Champions Tour

Dawson leads by a stroke on Champions Tour

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Marco Dawson (Steve Dykes/ Getty Images)

SAN ANTONIO – Marco Dawson birdied four of the first six holes Saturday and shot a 5-under 67 to take a one-stroke lead in the Champions Tour’s AT&T Championship, and Bernhard Langer moved closer to wrapping up the Charles Schwab Cup before the season-ending event next week.

Dawson also birdied two of the last four holes to reach 12-under 132 on TPC San Antonio’s AT&T Canyons Course. He won his only title in a PGA Tour-sanctioned event in 2002 in the Web.com Tour’s LaSalle Bank Open.

“I’m not going to lose any sleep, believe me,” Dawson said. “I used to be a perfectionist, but my attitude now is to play like I’m in the pro-am. Have fun. It’s not life or death out there.”

Woody Austin was second after a 65, and Wes Short Jr. was 10 under after a 67.

Langer, a five-time winner this season, was tied for eighth at 7 under after a 66. He has a 771-point lead over second-place Colin Montgomerie in the Schwab Cup and can take the title with a three-way tie for seventh or better.

“It would be nice to settle things while I’m here,” Langer said.

Montgomerie was tied for 49th at even par after a 76. He had a double bogey on No. 18.

The top 30 on the money list after the tournament will advance to the season-ending Charles Schwab Cup Championship next week in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Austin eagled the par-5 15th, hitting a 3-wood approach to 25 feet.

“I was 240 yards to the front of the green and 260 to the hole, and I hit a dead straight shot in there,” said Austin, who won his fourth PGA Tour title last year in the Sanderson Farms event in Mississippi. “It was the shot I was trying to hit. My putt was a double-breaker. I was just trying to get it close. I would have been happy with that, I admit.”

Canada’s Rod Spittle is tied for 18th at 4-under 140 (73-67).

Canadian Golf Hall of Fame honoured member Stephen Ames had a share of 58th at 1-over 145 (72-73).

Champions Tour

Cook, Dawson share Champions Tour lead

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John Cook (Chris Condon/ PGA TOUR)

SAN ANTONIO – John Cook and Marco Dawson shot 7-under 65 on Friday to share the first-round lead in the Champions Tour’s AT&T Championship, the final full-field event of the season.

Scott Dunlap was a stroke back at TPC San Antonio, and Jay Hass was at 67 along with Guy Boros, Bart Bryant, Gary Hallberg, Jay Hass, Tom Lehman, Peter Senior, Wes Short Jr., and Kirk Triplett. Haas won the Greater Hickory Kia Classic last week at 60 to become the 18th player to win a Champions Tour event at 60 or older.

Cook won the event in 2007 and 2008 at Oak Hills.

The top 30 on the money list after the tournament will advance to the season-ending Charles Schwab Cup Championship next week in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Bernard Langer, the Charles Schwab Cup points leader, opened with a 71. Langer has a tour-high five victories – two of them majors – and also leads the money list. Colin Montgomerie, second in the Schwab Cup standings, shot 68.

Defending champion Kenny Perry also had a 68.

Canada’s Stephen Ames was tied for 44th after an opening-round 72 that left him even par after the opening round.

Rod Spittle was a shot back at 1-over. The St. Catharines, Ont. native is tied for 54th after a 73.

Champions Tour

Jay Haas wins Greater Hickory Kia Classic

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Jay Haas (Chris Condon/ PGA TOUR)

CONOVER, N.C. – Jay Haas became the 18th player to win a Champions Tour at 60 or older, closing with a 5-under 66 on Sunday for a two-stroke victory in the Greater Hickory Kia Classic.

The 60-year-old former Wake Forest player has 17 victories on the 50-and-over tour after winning nine times on the PGA Tour. He also won the event in 2005 and 2009.

Haas extended his streak of under-par rounds to 23 and finished at 17-under 196 on Rock Barn Golf and Spa’s Champions Course. He ended a 27-month, 49-event winless streak since June 2012.

Players 60 and older have won 22 events on the tour, with Hale Irwin accomplishing the feat three times and Tom Watson and Jimmy Powell doing it twice each. Mike Fetchick is the oldest winner at 63 years in the 1985 Hilton Head Seniors Invitational.

Joe Durant and Kirk Triplett tied for second. Durant and Triplett, the winner last week in Cary, shot 66.

Calgary’s Stephen Ames tied for 6th after a final round 65 left him at 11-under 202 for the championship.

Rod Spittle of St. Catharines, Ont. finished tied for 26th at 6-under 207.

Jim Rutledge of Victoria, B.C. tied for 55th at even-par 213.

