Category: PGA Tour Champions

PGA Tour Champions tournament to be first professional golf event to allow spectators

The PGA Tour Champions event in South Dakota has sold 10,000 daily tickets to attend the Sanford International in Sioux Falls.

The Sanford International is set to become the first professional golf tournament to welcome fans since the global pandemic led to the golf world shutting down for at least three months in March.

The PGA Tour Champions event, which is being contested at Minnehaha Country Club in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, from Sept. 11-13, will serve as a guinea pig for golf, with 10,000 daily tickets being sold.

“I think we’re ready for this and have a great game plan in place to have a great event and be safe about it,” said Hollis Cavner, whose company Pro Sports Links oversees the event. “People are living their lives again. They want to get out again.”

The PGA Tour in June eased into what was left of its season with no spectators allowed. Initially, the Memorial Tournament had been approved for limited spectators in July, but that plan was scratched shortly before the event and the Tour announced that the rest of the 2019-20 season, including the FedEx Cup playoffs, would be held without spectators. (That has been extended to include next week’s Safeway Open, the first event of the 2020-21 season, and the U.S. Open and Masters.)

PGA Tour Champions: Stats and money leaders

During his annual “state of the Tour” press conference on Wednesday, PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan said, “We’re going to reinstitute pro-ams, participants in pro-ams will be tested, and we’re encouraged by the fact that you’re continuing to see more options, which creates more potential for a quicker return of our fans.

“When we feel like it’s safe to return fans out here, that’s when fans will return. We owe that to them, to make sure that we feel like — and we’re supported locally in every market we play in, that that is supported by the local government authorities.”

Given that Sanford Health is the Tour’s official mobile COVID-19 testing partner, and is responsible for testing all the players in the bubble, it makes sense to reintroduce the fan experience at the tournament that the company also serves as title sponsor. Sanford Health mobile labs will be on site, and all pro-am participants will be tested. All spectators are encouraged to take their own temperature before heading to the tournament. Upon arrival, FDA approved non-contact wrist thermometers will be utilized at each parking lot prior to spectators getting on a shuttle bus. Temperature checks will also take place at the main entrance for those that arrive without taking a shuttle. Anyone with a temperature of 100 degrees or higher will be turned away and asked to seek medical attention.

Fans will be given free masks, if needed, as well as gloves, if requested. The golf course has been roped so fans won’t be able to get as close to the players as usual. Stationary hand sanitizer units will be placed at entrances to public bleachers, hospitality structures, and the clubhouse. Portolets and restroom trailers will each be equipped with sanitizer pumps and handwashing stations as well. For the safety of the players and gallery members alike, autographs will be prohibited.

“We’re on 250 acres. Spacing people on 250 acres is like 12 people inside a Super Wal-Mart,” Cavner said. “We’re the guinea pig for bringing people back to golf with live crowds, so we’ve gone overboard to make sure we don’t have any issues.”

Cavner said the tournament received approval from South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem, who previously signed off on the Sturgis Bike Rally, which attracted nearly half a million bikers and is being blamed for a surge of coronavirus infections, and the South Dakota State Fair, which opened on Thursday.

Cavner said the response to attend the second-year tournament has been impressive.

“Our sales have been through the roof,” Cavner said. “The pro-am sold out quickly and ticket sales also hit our numbers and had to be cut off.”

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Phil Mickelson goes wire-to-wire to win his PGA Tour Champions debut

Mickelson put the 50-and-over set on notice by shooting 22-under 191 and coasting to a 3-stroke victory.

Phil Mickelson put the over-50-set of golfers on notice that he’ll be a force to be reckoned with, should he decide to play on PGA Tour Champions. Mickelson posted 5-under 66 in the final round to go wire-to-wire and win the Charles Schwab Series at Ozarks National by four strokes over Tim Petrovic.

“Sometimes you just run into a buzz saw,” Petrovic said. ” I ran into a Phil buzz saw this week because he made a lot of birdies. I think yesterday I shot 31 on the front, I don’t think I picked a shot up … maybe one shot today.”

Ozarks National is located not far from Branson, Missouri, where the likes of crooners Andy Williams, Glen Campbell and Dolly Parton enjoyed performing during their golden years. In almost any game played today, the half-century man is long gone, having stepped aside to make room for the young. Except in golf. At 50, Mickelson’s competitive juices still are flowing.

