Category: PGA Tour Champions

American Family Insurance Championship canceled due to coronavirus pandemic

The PGA Tour Champions event in Madison, Wisconsin, is now off the schedule but it will return in 2021.

Professional golf in the United States has been the one sport slowly advancing toward normalcy within the coronavirus pandemic, but the American Family Insurance Championship in Madison, Wisconsin, could not find a home in an abbreviated golf season and was formally canceled on Thursday.

Conversations about moving the tournament off its original weekend of June 5-7 at University Ridge Golf Course began during the Players Championship, which was canceled on March 12.

As talks progressed over the last month, the PGA Tour provided alternate dates for the tournament in June, July and August but logistical issues prevented the tournament from finding a date that worked for all parties involved in a reschedule.

American Family Insurance’s corporate initiatives for the rest of 2020, along with golf course availability, sponsor requirements, volunteer availability and operational partners all had to align for a new date to be picked.

“When you take a look at all those factors combined, ultimately there was not one date that ultimately landed because one date ultimately had a conflict of one of those varying factors,” tournament director Nate Pokrass said on a video conference call Thursday afternoon. “When you piece that all together, unfortunately just the options to reschedule weren’t available. As we look for a safe and healthy environment and still have that philanthropic impact, this cancellation allows us to go down that path.”

Ticket or pro-am purchases can be refunded, deferred to 2021 or turned into a donation to tournament charities.

In a video message, tournament host and U.S. Ryder Cup captain Steve Stricker said, “It was not an easy decision by any means. We know how much this event means to the community, the fans, the volunteers and the sponsors. We all look forward to it. Even the golfers, we look froward to it.

“But given the mandates and the orders to stay at home, the social distancing, we all know what they are, we just felt like it was in the best interest of everybody – and the safety of everybody – to cancel this year’s event.”

The tournament announced $2.8 million would be donated to charities, with $1 million to the American Family Children’s Hospital in Madison, $800,000 to the local charities from the 2019 event and $1 million to the COVID-19 relief effort in Wisconsin.

Stricker also announced the dates of the 2021 tournament, which will be June 10-13.

Since its inception in 2016, the tournament has gained prestige among players and has won the tour’s President’s Award in back-to-back years for “demonstrating outstanding achievement” for charitable giving, sales, attendance and economic impact.

In 2019, an event won by Madison native Jerry Kelly, 70,000-plus fans filled the golf course. The tournament said its estimated economic impact was about $15 million.

The BoDeans and Little Big Town were slated to play the annual tournament-opening concert June 5. They will be the acts for the 2021 tournament instead.

Earlier on Thursday, the PGA Tour announced its intention to begin its schedule on June 11-14 without fans in attendance at the Charles Schwab Challenge in Fort Worth, Texas. It also released its fall schedule while noting it would address future PGA Tour Champions dates in the coming weeks.

With the cancellation of the AmFam Championship, there are no PGA Tour Champions Tour events on the schedule until the second week of July.

“The tour has been a great partner in this process and they’ve looked at and explored a lot of different options with us and somewhat of our timing (of the cancellation) was done in partnership with the PGA (Tour),” American Family community and social impact officer Jim Buchheim said in the video call. “It did allow them to get through some of their (scheduling) announcements (Thursday) morning. That’s why we’re timed the way that we are today. I think we have a good partnership there and that’s continued throughout this challenging process.”

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19th hole: A man used to waiting, Brett Quigley keeps things in perspective

After a lengthy but winless PGA Tour career, Brett Quigley won in his second start on the senior circuit.

When finally we reach the safe side of this void, there will be losses that are painfully apparent in the world of golf. Lives, most likely. Livelihoods, certainly. Courses, companies, tournaments. Those are the known ones. The unknown losses are frivolous by comparison.

Some golfer will one day slip into a green jacket as the winner of the 84th Masters Tournament, but we’ll never know who would have done so had the event taken place as scheduled two weeks from now. Same goes for May’s aborted PGA Championship. For now at least, dreams of Rory McIlroy’s career grand slam and Brooks Koepka’s three-straight Wanamakers belong on the same beaten docket.

There are no winners because there are no races when the thoroughbreds are confined to their paddocks.