Champions Tour

Jay Haas leads Greater Hickory Kia Classic

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Jay Haas (Hunter Martin/ Getty Images)

CONOVER, N.C. – Jay Haas shot a 4-under-par 67 Saturday to take a two-stroke lead after the second round of the Champions Tour’s Greater Hickory Kia Classic.

Haas, the 60-year-old Wake Forest player who won the event in 2005 and 2009, had a 12-under 130 on Rock Barn Golf and Spa’s Champions Course. He extended his streak of under-par rounds to 22, making five birdies and a lone bogey on No. 17.

“I played well again today – maybe not quite as well as yesterday, but I had some chances today and didn’t capitalize,” Haas said. “It was a little tougher today. The wind was stronger in places, and the course played differently. But I’m pleased. Obviously I did some good things out there.

“I’m glad to be in the lead. But in looking at that leaderboard, there were two 63s yesterday and a couple of 65s today. There are scores like that that can be shot out there. I’m just going to have to be aggressive, and capitalize when I have the good shots.”

A 16-time winner on the 50-and-over tour, Haas has gone 27 months without a tournament win. His last title came in June 2012 in Des Moines, Iowa – also the last time that Haas has had sole possession of the lead entering a tournament’s final round.

“I haven’t had the lead going into Sunday, but I’ve had four or five really good chances to win and haven’t done it,” Haas said. “It has been a while since I’ve won, but I’ve played as consistently this year as I ever have. I feel like I’m going to go out and play a pretty good round tomorrow. Whether it’ll be good enough, well, we’ll see.”

Joe Durant, tied for the first-round lead with Haas at 63, had a 69 to drop into a tie for second with Kirk Triplett and South Africa’s David Frost. Triplett, the winner last week, had a 66, and Frost shot 65.

Frost, a five-time Champions Tour winner, had seven birdies and a bogey to make the best round of the day with Skip Kendall and Kenny Perry.

“There are a lot of birdies out there,” Frost said. “All in all, I played well. I feel like right now I’m playing unconscious golf, having played so much golf the past three months. I’m just going with the flow.”

Triplett had six birdies and a bogey, while Durant birdied the final three holes to finish with six birdies and four bogeys.

“If you’re striking the ball solid, you’re going to have some birdie chances,” Triplett said. “You can’t be thinking you’ve going to shoot 2 under and move up or hold your place. You’ve got to be aggressive, and try to make a half-dozen birdies.”

Stephen Ames is sitting at 5-under 137 (69-68) to lead the Canadian charge into the final round. He’s tied for 17th.

Jim Rutledge carded another 71 to remain at even par 142, falling three leaderboard spots into a tie for 52nd.

Rod Spittle shot a 4-over 75 Saturday to slip 37 spots down the leaderboard into a tie for 62nd. He’s sitting at 2-over 144.

 

Champions Tour

Haas, Durant top Champions Tour leaderboard

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Jay Haas (Steve Dykes/ Getty Images)

CONOVER, N.C. – Jay Haas and Joe Durant shot 8-under 63 on Friday to share the first-round lead in the Champions Tour’s Greater Hickory Kia Classic.

The 60-year-old Haas, the 2005 and 2009 champion, had an eagle and seven birdies on the first 14 holes, dropped a stroke on the par-4 15th and closed with two pars. The former Wake Forest player won the last of his 16 Champions Tour titles in June 2012.

Durant had his best score since joining the 50-and-over tour in April. He rebounded from two early bogeys with eight birdies and an eagle on Rock Barn Golf and Spa’s Champions Course.

Roger Chapman and Scott Dunlap shot 65. Kirk Triplett, a two-time winner this season, was another stroke back along with Bill Glasson, Mike Goodes, John Riegger and Rocco Mediate.

Colin Montgomerie opened with a 69. A two-time major winner this season, Montgomerie is second in the Charles Schwab Cup standings – 771 points behind Bernhard Langer with three events left.

Langer is skipping the tournament. He has a tour-high five victories, two of them majors.

Also opening with 69s were Canadians Stephen Ames and Rod Spittle.

Jim Rutledge was even after an opening-round 71.

Champions Tour

McLaughlin takes over as head of Champions Tour

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Tiger Woods and Greg McLaughlin (Simon M Bruty/ Getty Images)

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – Greg McLaughlin is taking over as president of the Champions Tour.

McLaughlin was the president of the Tiger Woods Foundation for 14 years until he left this year to join the PGA Tour management. The PGA Tour said he will start his new job in January and replace Mike Stevens, who is stepping down after 35 years in golf administration.

McLaughlin previously was a tournament director at the Nissan Open in Los Angeles, the Honda Classic and the Western Open. He was the first tournament director to give Woods a sponsor’s exemption to a PGA Tour event when Woods was 16.

Part of his job at the Tiger Woods Foundation was to oversee three tournaments – the Quicken Loans National, Deutsche Bank Challenge and the World Challenge.