Mickelson became the 20th player to win in his senior debut, joining a fraternity that includes Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Lanny Wadkins, and just last month, Jim Furyk. Even Tiger Woods took notice.

Charles Schwab Series at Ozarks National: Leaderboard

“Playing unbelievable golf,” Woods said during his Wednesday press conference ahead of the BMW Championship. “There’s no reason why he can’t win every event he plays out there. He’s got such a big advantage over the rest of the field just with sheer length.”

The question remains: how much will Mickelson play on the senior circuit now that he’s the new kid on the block?

“I haven’t been called ‘young’ in a long time. Everybody out on (the PGA) Tour calls me the ‘old man,’ which is totally cool,” Mickelson said. “I’m hopeful to play in some more, too, but I also want to use this as a way to get sharp for the regular tour and for the majors. We have two big majors coming up, U.S. Open, love to win that one obviously, and then the Masters.”

While many Tour pros in their late 40s are itching for golf’s ultimate mulligan, Mickelson, who turned 50 on June 16, was lukewarm about making the jump. After all, he finished T-2 at the WGC FedEx St. Jude Invitational just last month. It wasn’t until he flamed out of the FedEx Cup playoffs with a missed cut at the Northern Trust last Friday that Mickelson decided to make his debut in the Ozarks as part of his prep for next month’s U.S. Open at Winged Foot. (Mickelson would have had two weeks off before his final tune-up at the PGA Tour’s Safeway Open.)

Wearing his San Francisco Highway Patrol-looking shades, chomping gum and riding in a cart, Mickelson made quite the impression. He opened with 61, the lowest debut round in PGA Tour history, and backed it up with an impressive 64 to build a four-stroke lead.

In the final round, he birdied the first and fourth hole and then drove it 20 feet past the flag at the 352-yard, par-4 fifth. When the eagle putt dropped, he pumped his fist. He went out in 31, which could’ve been even lower if not for a bogey at six and 3-putt par at the par-5 seventh. By the time he canned an uphill 20-foot birdie at No. 10 for his third consecutive birdie, he led by six strokes.

“His wedge game is as good as I’ve ever seen it,” Golf Channel analyst Lanny Wadkins said.

About the only thing Mickelson didn’t do in his debut is set the 54-hole scoring record in relation to par of 25 under on the circuit. Mickelson had a few hiccups along the way to the house, including lipping out for birdie from 10 feet at 11.

“You just expect every one to go down,” Golf Channel’s Bob Papa said.

That’s how sharp Mickelson had looked. A Mickelson bogey at 14 combined with a birdie by Petrovic trimmed the lead to three strokes, but that was the closest anyone could get to catching Mickelson, who shot 22-under 191.

“I wasn’t as sharp on the back nine,” Mickelson said. “My lag putting wasn’t great and I kept leaving 4- and 5-footers and fortunately I made them on 16 and 17.”

Kevin Sutherland shot 63 to finish alone in third.

Mickelson made a Monday-Wednesday COVID-19 addition to the senior schedule into must-see-TV. He led the field in driving distance averaging 324 yards off the tee, but he ranked T-76 in the 78-man field in driving accuracy (29 of 39 fairways hit), suggesting there’s work to be done ahead of his quest to complete the career Grand Slam.

“There was a lot of good and some areas that I identified that I have to work on,” he said. “It was a really good course for me. The fairways were generous. I didn’t have to hit a lot of drivers and there were some holes where I was able to use my length. It was a good course for me.”

Phil Mickelson shines again, admits he might be ‘hard to catch’ at Ozarks National

Mickelson shot a 64 to take a commanding four-stroke lead at the Charles Schwab Series at Ozarks National just outside Branson, Missouri.

Phil Mickelson held off on jumping into the Champions Tour for a bit, but now that he’s made the plunge, things are going, well … swimmingly.

After firing a 61 in his first-ever Champions round, Mickelson followed that up with another impressive showing — this time a 64 — to take a commanding four-stroke lead on Tuesday at the Charles Schwab Series at Ozarks National just outside Branson, Missouri.

As you might expect, Lefty’s round on Tuesday included a few big cuts and a handful of Houdini-like moments, including his lone blemish of the day on No. 10, when Mickelson survived a penalty and still salvaged a bogey.