Brett Quigley deployed a racehorse analogy when we spoke a few days ago. “Golf-wise, I’m ready to play. Absolutely chomping at the bit to get back out there,” he said. After a lengthy but winless PGA Tour career — one trammeled with injuries in its last decade — Quigley registered his biggest victory on Feb. 1 at the PGA Tour Champions stop in Morocco. It came in only his second senior start. He contended the next two events as well. Then the season ground to a halt.

Like most professional golfers, Quigley has spent the last couple of weeks eking out a semblance of normalcy at home with his family while hoping the good old days will come again. That’s a familiar experience for him. Before turning 50 last August, he had made just nine PGA Tour starts since 2011 owing to a couple of major injuries, including a stress fracture in his left leg and three fractured vertebrae.

He recently received a text message from an acquaintance. “You’re getting screwed,” it read. “You’re going to lose a year and you don’t have that many years.”

“I’m like, ‘Are you kidding me?’ I’ve already hit the lottery,” Quigley said. “I’m playing golf again and I’m competitive. I’m loving it. I don’t look at it that way at all. In some respects I am so ready to play, but I’ve been off for so long I’m okay with being a little more patient. I’ve waited this long, no big deal if I have to wait another three, four, six months.”

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Uncertainty around his next tournament start is second nature by now, so Quigley spends days with his daughters (aged 11 and 12), hitting balls at Medalist in Hobe Sound, Florida (at least until the club is ordered to close) and watching the news. “All these terms that a month ago I had no idea what they meant, now all of a sudden we’re all experts on flattening a curve,” he says with resigned humor.

A competitor in form must find it difficult not to anxiously scan the horizon for an event that survives the cull, I suggested. “I’m trying not to go there,” he replied. “I thought an outside chance was the U.S. Open…” His voice trails off. The U.S. Senior Open is still scheduled for June 25-28 at Newport Country Club in Quigley’s native Rhode Island. The dominoes in line ahead of it on the PGA Tour Champions schedule have been falling: three events canceled, one postponed and the first silver major, the Regions Tradition, shunted from early May to late September.

“If they can play it at all, it wouldn’t matter when they play it,” he said, more with hope than optimism.

Playing a major championship in Rhode Island would be a bonus in this environment. Playing anywhere would be welcome. “I guess if I had to put a date on it I’d say August, but I don’t know. Hopefully we’re playing golf by then,” Quigley said. “Hopefully we won’t lose too many more, but there are bigger issues than golf for sure.”

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PGA Tour cancels more events due to coronavirus

The PGA Tour canceled the RBC Heritage, Zurich Classic of New Orleans, Wells Fargo Championship, and AT&T Byron Nelson Championship.

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The PGA Tour announced that it is canceling all tournaments through the PGA Championship, which was expected to be played May 14-17, due to concerns with the coronavirus.

The decision means that the following tournaments now have been called off: the RBC Heritage in Hilton Head, South Carolina; Zurich Classic of New Orleans; Wells Fargo Championship in Charlotte; and AT&T Byron Nelson Championship in Dallas.

In a separate announcement, the PGA of America postponed the PGA Championship at TPC Harding Park until a later date, just as Augusta National announced for the Masters on Friday, meaning neither of the first two majors of the golf season will go off as planned.

The Tour’s announcement comes five days after it scrapped the Players Championship after one round and also said that the Valspar Championship in Tampa, WGC Dell Matchplay in Austin and Valero Texas Open in San Antonio would be canceled.

As a result, the Charles Schwab Challenge, scheduled for May 21-24, is the earliest the Tour could play again.

“As we receive more clarity in the coming weeks, the Tour will be working with our tournament organizations and title sponsors, in collaboration with golf’s governing bodies, to build a PGA Tour schedule for 2020 that ensures the health and safety for all associated with our sport and a meaningful conclusion to the season. We will provide further updates when those plans come into focus,” the Tour said in its press release.

The announcement also means that two more PGA Tour Champions events have been wiped out too: the Mitsubishi Electric Classic in Atlanta, Insperity Invitational in Houston and The Tradition in Birmingham, which was originally slated for May 7-10 will now be played September 24-27.

PGA Tour Champions previously announced on March 16 that the Mastercard Japan Championship (June 12-14) will not be contested due to the current travel advisories in place from the CDC, the WHO and the U.S. Department of State.

