The first round got postponed Friday by heavy rain. They were able to play 36 holes Saturday. More overnight rain then wiped out Sunday’s final.
Enough is enough, said PGA Tour Champions, as the 2024 Insperity Invitational was called and Scott Dunlap was declared the winner.
The tour’s official statement said:
“The weather affecting the greater Houston area overnight and throughout the morning has required Round 3 of the Insperity Invitational to be cancelled. Therefore, in accordance with the PGA Tour Champions Regulations, the tournament results will be final through the conclusion of 36 holes.”
Dunlap shot 65-70 on Saturday to finish 9 under, one stroke ahead of Joe Durant and Stuart Appleby. Dunlap earned his second PGA Tour Champions win and first in a decade.
After play on Saturday, with Sunday’s action uncertain, Dunlap commented on his efforts to keep grinding at his game.
“I’ve been pretty mediocre for the last few years and even though I’m getting older, it’s like, I think I can do better than this but you don’t know until you do,” he said. “It’s the great thing about golf. You just keep trying to get better, and you never know if you are going to until you do.”
On Sunday, after being declared the winner Dunlap expounded on what this win does for him.
“At the end of the day, these are real first-world problems. I mean, I knew I was going to play twentysome tournaments this year, but I got to make hay if I want to not do that next year I’ve got to finish 45th to 49th on the Money List, which is what I’ve done,” he said. “And once again, like I said, I think I should have been doing better than that. I wasn’t. I was getting a little worse each year, but I said ‘This is not an inevitable slide.’ I should be able to turn this around possibly, but until you do, you don’t know if you are going to. And, now we’ve taken a good step in the right direction.”
Dunlap earned $405,000 for the win, his first in 191 starts, and was only in the field on a sponsor exemption.
Scott Dunlap wasn’t expecting to play golf this week.
After receiving a sponsor exemption @InsperityInvtnl, Dunlap was overcome with emotion.
Now, he’s a two-time champion on PGA TOUR Champions. pic.twitter.com/VpdebLCqn7
— PGA TOUR Champions (@ChampionsTour) May 5, 2024
Charles Schwab Cup points leader Steven Alker was tie for fourth alongside Thonchai Jaidee.
Bernhard Langer, playing for the first time since tearing his Achilles in early February, shot 69-74 and tied for 31st. That means the 66-year-old beat 40 guys in the field this week outside Houston just three months removed from surgery.
[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=451191666]