“I think that was a really critical part because I made a mistake hitting the wrong club off the tee … I thought driver would be fine on that line, and it wasn’t,” Mickelson said. “And to get out of there with a bogey, birdieing my provisional or other ball was a huge thing because I was able to get it right back to even par on the back side with a birdie on the par 5 next hole and then make a few more birdies coming in.”

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Rod Pampling and Tim Petrovic are four shots behind Mickelson, who is vying to become the 20th player to win their Champions Tour debut. Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and Lanny Wadkins all turned the trick during their careers and Jim Furyk did so earlier this month when he won in Grand Blanc, Michigan.

Mickelson said some sloppy play off the tee didn’t help him, but he’s pleased with his game overall.

“I really enjoy playing the golf course. I hit some good shots, made some good birdies, but I want to work on a couple of things. I hit a couple of drives that I hung a little bit left that I want to work on,” Mickelson said. “If I can drive it a little bit more aggressively, I think I can make a few more birdies and be hard to catch.”

Eamon Lynch: Mickelson doesn’t really want to play with the old guys, but needs them more than he’ll admit

As for moving up into the senior circuit, Mickelson isn’t skimping on preparation. He insisted he’ll be on the range early on Wednesday and said he’s more concerned with how he’s working through things than the scores he’s producing.

“So I don’t want to get ahead of myself. I want to come out and play and be sharp and hit some good shots and make some putts and play the way I have more like the first day, then I’ll be tough to beat,” he said. “But I don’t want to think about the result, I want to think about the process. I’ve got some work to do. We’re going to come out early tomorrow, so I’ve got to get my work in right now and then get rested because we’re starting early.

“I’m excited, this has been really fun.”

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Big Cedar Lodge a big reason to watch PGA Tour Champions this week

The PGA Tour Champions is holding its first-ever Monday through Wednesday event this week, the Charles Schwab Series at Ozarks National.

The PGA Tour Champions is holding its first-ever Monday through Wednesday event this week, the Charles Schwab Series at Ozarks National at Big Cedar Lodge.

The event is getting a burst of attention because Phil Mickelson decided to make his Champions debut at the event.

But there’s another reason to pay attention this week: The golf course is simply spectacular.

Ozarks National in Hollister, Missouri, this week’s tournament site designed by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw, is ranked No. 1 in the state on Golfweek’s Best Courses You Can Play list for 2020.

The No. 2 course in Missouri is Big Cedar Lodge’s Buffalo Ridge, a Tom Fazio-designed track that hosted the first of consecutive Champions events on the property, which also includes a par-3 course called Top of the Rock, a 13-hole short course called Mountain Top and, coming soon, the first public-access course by Tiger Woods called Payne’s Valley, in honor of Payne Stewart.

Big Cedar Lodge is located near Branson, Missouri, in the southwest corner of the state.

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Phil Mickelson lights up Ozarks National in PGA Tour Champions debut

Phil Mickelson may have second thoughts on how much he plays on the Champions tour after lighting up Ozarks National in his 50-and-over debut.

Phil Mickelson may have second thoughts on how much he plays on the PGA Tour Champions after lighting up Ozarks National for 11 birdies in his 50-and-over debut on Monday.

Mickelson carded five birdies in a row, beginning at No. 13, en route to shooting 10-under 61 and grabbing a one-stroke lead over Australian David McKenzie in the first round of the Charles Schwab Series at Ozarks National in Ridgedale, Missouri.

“The expectation is there. If you play well and win, well, you’re supposed to do that. If you don’t, it’s like, What happened?” said Mickelson, who is attempting to become the 20th player to win in his PGA Tour Champions debut. “I wanted to make sure I was playing well when I played in my first one.”

Mickelson, who became eligible for the Champions Tour when he turned 50 on June 16, expressed little interest in playing against the round bellies earlier this year, but changed his mind after he missed the cut at the Northern Trust Friday and was eliminated from the FedEx Cup Playoffs.

He made birdie on his first hole, drove the 350-yard par 4, third hole, and was 5 under through his first seven holes. A bogey at the par-5 ninth hole proved to be a temporary road bump for Mickelson.

He got back on the birdie train at No. 11, and then heated up with a 20-foot birdie putt at 13. That was the first of five birdies in a row, including a 40-footer at 15 and a 30-footer at 16 that was dead center.