The following events on the Korn Ferry Tour are also canceled: the Veritex Bank Championship in Dallas, Huntsville Championship in Alabama, Nashville Golf Open, Digital Ally Open in Overland Park, Kansas, while Savannah Golf Championship and the News Sentinel Open in Knoxville have been postponed.

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Jim Furyk, wife Tabitha to host PGA Tour Champions event

A historic Donald Ross course will host the tournament as the PGA Tour Champions returns to Jacksonville for the first time in 19 years.

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JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The PGA Tour Champions will return to Jacksonville for the first time in 19 years when the Constellation Furyk and Friends will be played at the historic Timuquana Country Club Oct. 4-10, 2021.

The Tour signed a five-year deal with Constellation and Timuquana for the full-field event, with a $2 million purse. It will be aired on Golf Channel.

Jim Furyk, a 17-time PGA Tour winner and the 2003 U.S. Open champion, will host the tournament. The foundation he runs with his wife Tabitha is the charitable beneficiary and Constellation, which sponsored the Senior Players Championship until 2018, returns to the tour as a title sponsor.

Furyk made the announcement on Sunday at the 10th annual Furyk and Friends Concert, at the 17th hole of the TPC Sawgrass Players Stadium Course.

“We think it’s a huge opportunity to raise more dollars to help folks and more charitable organizations in Northeast Florida,” Furyk told the Florida Times-Union. “To be able to align ourselves with the PGA Tour and everything about their history of $3 billion in charitable giving is a very big step and something we’re very proud of.”

“It seemed like the right time to make this move to continue that growth,” Tabitha Furyk said. “Bring folks to Jacksonville to see how great our city is but also help us benefit those who need it.”

The last time a PGA Tour Champions event was played in the Jacksonville area was the the Legends of Golf at the Golf Club of Amelia, the Slammer & Squire, and the King & Bear from 1998-2002. The Senior Players was at the Sawgrass Country Club in 1987 and the TPC Sawgrass Dye’s Valley in 1988 and 1989.

Constellation, a Baltimore-based energy company, has pledged $500,000 per year to the foundation beginning in 2021, and will make an initial donation of $100,000 this year. That means over the duration of the first contract, at least $2.6 million will go to charity.

Constellation’s parent company, Exelon, has been one of Furyk’s sponsors in the past.

“This is going to be a home run,” said Constellation president Mark Huston. “What really sold us was the personal interest Jim and Tabitha have in their community. The charity aspect of the tournament is something we’re behind 100 percent.”

Furyk and his wife’s foundation has assisted children and families in need in Northeast Florida for the last decade, such as Wolfson Children’s Hospital, Community PedsCare, Operation Shower and Blessings in a Backpack.
But transitioning that event to a PGA Champions tournament is a game-changer.

“We were a bit limited with the two-day event,” Tabitha Furyk said about the current version of Furyk and Friends. “Now we have an opportunity to grow it. We have already gained momentum, locally and nationally, and this week we needed 100 hotel rooms for the guests. Even with what we’ve been able to do right now, we’re scratching the surface. We know there is an opportunity to do more big things.”

PGA Tour Champions president Miller Brady said that goal of the Furyks is closely aligned with every Champions event.

“It’s going to be a week-long party,” Brady said. “PGA Champions players love the pro-ams, the pairings parties and have a good understanding of the importance of a sponsor and the fans. And Jim is such a great professional on and off the golf course who will give the event great name recognition. They’ve done a great job assisting children and families for the last 10 years and Constellation is committed to make sure that will continue, and to increase the charitable giving.”

Furyk said the pros should enjoy Timuquana, a Donald Ross design that is 97 years old. He and his wife recently became a members.

“I love this golf course … I think it’s going to set up phenomenal for this tournament,” Furyk said.

Furyk will be the second PGA Tour Champions member to host a tournament. Steve Stricker is the host for the American Family Insurance Championship in Madison, Wis., in June.

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Bernhard Langer rallies from four back to claim first Cologuard Classic title

Bernhard Langer came from four shots back to win the Cologuard Classic title on Sunday.

Bernhard Langer remains the force that all senior players must overcome if they want to win a PGA Tour Champions title. On Sunday, the German came from four shots back to win the Cologuard Classic. By the end of the final round at Tucson National’s Catalina Course, he was 18 under and two shots ahead of runner-up Woody Austin.

The victory represents Langer’s 41st title on the senior tour. Langer, 62, is now only four victories short of all-time leader Hale Irwin.