 

Champions Tour

Triplett wins Champions Tour’s SAS Championship

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Kirk Triplett (Scott Halleran/ Getty Images)

CARY, N.C. – Kirk Triplett won the SAS Championship on Sunday for his second victory of the year and fourth in three seasons on the Champions Tour.

The 52-year-old Triplett closed with a 3-under 69 for a three-stroke victory over Tom Lehman. Triplett finished at 14-under 202 at Prestonwood Country Club.

Triplett followed each of his three bogeys with birdies.

“I had a few bogeys, and I had some bounce-backs,” Triplett said. “That was the key to today.”

The three-time PGA Tour champion also won the ACE Group Classic in February.

Lehman eagled the par-5 17th in a 70.

“I was playing with Paul (Goydos) and Tom, and neither one of them were really – they were getting some chances, but they weren’t converting, and I just felt like I had that nice cushion,” Triplett said. “After that, a tough old guy, Tommy Lehman, made an eagle, birdied 16, eagled 17. I’m like, `Come on, man.'”

But Triplett converted his sixth birdie of the day on the 17th to maintain a three-shot lead.

“With a three-shot lead, everybody watching on TV feels comfortable,” Triplett said. “The guy with the three-shot lead still doesn’t feel comfortable.”

Bernhard Langer and Kenny Perry tied for third at 10 under. Langer, the 2012 winner, finished with a 68. Perry, the 2011 champion, had a 67.

“I hit a lot of fairways, a lot of greens,” Langer said. “When I did miss a green I got it up and down, so that’s a great performance. Just usually, I make more birdies when I play that well. But as I said, the putter wasn’t quite cooperating, especially not today.”

Langer extended his lead in the season-long race Charles Schwab Cup race, adding 138 points this week. He has a tour-high five wins – two of them majors – and leads the money list. Colin Montgomerie finished outside the top 10, earning no points this week.

“We’ve still got three more tournaments,” said Langer, who now holds a 771-point lead over Montgomerie. “I’m not playing next week, Colin is, so he’s got a great opportunity to make up ground. But I did everything I could, I think, this week to stay in front of him.”

Goydos, Mark McNulty and Kevin Sutherland tied for fifth at 9 under. McNulty had a 67, Sutherland shot 70, and Goydos 72.

Jim Rutledge carded a final round 2-under 70 to tie for 50th as the leading Canadian at even-par 216.

Rod Spittle tied for 55th at 1-over 217, while Stephen Ames tied for 65th at 3-over 219.

Champions Tour

Triplett leads Champions Tour’s SAS Championship

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Kirk Triplett (Scott Halleran/ Getty Images)

CARY, N.C. – Kirk Triplett holed out from 143 yards for eagle on the par-4 18th hole Saturday to take a two-stroke lead in the Champions Tour’s SAS Championship.

Triplett, the ACE Group Classic winner in February for his third victory on the 50-and-over tour, finished with a bogey-free 9-under 63 to reach 11-under 133 at rain-softened Prestonwood.

“I think the conditions were a little different from yesterday, a little softer, so personally, I felt you could be a little more aggressive,” Triplett said. “Some of the holes played pretty short yesterday, a little bit longer today. I think the course was similar to how it played the last two years, so I think in some ways, it was more familiar to me.”

Paul Goydos and Tom Lehman were tied for second. Goydos, the Hawaii Championship winner last month for his first senior title, had a 67. Lehman shot 68.

Goydos flew his tee shot in the water and bogeyed the first hole of the day. He called his opening shot a “bit of a wake-up call.”

“I just kind of hung in there and made a couple of nice birdies on 6 and 7,” Goydos said. “But I’ve got a feeling tomorrow you’re going to have to go low and make a lot of birdies.”

First-round leader Guy Boros was tied for fourth at 11 under, following a 66 with a 70. Boros is making his second tour start after turning 50 last month. Fred Funk also was 11 under after a 64. Boros faltered with bogeys on 14 and 15, while Funk birdied five of the last eight holes.

Funk said he was having issues with his calf Friday, but he felt better for the second round.

“I was struggling to even hit the golf ball (Friday),” Funk said. “Today, I was feeling a lot better and was able to swing at it, so I picked up about 30 yards on my drive.”

Bernhard Langer, the 2012 winner, was tied for ninth at 6 under after a 65. Langer has a tour-high five victories – two of them majors – and leads the money list and Charles Schwab Cup points race.

Montgomerie, second in the Schwab Cup standings, was another stroke back after a 66. He has two major victories this year.

Defending champion Russ Cochran was 4 under after a 69.

On the Canadian watch, Stephen Ames and Rod Spittle have a share of 49th place at even-par 144. Jim Rutledge is tied for 65th at 2-over 146.