Eamon Lynch: Mickelson doesn’t really want to play with the old guys, but needs them more than he’ll admit

Mickelson, who opened with 73 on Thursday at the Northern Trust and only made seven birdies in his two rounds, tied his record on the PGA Tour with 11 birdies.

Mickelson leads McKenzie, who shot a career-low 9-under 62 and expressed the sentiment of many on Mickelson’s arrival to the senior circuit.

“Anytime you can have someone who’s still competitive on the main tour as Phil is, it’s always fun to see how he comes out and goes and see how you compete against him,” McKenzie said.

PGA Tour Champions: Naples’ Chubb Classic will move, signs three-year deal

The PGA Tour Champions event announced a three-year extension with title sponsor Chubb, but the tournament will not move locations.

The Chubb Classic has an extension, will have another new home in Naples and has new leadership.

The PGA Tour Champions event announced a three-year extension with title sponsor Chubb. The 2021 tournament in February will not return to The Classics at Lely Resort for a third straight year but has a new venue in the works.

Doing the work to secure that will be someone else besides Octagon for the first time since 1999. Then named Advantage International, the company helped save the tournament with the pairing of then-named ACE Group, and that relationship continued through name changes for each.

But no longer.

NAPLES, FL - FEBRUARY 17: Kevin Sutherland celebrates his birdie on the18th green during the third and final round of the Chubb Classic held at The Classics at Lely Resort on February 17, 2019 in Naples, Florida. (Photo by Michael Cohen/Getty Images)
Kevin Sutherland celebrates his birdie on the18th green during the third and final round of the Chubb Classic held at The Classics at Lely Resort on February 17, 2019 in Naples, Florida. (Photo by Michael Cohen/Getty Images)

Nevertheless, that new blood has a familiar name leading the way — Tim Erensen, who was the tournament director for Naples’ event for a couple of years, and remained with Octagon after that.

“It was one of the events that I hated walking away from 10 years ago when we kind of went out on our own and hung our own shingle and started our own business,” said Erensen, who is the managing partner for Eiger Marketing Group, where he’s been since 2010. “I’m very close and connected to the Naples community. My wife and I got married at LaPlaya.

“When the opportunity came for us at Eiger to get back involved, it was both personally and professionally a rewarding one for me.”

Eiger is a global marketing and event management agency that owns and/or operates professional golf tournaments in Los Angeles, Tampa Bay, and Atlantic City. Eiger also operates a number of other sporting and lifestyle events throughout the year and manages the sponsorship portfolio for several blue-chip clients.

“Florida’s Paradise Coast is the perfect fit for PGA Tour Champions, and the Chubb Classic is an integral component of the Tour’s early-season schedule,” said PGA Tour Champions President Miller Brady in a release. “Chubb is a tremendous partner and I look forward to building on the rich history of professional golf in Naples.”

Erensen hopes to announce the 2021 venue in the next month or so. Nine different courses have hosted the tournament, with The Classics at Lely Resort doing so the past two years and in 1996.

“We have a three-year deal with the tour and a three-year deal that kind of matches that with Chubb,” he said. “We do not have a venue deal done yet.”

Next year will be the 34th tournament in Naples, the longest stretch of a Champions Tour event in one metropolitan area. The tournament, which started in 1988 at The Club Pelican Bay, has been by the likes of Gary Player, Bernhard Langer, Fred Couples, and Lee Trevino. Scott Parel is the 2020 champion. Chubb has been the title sponsor since 1999, and the purse remains at $1.6 million for 2021.

“We are pleased to extend our long-term sponsorship of the Chubb Classic,” said Chris Maleno, Senior Vice President, Chubb Group, Division President, North America Field Operations, in a release. “This event has grown over the years to become an important venue for us in hosting business sessions and meetings with some of our most important clients and distribution partners. The Naples community has embraced this event since it began in 1988, the players on tour look forward to playing it every year, and we are honored to be a part that tradition.”

Eiger has hired Scott Reid to run the Chubb, as well as the company’s LPGA Tour event, the Pelican Women’s Championship in the Tampa area.

