Tag: Dominion Energy Charity Classic

Harrison Frazar wins first PGA Tour Champions event; Rocco Mediate plays his way into next round

The 2023 Dominion Energy Charity Classic produced a first-time winner on the PGA Tour Champions.

The sudden-death playoff at the Dominion Energy Charity Classic on Sunday produced a first-time winner on the PGA Tour Champions. The tournament also saw four golfers play their way into the next round.

Richard Green and Harrison Frazar finished tied at 11 under after 54 holes at the Country Club of Virginia in the first of three Charles Schwab Cup playoff events to force a playoff.

Green has three professional wins on the DP World Tour. Frazar’s lone win came in 2011 in the Callaway Golf Pebble Beach Invitational, an event that featured golfers from the PGA Tour, LPGA, Champions and the then-Nationwide Tour.

A left-hander from Australia, Green shot rounds of 67-69-69 and reached the clubhouse first. He then played the waiting game. Frazar went 65-71-69, missing an eagle try on the par-5 18th that would’ve won it outright. He made the ensuing birdie putt from about three feet to force the extra golf.

In the playoff, Frazar drained an 10-footer for birdie on the 18th hole, pumping his fist in celebration.

“It’s been a long time, long time coming,” an emotional Frazar said after his victory. “You think your career’s over and, you know, through faith and through friends and through people who believe in you, you know, you decide to pick it up again because you feel like there’s a void. And the void is this: The void is competing, the void is missing that win. It’s the nerves, it’s all the stuff. It’s scary, but it’s fun. You can never replace it. So yeah, it’s emotional. You just don’t know if you’re ever going to get there again, and when you do, it feels good.”

Frazar was 33rd and jumped to 13th in the points race among the 72 who made the postseason. Green was 24th and improved 10 spots to 14th. Both golfers, however, are too far back to win the season-long title. Steve Stricker, who skipped the Dominion, has a commanding lead in the points, so much so that only five others have a mathematical chance at catching him for the season title: Steven Alker, Bernhard Langer, Stephen Ames, David Toms and Ernie Els.

Els had the best finish Sunday among that group, tying for seventh. Ames tied for 20th, Alker and Langer tied for 25th and Toms tied for 35th.

Who’s in, who’s out?

Only the top 54 advance to the TimberTech Championship in two weeks.

Shane Bertsch (56 to 50), John Huston (55 to 52), Rocco Mediate (59 to 53) and Charli Wi (57 to 54) played their win in but the season is now over for Matt Gogel (51 to 55), David Branshaw (52 to 57), Woody Austin (54 to 58),  Kirk Triplett (53 to 59).

Other notables not advancing: Fred Couples, who was 63rd in the points and chose to skip the Dominion, slipped to 64th; David Duval, who rallied in the regular-season finale to get the 71st spot, climbed to No. 66 but it wasn’t enough to advance; Jim Furyk, who started the week in the 72nd and final position, shot a first-round 76 before withdrawing due to injury.

What’s next?

There’s a week off on the circuit before the 54-hole TimberTech Championship, Nov. 3-5, at the Old Course at Broken Sound Club in Boca Raton, Florida.

From there, the top 36 move on to the 72-hole, no-cut, season-ending Charles Schwab Cup Championship, Nov. 9-12, at Phoenix Country Club.

Steve Stricker could skip Charles Schwab Cup Playoffs and still win season-long title

There are just three events left in the 2023 season to determine the top player on the PGA Tour Champions.

There’s dominating your tour and then there’s what Steve Stricker is doing in 2023.

Stricker has such a massive lead in the season-long points race on the PGA Tour Champions that it’s possible he could skip all three playoff events and still win the title.

Since 2001, the winner of the season-long race has won the Charles Schwab Cup. The Charles Schwab Cup Playoffs are a three-tournament series used to determine the winner of the 2023 Charles Schwab Cup.

Stricker has been the hands-down best player on the circuit in 2023, winning the most events and earning the most money. The money earned through last week’s SAS Championship has since been converted into a points list for the Charles Schwab Cup Playoffs and Stricker’s lead will be difficult to overcome.

Here’s what else you need to know about the 2023 Charles Schwab Cup Playoffs.

