Corey

Pavin

He parred every hole after the eagle and shot a 67 to beat Jerry Kelly by two strokes, finishing at 20-under par. What a week for Pavin, who started off with a 26 on the front nine on Thursday. This was his first win since the Colonial in 1996 and his second win in Milwaukee, as he was the winner here in 1986. It appeared that his chances to win again had passed due to technological advances in the game, but the crafty shotmaker was hitting fairways and greens all week. If you gambled on Pavin in Milwaukee, congratulations.

Pavin had one bogey in the first round but it hardly mattered with the 7 birdies and an eagle he posted. His eagle came at the 2nd when he holed a 120-yard wedge. His last win was back in 1996. The last time he held the first round lead was back in 1999. Obviously Pavin still has alot of work to do before he can celebrate. His experience should help him.

Pavin has to be disappointed after starting so well but was unable to seal the deal. After his opening round 62, he played even par the rest of the way.

Pavin had a couple of bogeys early yesterday but managed to recover and got it back to -2 for the day. Pavin’s last PGA Tour win was the 1996 MasterCard Colonial.

Pavin is in by virtue of his 1994 title at Colonial. In his only other PGA TOUR start of the year, he finished T38 way back at the Sony Open. He missed the cut at the 2011 edition of the Crowne Plaza Invitiational.

The Champions Tour player is a two-time winner of this event, first climbing the mountain in 1985 and again doing it in 1996. His only start on the PGA TOUR in 2013 was a missed cut at the Northern Trust Open and the last time he cashed was a T31 in this event last year.

Pavin picked up a spot via sponsor exemption, and with good reason. This will be his 29th start at Riviera CC, making 22 cuts over the years with back-to-back wins in 1994 and 1995. It’s hard to imagine he will be a factor given his lack of length. He also hasn’t cracked a top 10 here since his last victory 18 years ago.

Pavin was a DNS (Did Not Start) for this week.

The two-time Colonial champ will be making his 32nd start in this event. He has collected a paycheck in 25 of those starts. Unfortunately, his returns have become less and less fruitful over the years, missing the cut in three of his last four tries. This course is one of the few on TOUR where a 55-year old veteran like Pavin can truly contend, but as gamers we should place out chips on golfers that play this circuit on a regular basis.

The 55-year-old was sixth alternate when the field was released on Friday afternoon. He was the last of three to gain entry following today’s second wave of withdrawals. Pavin hasn’t played the PGA TOUR since missing the cut at Colonial last May. He hasn’t cashed on the circuit since Colonial in 2012. He’s made only one appearance in Puerto Rico. That resulted in a T31 in 2009 when he was 49 years of age.