Langer has played the Cologuard Classic five times, but this is his first win in an event where he feels like the venue fits him.

“I feel somewhat comfortable around this golf course,” he said. “It probably suits a high ball, hit it with a lot of spin because some of the greens are usually fairly firm and some of the pins are tucked behind a bunker by three yards or so and you’ve got to stop it. You know, I’m not known for that, but I can spin the ball enough to compete if I play well.”

Langer got off to a hot start with birdies on his first three holes. He added two more at Nos. 7 and 8 then sprinkled four more over the back nine before making a bogey at No. 18 that left him with an 8-under 65. By that time, it didn’t matter much. There was no catching him.

With the wins still coming now despite being in his 60s, Langer had much to say on the topic of confidence.

“Confidence is a huge part of golf, we all know that, so it’s always great to win or be happy about your game, feel like you’re close or you’re on top of it,” he said. “I still feel if I can play my best, I have a chance to win out here. But I have to play my best, I can’t play at 80 percent, there’s too many really good players nowadays that just will lap me if I don’t play my very best.”

Brett Quigley was chasing his second PGA Tour Champions title in four starts. The 50-year-old just became eligible for the senior tour. After a nearly flawless start to the tournament – he had just one bogey in opening rounds of 64-68 – Quigley’s third round was much different. He got through the front nine easily enough with two birdies and six pars but bogeyed the 10th and double-bogeyed the 12th. That effectively derailed his day.

A final-round 73 left Quigley at 14 under, in a share of third with Rod Pampling.

Steve Stricker, Fred Couples and Miguel Angel Jimenez were all another shot back in a share of fifth.

For Quigley, the near misses provide learning experiences just as much as his win earlier this year in Morocco did.

“You just keep hitting shots and shoot as low as you can because you never know what’s going to happen,” he said when asked what he had learned in Tucson.

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Brett Quigley leads Fred Couples by two at Cologuard Classic

Brett Quigley backed up an opening 64 at Tucson National’s Catalina Course with a second-round 68 and leads by two at the Cologuard Classic.

Brett Quigley moved a little bit closer on Saturday to padding his professional win column. That’s significant for the 50-year-old who won his first PGA Tour Champions title earlier this year in just his second start on the senior tour. Quigley had five runner-up finishes in 408 starts on the PGA Tour but never was a champion.

Quigley backed up an opening 64 at Tucson National’s Catalina Course with a second-round 68 and now leads by two shots at the Cologuard Classic.

Quigley nearly went bogey-free for a second day. He didn’t have a blemish on his card in the first round, but his sole bogey of the second round came at the par-4 11th.

“To back up yesterday’s round with a pretty good round today, 5 under,” Quigley said. “Hard to keep track of par out here with 73 being par. I think it was 5 under. A little off the back nine, but managed to shoot under par, so certainly happy overall.”

Quigley leads Fred Couples by two shots after Couples backed up an opening 68 with 66. Miguel Angel Jimenez and Rod Pampling are tied for third at 11 under.

John Daly dropped seven spots on the leaderboard with his Saturday 71 and now is in a share of 10th at 8 under.

Couples, 60, calls Quigley “the kid.” Asked what he thinks of that, Quigley said he was not unhappy to have the nickname.

“Certainly I feel like a newbie again, definitely a neophyte out here. It’s against all the guys I grew up playing with and a lot of guys I grew up watching, so it’s fun.”

Quigley and Couples, along with Jimenez, will be paired together in Sunday’s final group.

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Brett Quigley leads Cologuard after bogey-free 64; John Daly is 3 back

Brett Quigley opened the Cologuard Classic with a 9-under 64 at Tucson National’s Catalina Course and has a one-shot lead.

Earlier this year, Brett Quigley won his first PGA Tour Champions title in just his second start on the senior tour. After Friday’s opening round on the Cologuard Classic, he’s in position to chase another title. Quigley opened with a 9-under 64 at Tucson National’s Catalina Course and has a one-shot lead on Robert Karlsson.

Quigley’s card didn’t have a single bogey on it. His back nine was particularly impressive, considering he went 6 under in his last seven holes. That included four birdies in a row from Nos. 12-15.

“I think I was 3 under and I saw someone 6,” he said. “I was like, `All right, I’ve got to get going here. I’ve just got to make some birdies.’ Hit some good shots and made some good putts and all of a sudden it was a bunch of birdies.”