Steven Alker wins 2022 Dominion Energy Charity Classic, his fifth title in 31 starts on PGA Tour Champions

Alker ties Steve Stricker for the most wins on the PGA Tour Champions in 2022.

Steven Alker finished the PGA Tour Champions season atop the points standings.

A week later, he finished on top of the leaderboard in the first event of the postseason.

Alker chased down first- and second-round leader Jerry Kelly on Sunday at the Dominion Energy Charity Classic, shooting a 4-under 68 to claim the first event of the 2022 Charles Schwab Cup Playoffs by a shot.

Alker has now won four times on the senior circuit in 2022, tying Steve Stricker for the most this season. Stricker skipped the event this week and is also skipping the next one.

Alker opened with a birdie Sunday but bogeyed the eighth hole to make the turn at even par for the day. He birdied the 10th to start his back nine and then posted consecutive birdies on Nos. 15, 16 and 17 to move into the lead at 14 under.

“It was kind of a dogfight down there at the end,” he said. “I was trying not to look at the leaderboard, because there was so many guys just trying to win this golf tournament.”

Alker now has five wins and 24 top 10s in 31 total events on the PGA Tour Champions.

Sunday’s chilly temperatures didn’t seem to faze him much.

“It was just that kind of golf where the ball wasn’t traveling and just like playing in California, like Pebble Beach,” he said. “Just club up and try and hit some quality shots down the stretch.”

K.J. Choi shot a 5-under 67 to finish in solo second. Kelly closed with a 72 to finish tied for third with Doug Barron and Padraig Harrington at 12 under. Ernie Els and Brian Gay tied for sixth at 11 under.

The round of the day was posted by Rocco Mediate, who shot an 8-under 64 to zoom up the leaderboard and tie for eighth at 10 under.

Bernhard Langer, who was the two-time defending champion at the Dominion and is a six-time Schwab Cup Playoffs winner, finished in a tie for 14th at 8 under.

The playoffs consist of three events with the top 72 players qualified for the Dominion. Four players—Fred Couples, Stricker, Brandt Jobe and Mike Weir—chose to skip it.

Next up is the TimberTech Championship in two weeks at the Royal Palm Yacht & Country Club in Boca Raton, Florida, Nov. 4-6. The top 54 finishers from the Dominion will advance to that event, where Alker is the defending champion.

Scott McCarron was 54th before the Dominion and remains 54th, so he will advance. David Branshaw is the first man out; he was 57th a week ago and could only climb two spots to 55th at the Dominion.

Other notables whose seasons are now over include Jay Haas (60), John Daly (68), Tom Lehman (83) and David Duval (86).

After the TimberTech, the top 36 will move on to the season finale at Phoenix Country Club in Arizona for the Charles Schwab Cup Championship, Nov. 10-13. Phil Mickelson won that event a year ago.

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Jerry Kelly maintains two-shot lead at Dominion Energy Charity Classic

Jerry Kelly had seven birdies on his scorecard once again at the Country Club of Virginia.

Jerry Kelly had seven birdies on his scorecard once again at the Dominion Energy Charity Classic, keeping his two-stroke lead intact in the first event of the 2022 Charles Schwab Cup Playoffs.

Kelly did have two bogeys but signed for a 5-under 67 at the Country Club of Virginia in Richmond, Virginia. He’s now 18 holes away from his fourth win, which would tie Steve Stricker for most on tour this year.

“I’m in position, that’s all I can ask for,” Kelly said. “Great Sunday, playing with Alky on Sunday and it’s where I want to be.”

Steven Alker, who finished atop the points standings at the end of the regular season, shot a 7-under 65 on Saturday to get to 10 under and grab solo second with 18 holes to go. Alker had eight birdies and a bogey in his second round.

“If you’re two or three behind, you’re chasing, you know what I mean?,” Alker said. “Sometimes you tend to push it. You know that the weather could be a factor tomorrow, but you need to make some birdies, so you just keep on trucking on.”

Padraig Harrington, who also has three wins this season, is tied for third at 9 under with Doug Barron. They both shot 67 on Saturday. K.J. Choi, Brian Gay and Rob Labritz are tied for fifth at 8 under, four shots back of the lead.

The Charles Schwab Cup Championship have three events with the top 72 players qualified for the Dominion. Four players didn’t sign up to play, however, as Fred Couples, Stricker, Brandt Jobe and Mike Weir all chose to be elsewhere.

