the front side, making the turn with a two-under 34, just one stroke behind Bohn. Golf Central tweeted the leaders' scores:

Stefani matched Bohn's two back-nine birdies with one of his own; however, a poor approach on the par-four 16th led to a bogey.

His struggles continued on the ensuring hole, as a penalty stroke led to another bogey. Stefani closed out with a strong birdie on the 18th, ending the day with a three-under 68 and earning a spot in Sunday's final pairing alongside Bohn.

Charlie Hoffman and Alex Cejka are providing the closest competition, as both players are 12 under through 54 holes. This chip-in eagle on the 13th hole propelled Hoffman on Saturday:

Both players fired three consecutive sub-70 rounds and, if they go low once again on Day 4, they certainly have a great chance of catching the leaders.

Eight players are within six strokes of the lead heading into Sunday, and if Bohn and Stefani can't go low again, we should expect this field to tighten up and produce a riveting conclusion at Mayakoba.

Day 2 Leaderboard and Recap

After an extremely competitive first round at the 2014 OHL Classic, Friday's second round continued the trend as 15 golfers are within four shots of the lead.

Michael Putnam surged to the top of the leaderboard with a scintillating seven-under 64, which puts him at 12-under for the tournament. Here is a look at how the field stacks up with two rounds in the books, according to PGATour.com:

Position	Player	Score	Round 1	Round 2
1	Michael Putnam	-12	66	64
T2	Shawn Stefani	-11	66	65
T2	Jason Bohn	-11	66	65
4	Ken Duke	-10	69	63
T5	Alex Cejka	-9	66	67
T5	David Hearn	-9	68	65
T5	Nicholas Thompson	-9	68	65
T5	Will MacKenzie	-9	65	68
T9	Jason Gore	-8	68	66
T9	Brice Garnett	-8	66	68
T9	Daniel Summerhays	-8	69	65
T9	Charley Hoffman	-8	66	68
T9	Fred Funk	-8	69	65
T9	Blayne Barber	-8	66	68
T9	Steve Wheatcroft	-8	65	69

Putnam's round featured seven birdies and no bogeys, which prompted the PGA Tour's official Twitter account to heap high praise on the 31-year-old native of Tacoma, Washington:

What Putnam did quite effectively was take advantage of favorable conditions early in the day. As seen in this tweet, Putnam was done and in the clubhouse very early:

His great score put pressure on the rest of the field, and nobody else was able to catch up with him. As well as Putnam played, he didn't even lay down the best round of the day, though.

That distinction goes to Ken Duke, who shot a fantastic eight-under 63 to move into fourth place.

Another notable performance was turned in by eight-time PGA Tour and nine-time Champions Tour winner Fred Funk. At the age of 58, Funk carded a six-under 65, which put him at eight-under for the tourney. Per PGATour.com's Kevin Prise, that marked Funk's best round in six years:

Perhaps the best shot of the day came from Tony Finau, who finished the first round in a tie for the lead. He looked to keep his fine form intact Friday, and certainly did with this effort on the par-three fourth hole:

Finau scuffled for much of the round, however, which resulted in him finishing with a one-over 72.

Another golfer whose play dropped off between the first and second rounds was former PGA Championship winner Davis Love III. He was a single shot behind the leaders through one round, and he was feeling good about executing the fundamentals, according to PGA.com (h/t The Associated Press).

"I made some putts when I had to," Love said. "I had four birdies in five holes in a little spurt in the middle of the round, and put the ball in play. I think that's what you have to do here. You have to keep it in the fairway and you have to putt well." 

Things went south in the second round, though, as the 50-year-old veteran shot a three-over 74 and ended up missing the cut.

The fact that there was such a shift at the top of the leaderboard during the second round bodes well for the weekend in terms of excitement.

This truly feels like almost anyone's tournament at this point, especially since the landscape changes so quickly. If the first two rounds are any indication, then Saturday and Sunday will provide golf fans with nonstop entertainment.

Day 1 Leaderboard and Recap

Position	Player	Score	Round 1
T1	Will MacKenzie	-6	65
T1	Robert Garrigus	-6	65
T1	Steve Wheatcroft	-6	65
T1	Tony Finau	-6	65
T1	Hudson Swafford	-6	65
T1	Daniel Berger	-6	65
T7	14 Others	-5	66

Steve Wheatcroft, Hudson Swafford, Tony Finau and Daniel Berger round out the leaders. The par-71 course appeared to play far easier in the morning than throughout the rest of the day, with most of the leaderboard being filled by players who took the course during the earlier session.

MacKenzie, 40, opened his PGA season with a tie for second at the McGladrey Classic. His five-birdie, one-eagle, one-bogey outing Thursday puts him in strong position for a second top-10 finish so far, and the PGA currently projects him as the top player in the FedEx Cup. A late bloomer on the pro circuit, MacKenzie has two career PGA Tour victories but none since the 2008 Viking Classic.

MacKenzie did most of his damage late. Sitting two under heading into the 12th tee box, he played the next three holes at four under, including an eagle at the par-five 13th. Though he gave back a shot at No. 16, MacKenzie followed his bogey with a red number to finish out his day. 

“That’s why 17 was a huge bounce-back for me,” MacKenzie told Jim McCabe of Golfweek. “I just had to stay aggressive.”

Garrigus, who traded bogeys and birdies on holes No. 1 through No. 4 on Thursday, also took advantage of the back nine. With the lone exception of a bogey on No. 12, Garrigus went under par from holes No. 11 to No. 15 and, like MacKenzie, eagled No. 13. The 37-year-old Idaho native parred out his final three holes. Garrigus is looking for his second career PGA Tour victory.

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Swafford and Finau, both coming off being cut at the Sanderson Farms Championship, got back into their respective grooves. Swafford, who hadn't finished worse than 18th before Sanderson Farms, had seven birdies against one bogey. He was a rare leader who did not take advantage of No. 13.

Finau, a top-15 guy in his first three events of the season, carded birdies on eight holes, including No. 18. He was able to keep his round afloat despite missing more than half of his fairways by hitting a series of strong iron shots. 

Defending champion Harris English, who set a course record with a 21-under score, got off to a solid start at four under. English spent most of his day failing to convert on solid drives. He averaged more than 300 yards off the tee and hit 92.9 percent of his fairways, but struggles on the green kept him from taking command.

The result was a whole lot of pars mixed in with three birdies, an eagle and a bogey that put him at four under for the day. English, 25, has been cut twice already this season, and his struggles date to late last season. A two-time champion in the 2013 calendar year, his ascent largely stopped after the OHL Classic. He admitted he hopes a return to Mexico can turn his game around.

“I remember all the good golf shots I hit down the stretch (a year ago), all the good putts I made in the final round," English said, per McCabe. "You can feed off of that, because golf is such a mental sport. You get a lot of positive thoughts.”

With any luck, English will be able to carry his solid Thursday into the weekend. If last season is any indication, the leaders better appreciate their two-stroke lead while they have it.

 

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