Karlsson made five back-nine birdies in a 65. The 50-year-old Swede is making his second career start on the senior tour. He tied for 23rd two weeks ago in the Chubb Classic in his senior debut.

Steve Stricker, John Daly, Glen Day and Rod Pampling shot 67. Hall of Famers Fred Couples and Bernhard Langer were another stroke back along with Ken Tanigawa.

Quigley, the nephew of 11-time PGA Tour Champions winner Dana Quigley, had five runner-up finishes in 408 starts on the PGA Tour and earned more than $11 million. Asked what had changed since his recent win in Morocco, he responded “nothing and everything.”

“It’s such a great atmosphere out here,” Quigley said. “The camaraderie’s just different than the tour. Everybody still calls me ‘Champ’ out here, walking by. It’s just a nice feeling. It’s not as dog eat dog as it is out there on the big tour. And I’ve had a bunch of time off, so I’m ready to play golf and I’m happy playing golf.”

Daly, for his part, credited his putter for his solid opening round. He also put a new set of irons in play recently.

Asked to describe the state of his game coming into the week, Daly referenced solid ball-striking at the tour’s last stop in Naples that wasn’t reflected in his scoring.

“Here I hit it pretty good and scored pretty good besides making a few putts,” he said. “But I like the way I’m hitting the ball. If you can hit fairways and wedge up some pretty close, and getting a few gimmes here and there always helps, too.”

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Why did World Golf Hall of Famer Tom Kite need to write for his first sponsor exemption?

After more than 1,100 career starts in his illustrious career, Hall of Famer Tom Kite pens his first letter asking for a sponsor’s exemption. Allow us to explain.

What is a World Golf Hall of Famer with 19 PGA Tour victories, more than $27 million in earnings and more than 1,100 career combined starts as a professional doing asking for a sponsor invite into the PGA Tour Champions Cologuard Classic in Tucson, Arizona, this week?

Good question. Tom Kite, the golfer in question, provided me the answer.

“I failed the tour’s playing standard regulation last year because of how poorly I played,” he said.

There’s a playing standard on the senior circuit? Who knew? Here’s the actual language of this arcane rule that was implemented roughly 20 years ago, according to the PGA Tour Champions.

“Upon the conclusion of the season, any player who has played a minimum of six official rounds and played in a minimum of three tournaments shall have maintained a scoring average for all rounds played by such player during the previous year in tournaments awarding official money no higher than four and one-half (4.5) strokes in excess of the average score for all players in such tournaments.”

There’s two opposing schools of thought on this: you either think this rule is a joke and Kite is an all-time great, a name golf fans still care to pay money to see and he deserves our admiration that he’s still grinding and should be allowed to go out on his terms. Or you think this is a reasonable rule meant to protect the quality of the field and would tell Kite, ‘C’mon, old man, your time has passed,’ and, in what is very much a closed shop, you’re taking a spot from a more worthy player.

Kite, 70, has played in 426 senior tournaments since turning 50 in December 1999 and racked up 10 wins, 125 top-10 finishes and more than $14 million. But last season he played just 11 tournaments and earned $26,476. And, for our purposes here, the bigger problem was his scoring average in ‘19: 76.148, which was a differential of 4.847 compared to the fields he played against, so that’s how he missed the 4.5 stroke average.

Tom Kite won 19 times on the PGA Tour and 16 times on PGA Tour Champions.

Kite’s final tournament in 2019 was the Pure Insurance Championship at Pebble Beach, where he won his lone major in 1992. He shot his age, 69, in his first round but followed it up with a 79 at Poppy Hills Golf Course.

“I forgot about the rule,” Kite said. “I could’ve signed my scorecard incorrectly or not signed it at all and been DQed and still have my status.”

Here’s more on the rule affecting Kite’s status this season.

“Any such player failing to meet the guidelines set forth in this Section C.1(a) of this Article III shall retain regular membership but for subsequent seasons shall no longer be exempt. The scoring average portion of the Performance Guidelines shall not be applicable for those members who have a minimum of 50 combined (PGA TOUR and PGA TOUR Champions) victories in tournaments awarding official money, or players in the All-Time Victory Category A.1 (i)(i). There shall be no other exemption from this scoring average provision of the Performance Guidelines.”