Bernhard Langer, a two-time defending champion at the Dominion and a six-time Schwab Cup winner, shot a 71 in the second round and is tied for 13th.

The top 54 from the Dominion will advance to the TimberTech Championship in two weeks at the Royal Palm Yacht & Country Club in Boca Raton, Florida, Nov. 4-6.

From there, the top 36 move on to the season finale at Phoenix Country Club for the Charles Schwab Cup Championship, Nov. 10-13.

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Jerry Kelly, playing a ‘game within a game’ with his longer-hitting playing partners, takes lead at Dominion Energy Charity Classic

The race for the Charles Schwab Cup Championship is officially underway.

The race for the Charles Schwab Cup Championship is officially underway.

Jerry Kelly rode seven birdies Friday to post a 7-under 65 to open the first tournament in the three-event PGA Tour Champions postseason.

The top 72 players in the regular-season standings qualified for the 2022 Charles Schwab Cup Playoffs, but four players chose to skip the first event for various reasons. That includes Fred Couples, who shot a 60 in the final round of the regular-season finale last Sunday. Joining him on the sidelines are Steve Stricker, Brandt Jobe and Mike Weir.

Kelly avoided bogey over the first 18 holes Friday at the Dominion Energy Charity Classic at the Country Club of Virginia in in Richmond, Virginia, on Friday. Kelly has three wins this season; a fourth would tie Steve Stricker for the 2022 Champions season high.

“I love great starts, but that’s all they are is great starts. I’d love to be in the lead and have a great finish, that would be really cool,” Kelly said. “As long as I can stay in position, it’s just trying to close it out on Sunday.”

Kelly is not the longest hitter on tour and was faced with using his 3-iron a couple times Friday, but he’s good with that.

“You’re kind of hoping it messes with them,” he said of his longer-hitter playing partners, Steven Alker and Padraig Harrington. “If I can get my 3-irons inside of their 8-irons, it makes me feel pretty good. I don’t mind going first, I don’t mind putting that pressure on them. Yeah, it’s a game within a game, no doubt.”

Joe Durant, Bob Estes, Glen Day and Miguel Angel Jimenez are all tied for second at the Dominion after they each fired 5-under 67s.

Jimenez has three wins in 2022, but Durant hasn’t won on the Champions tour this season and neither Estes and Day have ever won on the circuit.

Bernhard Langer, a two-time defending champion at the Dominion, shot a 4-under 68 and is tied for sixth. He is seeking a seventh Schwab Cup title.

Steven Alker, who finished No. 1 in the regular-season standings, shot a 3-under 69 and tied for 15th.

From here, the field will be cut to 54 for the TimberTech Championship at the Royal Palm Yacht & Country Club in Boca Raton, Florida, Nov. 4-6. Then, the top 36 move on to the season finale at Phoenix Country Club for the Charles Schwab Cup Championship, Nov. 10-13.

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After being vandalized last month, the greens at the Country Club of Virginia are back to ’95 percent’ for this week’s Dominion Energy Charity Classic

“It’s just a shame that kind of thing happens. Just to ruin somebody’s property,” said Bernhard Langer.

The PGA Tour Champions is in Richmond, Virginia, at the Country Club of Virginia for the Dominion Energy Charity Classic this week, with the opening round set to tee off Friday morning.

Before arriving, the players in the field were warned about potential flaws in the course’s conditions, specifically on the back nine.

Last month, the greens of Nos. 10, 11, 12, 13 and 15 were vandalized by a petroleum substance and what was left behind were trails of burnt grass.

The repair process was tedious and included replacing the burnt blades with fresh pieces of earth.

Luckily, the results were better than anticipated.

“They were expecting a lot worse,” Christian Sain, Country Club of Virginia’s director of golf and grounds maintenance, told the Richmond Times-Dispatch Wednesday of the PGA officials’ assessment. “They were very complimentary of the staff and the effort that was made to put it back.”

Steven Alker praised the maintenance staff for their work and how quickly they were able to fix the damage.

“I did see the holes on the back nine. They’ve done an amazing job. You really can’t tell.” he said. “It’s covered up pretty good.”

Bernhard Langer was disappointed someone could do that to a golf course.