Tim Erensen, managing partner of Eiger Marketing Group, which has taken over running the Chubb Classic, Naples’ PGA Tour Champions event beginning in 2021. (Submitted)

“I’ve been in this kind of tour tournament world since 2006,” Reid said. “I started as a director of sales for the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill. From there I’ve ran some different PGA Tour events and Champions Tour events.”

Reid comes to Eiger after running the 2019 PGA Championship at Bethpage Black, and was working on the 2021 PGA Championship at Kiawah Island when Eiger made its offer.

“Tim and I have known each other for years and he just kind of had an opportunity, too good of an opportunity to pass up,” Reid said.

“Scott’s been a friend for a long time,” Erensen said. “He’s a guy that, from our business, we’ve kind of had on a short list to have an opportunity to have on the team.”

Scott Reid has joined Eiger Marketing Group as director of Florida events the Chubb Classic on the PGA Tour Champions in Naples and the Pelican Women’s Championship on the LPGA Tour near Tampa. (Submitted)

Reid is starting to look at moving to Southwest Florida, a place he said he’s somewhat familiar with through a few seasonal residents he’s visited over the years. And he knows the importance of the event he’s taking over.

“It definitely has a reputation of one of the best events on the PGA Tour Champions,” Reid said. “For as long as it’s been around, it really speaks volumes.

“I know the players really enjoy the Naples area. February is a great time of the year there. It’s a neat place. It’s obviously a golf destination and a lot of people that I come across at some point talk about Naples. It’s going to be exciting to be down there full time.”

 

Monday golf: Phil Mickelson makes PGA Tour Champions debut

Lefty’s debut comes at the first-ever Champions tour event played Monday through Wednesday.

If you’re up for some live golf on a Monday, you’re in luck.

Three days after missing the cut on the PGA Tour’s Northern Trust at TPC Boston, Phil Mickelson is making his PGA Tour Champions debut in Ridgedale, Missouri.

Lefty tees it up at 3:20 p.m. ET alongside Steve Stricker and Retief Goosen at the Charles Schwab Series at Ozarks National Golf Course.

The Champions Tour added consecutive events at at Ozarks National in late July as part of its combined 2020-21 schedule.

Shane Bertsch won the first event in the double-header last week. He eagled the first hole of a four-man playoff Friday to win the Charles Schwab Series at Bass Pro Shops Big Cedar Lodge. Now, after the weekend off, the first-ever Champions Tour event played Monday through Wednesday gets underway.

Ernie Els, Davis Love III, David Toms, Kenny Perry, Tom Lehman, Bernhard Langer, Vijay Singh, Darren Clarke, Colin Montgomerie, Miguel Angel Jimenez and John Daly are among the names on the tee sheet.

Rich Beem is also in the field. He turns 50 on Monday, so he’ll be making his Champions tour debut on his birthday.

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John Daly’s snapped putter aside, Senior Players was eerily quiet

Akron Beacon Journal photographer Jeff Lange didn’t see John Daly snap his putter on the 16th hole Saturday at Firestone Country Club. But Lange heard it. During a normal year, even in 2019 when the Bridgestone Senior Players Championship replaced …

Akron Beacon Journal photographer Jeff Lange didn’t see John Daly snap his putter on the 16th hole Saturday at Firestone Country Club.

But Lange heard it.

During a normal year, even in 2019 when the Bridgestone Senior Players Championship replaced the departed World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational, the loud crack might not have been audible. Still a man of the people on the PGA Tour Champions, Daly would have drawn a crowd and there would have been buzz as he hit two shots in the water and 3-putted.

In the fan-less COVID-19 world of professional golf, Lange was still able to capture the aftermath of Daly’s dismay after a quadruple-bogey 9, which left Daly putting with a 3-wood for his remaining holes.

Through four beautiful days marred only by a Sunday afternoon thunderstorm, Firestone’s South Course was eerily quiet. A tough Friday crosswind left the field fighting to compensate, but at least the sound of a ball cutting through tree leaves kept one observer from being struck.

The few outside the ropes were marshals, volunteers, girlfriends, wives, tour officials, the cleaning crew and Golf Channel staffers.

