Kirk Triplett – Syndication Server

Jerry Kelly beats Kirk Triplett in a playoff at 2022 Principal Charity Classic on PGA Tour Champions

Jerry Kelly stayed composed through a weather delay and a playoff to win the 2022 Principal Charity Classic.

DES MOINES, Iowa — Jerry Kelly took advantage of a final round drop in standings by Steven Alker to win the Principal Charity Classic on Sunday, staying composed through an inclement weather delay and a playoff.

The last time the PCC went to a playoff was 2019, and Kevin Sutherland was the champion that year.

He finished with a birdie in the single playoff hole, while Kirk Triplett hit par, to claim the winner’s prize of $277,500. Both Kelly and Triplett finished at 18 under.

“It’s just a good old-fashioned afternoon,” Kelly said after accepting the championship trophy at the Wakonda Club. “It felt good all week, I just had to keep my patience in there, and that was what sent me through.”

That brings Kelly’s total Charles Schwab Cup winnings to $703,805. He was ranked 14th ahead of the PCC, with top-10 finishes in the Cologuard Classic, Chubb Classic and ClubCorp Classic. This was Kelly’s first win this season.

Kelly finished the second round on Saturday in a four-way tie for first. He shared the top spot with Kirk Triplett, Brett Quigley and Alker, all of whom shot 13-under 131 through the first two days of the PCC.

At the lightning delay Sunday, Kelly was tied for first with Triplett at 17 under through 15 holes. It was back-and-forth between the two frontrunners all Sunday, as Alker couldn’t continue his success from Saturday into Sunday’s competition and Bernhard Langer couldn’t find a way past the top two golfers.

Rain was expected Saturday and Sunday but didn’t hamper play during the second round. The final round didn’t go off as smoothly, and around 3:45 p.m. the horn was blown and play was suspended due to lightning.

Kelly said after the second round that weather often controlled the results of these tournaments more than anything else. But the weather ended up having little effect on the field.

Play resumed at 4:47 p.m. local time.

After returning from the delay, Kelly hit par on the 16th hole before recording a birdie on the 17th hole. He hit par on the final hole, which led to the playoff round. With the championship coming down to a playoff round, Kelly’s shot landed in better position compared to Triplett’s, and Kelly sank the birdie for the win.

Triplett’s lead after Friday’s opening round marked the seventh time he led or co-led the after the first round of a PGA Tour Champions event, but he had yet to win a tournament after posting the top score out of round one. That streak continued Sunday.

It was emotional moment following the win for Kelly, whose wife, Carol, has been dealing with the effects of kidney cancer.

“I had to miss Carol’s treatments that are going on right now for this tournament,” Kelly said. “I wanted to give her something to actually be happy about, and then she gave me the best present possible by having such clean scans on Friday afternoon.

“Big chills right now, great feelings. (Carol and my son are) the ones that make me stay strong out here even when I’m not strong. It’s everything.”

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How much money each PGA Tour Champions player earned at the 2021 Charles Schwab Cup Championship

The 2021 Charles Schwab Cup Championship put a cap on the PGA Tour Champions “super” season.

PHOENIX — The 2021 Charles Schwab Cup Championship put a cap on the PGA Tour Champions “super” season.

Phil Mickelson won the season-finale by a shot over Steven Alker. It’s Lefty’s fourth win in six outings on the senior circuit, matching Jack Nicklaus. Mickelson earned $440,000 for the victory at Phoenix Country Club.

Bernhard Langer finished 17th but it was good enough for him to secure the season-long Charles Schwab Cup points title.

Darren Clarke and David Toms finished tied for third at 17 under. Brandt Jobe and Jim Furyk ended up in a tie for fifth.

This was the 20th Charles Schwab Cup Championship. Check out the final payout from the event.

