El Gato, Numero Uno

NEWPORT BEACH – After a bogey on No. 9 at Newport Beach Country Club, Eduardo Romero told his caddie, “We have to wake up. We can win this tournament, but not like this.”

That statement made sense. After all, the Argentinian is nicknamed, “El Gato,” and the cat is known to have nine lives. Romero responded in a big way after the ninth hole, sinking three straight birdies.

Now you can call him El Campeon, which means The Champion.

Romero won the 15th annual Toshiba Classic today, when his three-under-par 68 final round gave him an 11-under-202 finish for a victory by one stroke ahead of Mark O’Meara and Joey Sindelar.

It was Romero’s 100th professional victory, and it brought him $255,000.

Bernhard Langer, the defending champion who shared the lead with O’Meara heading into the final round, finished tied for ninth after shooting two-over.

Langer, O’Meara, as well as several other golfers found putting difficult at Newport Beach Country Club, but Romero drew the advantage with his short game, especially on the back nine.

Of his 17 birdies during the tournament, nine came on the back nine. The bogey on No. 9 was one of seven for Romero for the weekend.

“I think I won the tournament on the back nine,” said Romero, who mentioned that his grandmother gave him the nickname El Gato because he chased after cats up into trees during his childhood. “It’s tough [on the others] with three birdies in a row.

“I played very solid all week long.”

There’s another reason why Romero is called El Gato. It’s because of the way he stalks and overcomes opponents. Playing in the leaders group today, he definitely overcame Langer and O’Meara and fipped the script on what would’ve been intriguing storylines.

O’Meara, a Mission Viejo native who played high school matches here, was seeking his first win on the Champions Tour. Langer had been vying to become the Toshiba’s first repeat winner.

Instead, El Gato said adios to those possiblities and produced a great story of his own.

He grabbed his fourth win in his last 10 starts, and his fifth win on the Champions Tour since joining the 50-year-old and over tour in 2006.

El Gato became the fourth international golfer to win the Toshiba: Langer (2008) of Germany, Rodger Davis (2003) of Australia, Jose Maria Canizares (2001) of Spain being the others.

Romero’s three birdies on 10, 11 and 12 gave him momentum, yet after that he was just wanting to par each of the final six holes. He birdied No. 15 and had par on the others, except for 18, where he bogeyed.

“Stupid bogey,” said Romero, who speaks with a thick Spanish accent. “But I just wanted to finish.”

Now, Romero just wants to keep going and build off his Toshiba win. There has been great success for the past two champions here. Langer and Jay Haas went on to become the Champions Tour Player of the Year in their respective years.

“To win a tournament this early in the season, it’s very good on my mind,” Romero said.

Sindelar should feel rather confident himself. His eight-under 63 was tied for the low in the final round with Joe Ozaki.

OTHER NOTES

**This year’s attendance at the Toshiba Classic drew 79,212 throughout the week at Newport Beach Country Club.

**Eduardo Romero finished T9 at the Toshiba Classic in 2007 and T39 last year at Newport Beach Country Club.

**John Cook, a part-time Corona del Mar resident, finished tied for 15th, at five-under 208.