Champions Tour

Guy Boros leads Champions Tour’s SAS Championship

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Guy Boros (Steve Dykes/ Getty Images)

CARY, N.C. – Guy Boros birdied the final hole Friday for a 6-under 66 and a one-stroke lead over Tom Lehman and Marco Dawson after the first round of the Champions Tour’s SAS Championship.

Boros, the son of late Hall of Famer Julius Boros, turned 50 on Sept. 4 and is playing in his second event on the tour. He won the PGA Tour’s 1996 Greater Vancouver Open.

“The most important thing my dad taught me was to have a good time,” Boros said. “If you’re not enjoying something it’s tough. But he absolutely loved the game. I wish it would have rubbed off on me a little more, but I do enjoy playing. I like it very much.

“I putted good in the qualifier on Monday, and I switch putters every other week it seems like. Hopefully, I’ll keep putting well and I’ll stick with this one quite a while.”

Lehman said the course was set up well for aggressive golf.

“I think hitting it in the fairway is a really important part of the equation here and I drove it in the fairway a lot,” Lehman said. “Once you drive it in the fairway, you can get aggressive and start attacking the pins. The pins were actually in pretty good spots today.”

Dawson also was optimistic after his start.

“I actually managed my game well around the course,” Dawson said. “I hit the right shots when I needed to. I think I pulled the right clubs. I didn’t hit any foul balls, and I didn’t hit any that were way long or way short. And I didn’t really hit any bad putts.”

Hale Irwin, the 69-year-old star who won the 2005 tournament at Prestonwood, opened with a 68 – the seventh time he has bettered his age this year. He had six birdies and a double bogey on No. 8.

“I played OK,” Irwin said. “When you look at my score today and when you look at (playing partner) Tom (Lehman’s) score and how he’s playing and there’s got to be more than one-stroke difference – he played very well and could have scored lower than that. I’m not happy with the way it ended, but all in all I played well today.”

Hawaii Championship winner Paul Goydos and Larry Mize also shot 68.

Defending champion Russ Cochran had a 72.

Bernhard Langer, the 2012 winner, and Colin Montgomerie, shot 73. Playing partner Nick Faldo had a 70.

Langer has a tour-high five victories – two of them majors – and leads the money list and Charles Schwab Cup points race. Montgomerie has two major victories this year and is second in the Schwab Cup standings.

Tom Byrum had a hole-in-one on the island-green eighth in a 76.

Stephen Ames is the top Canauck thru 18 holes. He opened with a 1-over 73. Rod Spittle carded a 75 Friday, while Jim Rutledge had a 78.

Champions Tour

John Cook wins Champions Tour’s First Tee Open

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John Cook (Chris Condon/ PGA TOUR)

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. – John Cook won the First Tee Open on Sunday at Pebble Beach for his 10th Champions Tour title, closing with a 3-under 69 for a one-stroke victory over Tom Byrum.

The 56-year-old Cook birdied the par-4 13th and parred the final five holes to finish at 11-under 204 total. He won the 1981 Bing Crosby National Pro-Am at Pebble Beach for the first of his 11 PGA Tour titles and also won the 1975 California State Amateur at the course.

Cook parred the par-5 18th, missing a 25-foot birdie try that left a tap-in for the victory.

“I played to make par,” said Cook, who missed 10 weeks this season after freak non-golf back injury at his Florida home. “I don’t often do that, but maybe I’ve learned something in 40 or 45 years.”

Byrum also shot 69. Winless on the 50-and-over tour after winning once on the PGA Tour, he bogeyed the par-5 14th and par-3 17th and closed with a par.

“I needed to make a birdie and I made a par,” Byrum said. “It was a good par after hitting in the bunker, but I just didn’t make a good shot I needed. But I am encouraged with how I played.”

Cook won for the first time since the Mitsubishi Electric Championship in Hawaii in January 2013. He began the final round with a one-shot lead over Byrum and Skip Kendall.

“Today I played nicely,” Cook said. “I didn’t have my best stuff, but my putting showed up.”

Kendall, playing his second Champions Tour event after earning a spot in open qualifying Tuesday, tied for third with England’s Roger Chapman. Kendall shot 70, and Chapman had a 65.

Woody Austin was fourth at 8 under after a 66.

Kirk Triplett, the winner the last two years, shot a 67 to tie for sixth at 7 under with Billy Andrade (69), Fred Funk (70) and Lee Janzen (70).

Davis Love III, also making his second Champions Tour start, had a 74 to drop into a tie for 24th at 3 under. The 20-time PGA Tour winner tied for 64th last week in Hawaii.

Also among the group who tied for 24th was Calgary’s Stephen Ames, who carded a 69 Sunday to climb 15 spots up the leaderboard.

Fellow Canadian Rod Spittle shot a 75 and fell 27 spots to share 43rd spot.