“It’s just a shame that kind of thing happens. Just to ruin somebody’s property and cost a lot of money and work and labor and love to repair it, it’s a shame it happens,” he said.

Sain believes the greens are back to 95 percent of what they were.

Alker leads the Charles Schwab points list and tees off Friday at 12:31 p.m.

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Who’s in, who’s out (Fred Couples), what’s the format and more for 2022 Charles Schwab Cup Playoffs

Twenty-four tournaments down. Three to go to determine a champion.

Twenty-four tournaments down. Three to go to determine a champion.

The PGA Tour Champions head to the three-event Charles Schwab Cup Playoffs this week at the Dominion Energy Charity Classic.

A total of 72 golfers qualified for the postseason but only 68 will tee it up this week at The Country Club of Virginia’s James River Course in Richmond, Virginia.

From there, the field will be reduced to 54 and then only the top 36 in the standings will advance to the finale at Phoenix Country Club for the Charles Schwab Cup Championship.

Here are some fast facts for the playoffs.

Shanks and quads: Collin Morikawa, Phil Mickelson provide relatable moments this weekend

Major champions aren’t immune to the rare bad shot. Just ask Phil Mickelson and Collin Morikawa.

Collin Morikawa lacked his A-game at the Zozo Championship last week, but his T-7 finish was good enough to boost him one spot in the Official World Golf Ranking to a career-best No. 2, vaulting over Dustin Johnson and now is only looking up at Jon Rahm.

The two-time major champion and reigning “Champion Golfer of the Year” as the British Open winner seems destined to get to the top of the mountain before too long. But major champions aren’t immune to the rare bad shot. They can look like you and me from time to time – and even laugh about it. On Saturday, in Japan, Morikawa had a relatable moment.

“I did something in my career that I haven’t done yet,” he said after his third round. “I don’t think many people know this. I was in the middle of the fairway on 6, the par 5, and shanked a pitching wedge straight in the trees.”

Oh, no, he didn’t! The sweetest swinger of the irons in the game hit a hosel rocket? We need video proof.

“Really good way to start the day after being 1 under through five,” he said facetiously. “I really had no clue where the ball was going to go, I was kind of just trying to make contact.”

No clue where the ball is going? Just trying to make contact? So relatable, Collin, I feel you. Here’s the difference between Morikawa’s muffed shot and the one’s by Joe Hacker at the local muni: Morikawa still managed to shoot 67.

Morikawa wasn’t the only major winner from this year to experience a brain fart last weekend. At the PGA Tour Champions’ Dominion Energy Charity Classic, Phil Mickelson, the reigning PGA Championship winner, had a case of the quads. His quadriceps were activating and surely he didn’t miss “leg day,” but the 547-yard par-5 ninth hole kept kicking his butt. Mickelson did birdie the hole in his opening round Friday, but on Saturday he pumped not one, but two drives out of bounds and made a quadruple-bogey 9. As Yogi Berra would say, it was déjà vu all over on Sunday – another nine on nine. Mickelson, who has been cleaning up on the senior circuit with three wins in his first four starts, got whipped by ageless wonder Bernhard Langer and finished T-47.

It created a moment of schadenfreude that some social media critics couldn’t help but ignore.

Nine on nine is also very relatable. Good to see Mickelson able to poke some fun at himself. Imagine that’s a lot easier to do when the Wanamaker Trophy is resting on your mantel.

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Bernhard Langer defeats Doug Barron in a playoff at the Dominion Energy Charity Classic

The first of three Charles Schwab Cup Playoffs went to overtime in Richmond, Virginia.

“I gotta go play in playoff, I think,” Doug Barron could be heard on Golf Channel telling a group of young fans as he signed autographs after his final-round 68 at the Dominion Energy Charity Classic.

Barron had minutes before birdied the par-5 18th hole at The Country Club of Virginia to take a one-shot lead over Bernhard Langer, who then matched Barron with a birdie on the last to force extra holes.

They played the 18th hole again, and each missed the green with their second shots. Barron’s settled left of the green while Langer’s missed to the right. After Barron chipped on, Langer putted from off the green. They then faced similar birdie putts, with Barron going first but he watched his putt lip out. Langer then drained his, letting his putter fall to the green and raising both arms in celebration.