The bar is set so high for a “get out of jail card” – a combined 50 wins between the tour’s junior and senior circuits – too high, you could argue, that even stalwart Bernhard Langer wouldn’t meet it. (Hale Irwin is one of the few, the proud, who does.)

But Kite didn’t complain about being in this no-man’s land to start the season. In fact, he said, “I endorse the policy 100%.”

As a result, Kite sent his first letter requesting a sponsor exemption to tournament officials at the Tucson tournament, which begins Friday.

Fifty years ago this June, Kite made his PGA Tour debut at the U.S. Open at Hazeltine. He passed Tour Q-School in his first attempt and made it through Monday Qualifying initially. Never did he have to ask for a handout. Well, there was one time he accepted a sponsor exemption into the old Crosby Clambake, but that was arranged by his amateur partner.

Part of the reason Kite may have accepted having his exempt status suspended – technically, he qualifies through the all-time points, all-time money and Hall of Fame categories – is that he can receive unlimited sponsor exemptions. He already has another one lined up for the Hoag Classic next week in Newport Beach, California, and then he will re-assess his plans. And there’s also this:

“A player who loses his exempt status for failing to meet the scoring average provision of the Performance Guidelines may regain exempt status immediately by finishing among the top one-half (1/2) of the starting field in any PGA Tour Champions cosponsored or approved tournament awarding official prize money, excluding official money team events.”

In other words, if he can finish inside the top half of an official, non-team event – top-39 or better this week – his status will be reinstated. It’s not a high bar and one Kite is confident he can achieve.

“I know I’m at the end of my rope,” he said. “I don’t have any super-high aspirations other than to see the guys and compete and get my status back. I didn’t play worth a darn last year, but you know what? I’m still a pretty good player.”

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Scott Parel ties tournament record at Chubb Classic

Parel tied the tournament record at 17-under 196 on the par-71 course, holding off Bob Estes by two shots.

NAPLES, Fla. – Scott Parel lost two opportunities at victories last year in playoffs. He wasn’t going to take that chance Sunday in the Chubb Classic.

Parel, 54, birdied six of the first 12 holes to come back from five shots off the lead and went on to win at The Classics Country Club at Lely Resort for his third PGA Tour Champions victory. Parel tied the tournament record at 17-under 196 on the par-71 course, and won $240,000 out of the $1.6 million purse.

Parel finished with an 8-under 63 to beat Bob Estes (64) by two shots.

“I think it’s really important for me,” Parel said of getting a win after being in contention. “You know you’re not going to win every time you’re in contention and you start to wonder how many more times are you going to get in contention? So for me to be in contention and to finish the job, very happy.”

2019 Chubb Classic winner Miguel Angel Jimenez also came from five behind, and won in a playoff.

Sunday, Parel vaulted up the leaderboard with birdies on four of his first seven holes, then took the lead with birdies on Nos. 10 and 12 when Bernhard Langer had back-to-back bogeys on No. 9 and 10.

Last year, Parel, who did not play on the PGA Tour and didn’t turn professional until he was 31, lost in playoffs both times to Kevin Sutherland at the Rapiscan Systems Classic and the Principal Charity Classic. One was in a seven-hole playoff, and in the other, Sutherland shot a 62 to come from eight behind.

“I was hoping to avoid a playoff because I haven’t had much luck in those lately,” Parel said.

Parel doesn’t have a major championship pedigree as far as tour golf goes, but he still has one in a sense. He’s lived in Augusta, Georgia, since he was 7 or 8, and usually goes to the Masters. He even worked the scoreboard there when he was in high school.

“I worked on the eighth scoreboard there, so that was the first time I got on the grounds and it was quite a place. Still is,” Parel said.

He also met his wife, Mary, in Augusta, and she was able to see her husband win in person for the first time.

“I won twice in 2018 and she wasn’t here, and not only her but a lot of friends and family that were here this week,” he said. “To have them there so they can enjoy it, it was very special.”

Langer also shot a 196, at 20 under, in 2011 at The Quarry and Kenny Perry was the same in 2012 at TwinEagles.

Parel, who missed a short birdie putt at No. 13, nearly made a long one on No. 14, but did on No. 15. He added an easy one on the par-5 No. 17. Estes birdied Nos. 15 and 17 to stay within two, but Parel played the 18th safely, and Estes didn’t get his 20-foot birdie chance to fall.