Position	Player	Score	Earnings
1	Phil Mickelson	-19	$440,000
2	Steven Alker	-18	$250,000
T3	Darren Clarke	-17	$192,500
T3	David Toms	-17	$192,500
T5	Brandt Jobe	-16	$138,125
T5	Jim Furyk	-16	$138,125
T7	Paul Goydos	-15	$75,000
T7	Miguel Angel Jiménez	-15	$75,000
T7	Steve Flesch	-15	$75,000
T7	Brett Quigley	-5	$227,813
T7	Stephen Ames	-5	$227,813
T7	Kirk Triplett	-5	$227,813
T13	Doug Barron	-13	$53,750
T13	Vijay Singh	-13	$53,750
T13	Fred Couples	-13	$53,750
T13	Scott Parel	-13	$53,750
17	Bernhard La	-12	$47,500
T18	Ernie Els	-11	$42,500
T18	Alex Cejka	-11	$42,500
T20	Retief Goosen	-10	$29,375
T20	Woody Austin	-10	$29,375
T20	Wes Short, Jr.	-10	$29,375
T20	Kenny Perry	-10	$29,375
T24	Kevin Sutherland	-9	$22,500
T24	Jerry Kelly	-9	$22,500
T24	K.J. Choi	-9	$22,500
T27	Paul Broadhurst	-8	$18,958
T27	Rod Pampling	-8	$18,958
T27	Glen Day	-8	$18,958
30	Dicky Pride	-7	$17,500
31	Colin Montgomerie	-5	$16,875
T32	Tim Petrovic	-2	$15,937
T32	Mike Weir	-2	$15,937
34	Gene Sauers	-1	$15,000

In addition to the tournament payouts, the top-five finishers in the season-long points race earn a chunk of money that will be paid out in an annuity.

Bernhard Langer, $1 million
Jim Furyk, $500,000
Miguel Angel Jiménez, $300,000
Ernie Els, $200,000
Jerry Kelly, $100,000

The annuity is set to pay out over 10 years.

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Phil Mickelson wins Charles Schwab Cup Championship; Bernhard Langer wins season-long points title for sixth time

Phil Mickelson made his return to Arizona a memorable one while Bernhard Langer made history.

PHOENIX — Phil Mickelson made his return to tournament golf in Arizona a memorable one. Bernhard Langer added another chapter to the history books. Jim Furyk kept things interesting right till the end. It all made for an eventful finish to the PGA Tour Champions season.

Playing in his sixth Champions event, Mickelson won for the fourth time after shooting a final-round 65 at Phoenix Country Club to claim the Charles Schwab Cup Championship for the first time.

Mickelson went bogey-free Sunday with birdies on Nos. 1, 7, 11, 15 and 16 before making a clutch par putt on No. 17. Mickelson closed his round with a birdie on the par-5 finishing hole to get to 19 under, completing his rally from a three-shot deficit to win the tournament. He won by a shot over Steven Alker, who birdied the 18th to finish 18 under. It’s Alker’s 10th top-10 finish in 11 tries since he turned 50 and joined the senior tour.

Meanwhile, by virtue of his final-round 69 and solo 17th-place finish, Langer clinched the season-long Charles Schwab Cup points race for a record sixth time. Langer came into the week leading the points, fell behind to Jim Furyk after the second and third rounds but reclaimed the top spot Sunday. Langer competed in all 39 events during the Champions tour’s “super” season, which combined the 2020 and 2021 campaigns.

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Furyk shot 65-67-65 in the first three rounds and was looking to cap the week with a couple of firsts. He would’ve been the first Champions tour rookie to win the Schwab Cup points title. He also was attempting to become the first golfer to win the season-long title on the senior circuit after winning the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup, which he did in 2010.

On 18, Furyk stood on the tee box needing an eagle on the par-5 closing hole to get to 18 under and finish solo second. That would’ve been enough to surpass Langer to claim the points race but after driving it in the fairway, Furyk pulled his second into the grandstands down the left side of the fairway.

With Mickelson signing autographs for fans and Langer watching the Golf Channel coverage in the clubhouse, Furyk needed to hole his third shot for eagle to win it but he blasted it well past the hole and watched it nestle in the thick rough off the green. He got up and down for par for a 71 to finish in a tie for fifth with Brandt Jobe.

Darren Clarke made a run up the leaderboard Sunday, closing his round with a birdie on 18 for a 64 to briefly take the clubhouse lead at 17 under. A year ago, after winning the TimberTech Championship, he faced visa issues which kept him from traveling to Phoenix to the Schwab Cup. Clarke finished tied for third with David Toms, who closed with a 65.

Paul Goydos had the round of the day, making a birdie on the last to shoot a 8-under 63 to finish 15 under for the week. The 63 also matches the low round of the week, also shot by Langer on Saturday.

Mickelson will deposit $440,000 into his bank account for the win. Langer claims a $1 million prize to be paid out in an annuity for winning the points.