Langer, 64, is the oldest player to win on the Champions tour. He also earned his 42nd Champions title, which draws him within three of Hale Irwin for most all-time wins. Langer had lost his last five playoffs but is now 7-9 all-time on the circuit.

The Charles Schwab Cup Playoffs points leader also extended his lead in the points as he seeks his sixth Schwab championship and first since 2018.

Notables in the field

Ernie Els shot 70-72 before closing with a bogey-free 63, a round that included nine birdies and goes down as the best round in tournament history.

Jim Furyk, second in the points race, 69-68-69 and finished tied for eighth. He had a tap-in birdie to close with a 69 and finish 10 under but lost ground to Langer in the points.

Phil Mickelson was attempting to become the first Champions tour golfer to win four of his first five events on the circuit, but he shot 71-74-71 to finish tied for 47th. For the second straight day, Lefty posted a quadruple-bogey 9 on the ninth hole, which was his final hole of both his second and final rounds. He started his final round with seven birdies in his first 12 holes but also had a double bogey five holes before his second quad in two days.

Tom Byrum eagled the 18th hole for a 70 and a tie for 16th place. That moved him into the 54th spot in the points, which just squeaks him into the next round of the playoffs at the TimberTech Championship in Boca Raton, Florida, in two weeks. The field will then go to 36 for the playoff finale, Nov. 11-14 at Phoenix Country Club.

Shot of the day

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Steve Flesch leads, four within three shots after the second round of the Dominion Energy Charity Classic

“I’m not overthinking it at night. I’m just playing golf, having fun out here. That’s really all I’m doing.”

Steve Flesch has been approaching golf more relaxed recently, and it’s paying off this week at the Dominion Energy Charity Classic at The Country Club of Virginia.

“I’m not overthinking it at night,” Flesch noted after his first round Friday. “I’m just playing golf, having fun out here. That’s really all I’m doing.”

He entered Saturday’s round just one shot back of Steven Alker, and his day started slowly making the turn with a pedestrian 1-under 35. Back-to-back birdies on 10 and 11 got him right back in the mix and another circle on 15 propelled him into the lead. The American would add another birdie on the par 5 last to get to 13 under.

Coming into the week, Flesch had eight finishes of T-13 or better in his last 10 starts on the Champions tour, including a solo third a few weeks ago at the Constellation Furyk and Friends.

“I’m not hitting shots I don’t feel comfortable hitting. I’m just kind of, I hate the term ‘playing within myself,’ but I’m just hitting shots I know I can pull off and I’m not taking unnecessary chances,” Flesch mentioned after his Saturday 67.  “It’s kind of how I’m playing. And the putter’s hot, so I just want to get the ball on the green and give myself a chance to run it in.

“That’s kind of the game plan and that will be the plan tomorrow. It’s working, so I’m going to stick with it.

He’ll enter the final round with a two shot lead.

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Bernhard Langer entered the second round three shots back of the lead and closed the gap quickly playing his first six holes today 4-under. He would cool down, however, closing out the rest of his round with two birdies and a bogey for a Saturday 5 under 67.

“Not pleased with my par-par-par finish, two par 5s,” Langer said after his round. “Wish I had made one birdie at least, but just lack of length off the tee put me in a position where it wasn’t easy but still could have made one birdie somewhere and I didn’t.”

“I’m going to go as low as I can because I’m going to have to. There’s a lot of guys right there and thereabouts and that’s all we can do.”

Langer currently leads the Charles Schwab Cup points list and is well within striking distance going into Sunday’s final round tied for second, sitting two shots back.

Alker, the 18-hole leader, cooled off a bit today pairing four birdies with two bogeys for a Saturday 2-under 70.

“I didn’t quite obviously putt as well. Sixty-three, you’ve got to putt well, so it wasn’t quite there, but I didn’t give myself as many chances,” Alker said following his second round. “Wedges weren’t as close. Kind of struggled on the back nine a little bit, I missed some approaches, just didn’t have the yardage, so that kind of held me back.”

He’ll have to turn it back on tomorrow to catch Flesch as he sits two shots back with Langer.

Notable names in the field: Jim Furyk (T-8, 7 under), Ernie Els (T-36, 2 under), Phil Mickelson (T-49, 1 over), Vijay Singh (T-52, 2 over), Davis Love III (WD), and John Daly (WD).

Shot of the day

 

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