“I was just trying to match birdies with his birdies,” Estes said. “But I was, I think, three back at one point. So it was going to be tough to catch him if he made a few more birdies, and he did.”

Langer, who was going for his record fourth win in Naples, birdied three of his first six holes to take the lead. But Langer lost momentum with the bogeys and didn’t make a birdie on the back until the par-5 17th. He finished tied for third with Sutherland at 13 under.

Fred Couples hovered around the lead, but never made a run, and bogeyed the final two holes to finish eighth at 11 under. Couples, who had won twice in Naples and finished second in his other appearance, birdied Nos. 5 and 9, but couldn’t get it going on the back nine until a birdie at No. 14.

Parel won twice in 2018, at the Boeing Classic with a final-round 63 to rally from five back to win by three, and at the Invesco QQQ Championship by a shot over Paul Goydos.

Parel, who shared the first-round lead with Doug Barron after a 64, finished first for the week in putts per green in regulation at 1.537, and 24.67 putts per round, also best in the field. He tied for fourth in greens in regulation.

“My speed was great today,” Parel said. “When you make that 12-footer on the first hole, it gives you a little confidence. And chipped it on the second hole. So, I mean, my putting was really good.”

 

Stephen Leaney tops loaded field at Chubb Classic

Stephen Leaney has a one-stroke lead over three-time champion Bernhard Langer in the Chubb Classic.

Stephen Leaney has had to play for his status on the PGA Tour Champions the past two years.

Sunday, the 50-year-old Australian will be playing for his first professional victory on American soil. But he’ll have quite the contingent to hold off.

Leaney, who has 14 professional victories, made a 30-foot eagle putt on No. 17 and has a one-stroke lead over three-time champion Bernhard Langer in the Chubb Classic at The Classics Country Club at Lely Resort following Saturday’s second round.

“It was a nice eagle on No. 17 again,” Leaney said. “I had a perfect one to the front. It landed right on the front edge. And thankfully I saw Ken (Tanigawa) hole a putt just in front of me, so he showed me the line, and I rolled it in.”

Leaney shot a 6-under 65 to get to 12 under par, one ahead of Langer, and two in front of two-time winner Fred Couples, Chris DiMarco and Fred Funk.

Leaney had three top-10 finishes in his Champions Tour debut last year, then tied for fourth in qualifying school to keep status for 2020.  He tied for 10th in the tour’s last event in Morocco two weeks ago.

Leaney was undaunted on what he faces in regards to Langer, who has 40 tour victories; Couples, who has 13 while not playing a full schedule; and Funk, a nine-time winner who is trying to become the oldest champion in tour history at 63.

“I have won tournaments before,” Leaney said. “No problem in this position. So it’s all about controlling yourself. I can’t control what anyone else does. And regardless of who’s behind me — I know that someone is going to go out and shoot a low score, so you can’t just hold on to what you’ve got.

“So I just got to try and stay patient and go at the flags I can go at. And if it falls my way, so be it.”

Langer, who played with Leaney on Saturday, got off to a slow start, making pars on his first seven holes. He birdied Nos. 8 and 11, then rattled off three straight on Nos. 15, 16 and 17 to jump up the leaderboard in a tournament he lost in a playoff last year.

“I left everything short,” Langer said. “It’s like the greens on the course were slower than the putting greens, so it took me nine holes to just — but really, it’s crazy. But I left a lot of putts short, so that’s why I think there were no birdies. I had chances.”

Couples had a share of the lead when he finished, but Leaney’s eagle on No.  17 and Langer’s birdie on the hole pushed him back to a tie for third.

“I think I judged the wind pretty well, and I made a lot of short birdie putts,” Couples said. “But overall, I drove it really well. … This is the third round I have ever played here. Obviously, the wind blew the other way in the pro-am, and now it’s blowing the other way.

“I like the course. Really small greens. Kind of fits my eye. And (Sunday) is another big day. I would like to keep playing well and see if I can get a ‘W’ here.”

DiMarco, whose best finish on this tour is a tie for sixth, also made an eagle on No. 17.

Langer and Couples have won in Naples before. Leaney will try to join them.

“He played really good,” Langer said of Leaney. “And I played solid. He just putted a little better. And yeah, should be a fun shootout (Sunday), hopefully.”

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