The 2022 PGA Tour Champions season tees off with the Mitsubishi Electric Championship in Hawaii, Jan. 20-22. The 2022 Charles Schwab Cup Championship will once again be in Phoenix, Nov. 10-13, at Phoenix Country Club.

The combo season also marked the 20th anniversary of the Schwab Cup.

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Phil Mickelson dazzles; Jim Furyk closes in on Charles Schwab Cup Championship

Jim Furyk started the day three shots back but will take a two-shot lead into the final round.

PHOENIX — It was the marquee pairing of the day, as local favorites Jim Furyk and Phil Mickelson teed it up in the second-to-last group in the second-to-last round at the Charles Schwab Cup Championship.

Several hundred fans surrounded the first tee box at the start of their round Saturday at the Phoenix Country Club, a fitting venue for the former Wildcat (Furyk) and former Sun Devil (Mickelson) to do battle.

Furyk, 51, teed off first and went on to eagle the par-5 opening hole. He is one of four golfers still alive in the Schwab Cup race. Mickelson, 51, is not eligible but is seeking his fourth win in six starts on the PGA Tour Champions.

Their on-course battles go back to their college days and continued on the PGA Tour and now the Champions circuit.

“Phil attracts a crowd for sure,” Furyk said. “We’re in Sun Devil country so I heard a lot of ASU out there but Arizona is pretty big and Phoenix is a massive city, so a third of the folks here went to UofA. I’ve seen some support out there as well. It was fun. It’s great to be back in Arizona, it’s great to have that Arizona-Arizona State rivalry. And I’ve known Phil since we were in high school. Good to be out with someone who I played a ton of golf with throughout my career.”

Furyk and Mickelson go way back!

Former college rivals at @TheSunDevils and @AZATHLETICS are paired in Round 3 @SchwabCupFinale in Phoenix. pic.twitter.com/ofN7VFitdw

— PGA TOUR Champions (@ChampionsTour) November 13, 2021

Mickelson produced perhaps the shot of the day on the par-4 12th hole. After bombing his drive well left of the green, his ball settled in the rough in a spot nearly behind the 16th tee box.

Mickelson then pulled off one of his patented flop shots, landing the ball perfectly on the green, where it nestled about two feet away. He would then make the birdie putt to get to 12 under.

Phil doing Phil things.

All the angles. pic.twitter.com/ku4xvajU5J

— PGA TOUR Champions (@ChampionsTour) November 13, 2021

Furyk started the day three shots back of Kirk Triplett of Scottsdale. A birdie on nine gave Furyk the outright lead at 14 under. Triplett, who opened the week 65-64, later followed with a birdie of his own on the ninth to get to 14 under. He is seeking his first win in more than two years.

On 15, Furyk almost made an ace on the par-3 hole, although he wasn’t quite sure just how close it was.

“You can’t tell from the tee box,” Furyk said. “I had one that was really close on Thursday, same hole, that Billy Ray [Brown of Golf Channel] said took a peek.”

Furyk closed with three straight pars for a 65 and leads by one after 54 holes at 16 under.

“Scores are low but you want to be patient. You don’t want to force it in there and make stupid bogeys,” he said. “I got myself in a good position.”

Triplett is solo second at 15 under after a 69 and is looking forward to Sunday’s final round in Furyk’s group.

“I haven’t played with Jim in a long time, I am looking forward to it,” Triplett said. “That’s the nice thing about this Champions tour, you get to play with some guys you haven’t played with in a while.”

Stephen Ames shot a 65 to get to 14 under. He is tied for third with Steven Alker, who’s had a meteoric rise on the Champions circuit since turning 50 in July. From New Zealand, Alker moved to Arizona nearly two decades ago, and won last week on the Champions tour, his first win anywhere since 2014. He has posted a top-10 in nine of his last 10 events.

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Mickelson is solo fifth at 13 under after a third-round 68. He closed his round with a birdie on the par-5 18th. He has birdied the hole all three days so far.

The round of the day was recorded by Bernhard Langer, 64, who shot a 63 thanks to a bogey-free day that included four birdies and two eagles, on No. 1 and No. 18. It’s the second time in three months he shot his age or better.