John Daly places his broken putter in the back of his cart after finishing with a quadruple bogey on hole sixteen during the third round of the 2020 Bridgestone Senior Players Championship at Firestone Country Club, Saturday, Aug. 15, 2020, in Akron, Ohio. [Jeff Lange/Beacon Journal]
With no television towers erected, the network used “spiders,” a motorized vehicle that looks more appropriate for saving house fire victims from the second story. Only two spiders were on site last year, but with no fans in 2020 the Golf Channel decided to bring in more.

Don Padgett III, executive director of the Bridgestone Senior Players, got the chance to sit behind the ninth green for about an hour watching some groups come through, which he said he’d never done in 14 years in this role. He marveled at being to hear every “good shot” or “good putt” uttered and felt like he was sneaking a peek at an everyday foursome, not the world’s best 50-and-over pros.

Those who did the same clapped politely but lightly at such shots. A robust reaction felt totally out of place.

Padgett also stood at the first tee on Thursday when Fred Couples, Ernie Els and Miguel Angel Jimenez opened the tournament.

“We all watched them tee off and said, ‘There would have been a lot of people here with that group going off,’” Padgett said.

But even without fans, Padgett was glad the event went on. Especially after 13 Champions Tour events were canceled and two Senior majors were postponed, including the Bridgestone, previously scheduled for July 9-12.

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“Everybody uses ‘Things are fluid,’ and when you’re trying to plan a big event and all the volunteers and supporters, it’s definitely a moving target. We had the goalposts moved on us a few times this year,” Padgett said.

The biggest challenge in putting on the $3 million tournament during the pandemic was awaiting the decision on fans, not announced until July 22, because of the structures that needed to be erected.

“We could have had limited fans-full hospitality, like Memorial had been approved for, we could have had just hospitality, or we could have had nobody,” Padgett said. “There was a time where we could have a full event, or if things really went sideways no event, and about three scenarios in between. You were just trying to make your best guess.”

Amid the economic devastation brought on by the health crisis, the event held a Wednesday pro-am at Firestone, a priority on the Champions Tour, and the Westfield Legends Pro-Am Thursday at Westfield Country Club. This year $750,000 was donated back to charity, as compared to $825,000 in 2019.

“It will be gratifying to know that we had a big impact on the community —$150,000 to the Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank, other great partners, the LeBron James Family Foundation will get some funds this year,” Padgett said. “That’s what it’s all about for a lot of people and why they’re involved with this event.

A masked volunteer works as a spotter along the No. 2 fairway during the final round of the 2020 Bridgestone Senior Players Championship at Firestone Country Club, Sunday, Aug. 16, 2020, in Akron, Ohio. [Jeff Lange/Beacon Journal]
“All things considered, I think we’re going to have a really successful week.”

The field saw Firestone with all its teeth, with firm and fast conditions rarely seen during the WGC days from 1999-2018. Yes, there were COVID-19 tests and protocols. In-restaurant dining was prohibited by the tour, which meant no visits to the Diamond Grille.

But the competitors, even as they struggled, their wives and girlfriends may have enjoyed a peaceful respite amid the beauty of the historic oak-lined course.

If John Daly’s putter could talk, it might be the lone dissenter.

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Ace propels Jerry Kelly to Senior Players Championship title

Jerry Kelly survived more than a two-hour weather delay and shot a final-round 1-under 69 to win his first major.

What began as a relatively wide-open race with a possible mad dash to the finish became a two-man pursuit that muted what could have been a drama-filled day on the South Course of Firestone Country Club.

Then, with one scene-stealing, dagger-like swing, Jerry Kelly stood alone.

Buoyed by a stunning hole-in-one on the 200-yard 12th hole, Kelly won the Bridgestone Senior Players Championship by two shots over Scott Parel.

Kelly survived more than a two-hour weather delay and shot a final-round 1-under 69 to win his first major with a 72-hole total of 3-under 277.

One by one the contenders – there were seven players within four shots of the lead at the day’s outset – shot themselves out of the picture until just Kelly and Parel were the last men standing.

Scores: Bridgestone Senior Players Championship

Parel, third on the Charles Schwab money list and the winner of the Chubb Classic earlier this season, shot a final-round 70 to finish at 279.

Kelly’s ace, which extended his lead from one to three shots, came one hole after his bogey enabled Parel to get to within one shot of the lead with seven holes to play. Then, Parel bogeyed the 13th hole to fall four shots behind. Even a birdie on the 17th was not enough.

Kelly, who held or shared the lead from Thursday’s opening round, was winless and had just one top-10 finish this season before prevailing Sunday to win the $450,000 check and a spot in the 2021 PGA Players Championship at Sawgrass. He last won more than one year ago in the American Family Insurance Championship on the senior circuit.

Colin Montgomerie and Miguel Angel Jimenez, one of the first-round leaders, tied for third at even-par 280.

Kelly, with six Champions Tour and three PGA Tour wins on his resume, began the day at 2-under and held a one-shot lead over Parel, Montgomerie and Woody Austin.

He quickly took charge with birdies on two of the first three holes to get to 4-under.

Parel did the same to remain on Kelly’s heels until a bogey on the 469-yard sixth hole dropped him to 2-under.

No one was able to mount a challenge.

Jimenez, who began the day three shots behind, suffered back-to-back bogeys. Montgomerie, with seven career Tour Champions wins, bogeyed two of his first six holes and Els, winner of the Hoag Classic in March, suffered three bogeys on the front.

Austin, who has five top-10 finishes in six events this season, fell back with a bogey on the 471-yard fourth, a double-bogey on the sixth and another bogey on the ninth.

Kelly got sloppy on the final hole and created a little drama with a double-bogey six but Parel was unable to take advantage and finished with a bogey.

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Jerry Kelly remains atop crowded leaderboard at Senior Players Championship

Jerry Kelly made bogeys on two of his final four holes but he still leads at Firestone Country Club in Akron.

The top of the leaderboard is crowded.

The middle portion of the leaderboard is crowded.

Things are crowded at Firestone. Except in the gallery, of course. Saturday is regarded as moving day and several players got out the two-wheelers and the vans to get themselves into contention in the Bridgestone Senior Championship at Firestone Country Club.

Woody Austin and Scott Parel made the biggest moves on moving day with rounds of 3-under 67 that kept them close to tournament leader Jerry Kelly, who remained in sole possession of the lead despite making bogeys on two of his final four holes to close with a second consecutive round of even-par and a 54-hole total of 2-under 208.

Austin, Parel and Colin Montgomerie share second place at 1-under 209 and Miguel Angel Jimenez, one of the first-round leaders and one of six winners in this abbreviated season, was alone in fifth place at 211.

Heading into Sunday’s final 18 holes there are 14 players within six shots of the lead and some of them carry dangerous credentials. Guys like Ernie Els, Fred Couples, Bernhard Langer and Steve Stricker. Austin, Els, Couples and Langer are in the top five of the Tour Champions scoring leaders this season. Langer, second on the money list, won the Cologuard Classic in early March and Els won the Hoag Classic one week later.

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Austin, seventh on the money list, began the day four shots behind Kelly but got within one shot with nines of 33-34 with just one 3-putt bogey and four birdies.

“I really played good today,” he said. “Reminded me of a 30- something kid that used to hit it pretty good. I drove it really well. And all my good irons kept going and I hit it really close. I actually to a point, that’s probably the worst score I could have shot. I mean, I really played solid.”

Parel, winner of this year’s Chubb Classic in February and in the hunt in this event last year until the final four holes, had an up-and-down round with five birdies and three bogeys to make up for his four-stroke deficit at day’s outset.

He admitted a love of the South Course.

“Because it’s tough,” he said. “I did get some lucky breaks, but you’re not going to get a whole lot of luck out there. You really have to strike the ball well. I haven’t driven the ball that great. I missed a bunch of fairways, but I put myself — even when you miss the fairways if you miss them in the right spot to where you can at least run it up — that’s what I think is fair about this place. It is penal if you miss off the tee, but it usually gives you a chance to recover if you miss it in the rough in the right spot.”

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Despite there being just four of 78 players under par, Kelly feels someone is capable of going low.

“There’s a 5-6 or 7-under out there, no question,” he said. “It just hasn’t been done yet but I definitely can see it.”

Kelly had three birdies and one bogey on the front nine to get to 4-under for the tournament at the turn but the back nine wasn’t as productive.

“I got a little loose on the backside for the second day in a row and got out of position and made some bogeys,” he said. “I’m glad I made at least one birdie back there. I could have made two or three more birdies, I was burning some edges. You’re going to make mistakes out here, I know that. I just need to make birdies to counteract the mistakes and live with the mistakes.”

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