Langer is doing this despite a balky back, which he says started acting up during Wednesday’s pro-am. On Thursday, he admitted he had thoughts of withdrawing, but after talking with his doctor, who said he can’t make things worse, decided to stick it out in his quest for a record sixth Schwab Cup title.

“On this occasion, my doctor assured me I couldn’t do any more damage to it, so that reassured my mind to fight through it, especially Thursday was pretty tough.”

Langer, now tied for ninth at 10 under, came into the week with the lead in the points race but will start Sunday in second.

However, if either Langer or Furyk win the tournament Sunday, they will also claim the Schwab Cup.

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Kirk Triplett makes his move at Charles Schwab Cup Championship

Lefty was back on familiar turf at Phoenix Country Club, shooting a 65 in the first round on Thursday.

PHOENIX — Kirk Triplett, who admits he’s had limited success in the Charles Schwab Cup Championship, is looking to change his fortunes this week at Phoenix Country Club.

The longtime Scottsdale resident backed up his opening round 66 with a 64 on Friday to get to 13 under. He will take a two-shot lead into the weekend as he seeks his first win in more than two years.

“We’re only halfway done,” Triplett stressed after his round. “It’s probably my number one thought. There’s a lot of golf to play. A lot of birdies left to be made.”

Triplett has been playing with an edge for a while.

“I’ve had the juices flowing for the last six weeks, just trying to get to this tournament,” he said. Triplett was 32nd in the points with only the top 36 making this final field. “So I’ve been the guy on the bubble for at least a month. I’ve been playing like I’m winning every single week, like every shot matters so I think that has a lot to do with my good play these last two days.”

Triplett, 59, opened his Friday round with birdies on four of his first six holes and took a two-shot lead over Jim Furyk after making a birdie on No. 12. Another birdie on 14 pushed him three shots out in front. He is seeking his first Champions tour win since he won twice in 2019. His last top-20 was two months ago. His last top-10 was in July. His best finish this season is a tie for second in May.

But he’s come to play this week. So far, he’s 32 of 36 in greens in regulation, tied for second.

“We know where we gotta finish, and nobody’s at that score yet.”

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His second round was an eventful one because of his playing partner, Phil Mickelson.

“My wife and I were talking this morning just trying to remember the last time I played with Phil. It was probably at least 15 years ago.

“He was great to play with, but he’s always been like that. He’s great to his fellow pros. Very talkative, very chatty, grinding away on every shot.”

The final pairing also had a large gallery following it around the course.

“I said that to him on 6 or 7. I said ‘Thank you’ and he said ‘What?’ and I said for bringing these people out,” Triplett said. “We get nice crowds here at Phoenix every year but we got more people than we usually do and he’s the reason.”

Mickelson was among the co-leaders are 6 under after 18 holes and was up past midnight tweeting about bombs.

It’s past midnight here in AZ and I can’t sleep cuz all I can think about is hitting 💣’s tomorrow 🤔

— Phil Mickelson (@PhilMickelson) November 12, 2021

On Friday, Lefty was indeed bombing his drives. On the two holes used this week used to measure distance, Mickelson averaged 310 yards, a healthy 38 yards farther Triplett. Mickelson is averaging 313.8 for the week.

He had three birdies on the front and closed with birdies on Nos. 17 and 18 to get to 10 under, three shots back.

Steven Alker, who beat Jim Furyk by a shot a week ago to win his first Champions event, continues an amazing stretch of hot play. He shot a second-round 65 to get within two shots of the lead. He’s posted eight top-10s in his last nine starts on the circuit after turning 50 in late July.

After going 2,907 days between professional victories, Alker is within striking distance of only having to wait seven more days for his next.

Points leader Bernhard Langer dealt with a balky back for a third straight day but he managed a 1-over 72, dropping him into 31st place.

Prior to his second round, Langer struggled bending over to pick up his ball on the practice green. He then needed a provisional tee shot on the first hole after sending his first shot out of bounds. He later doubled Nos. 14 and 15 before gutting out birdies on 17 and 18.

“Had two out-of-bounds balls and a water ball. I can’t ever remember having two OBs and a water ball in one round as long as my memory goes back, so that’s disappointing,” Langer said. “Made a bunch of birdies and overall I’m still here, so that’s the main thing.”

Thanks to his sizable lead in points, he’ll be in good position for a record sixth Schwab Cup title even with a low finish this week.

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Phil Mickelson surges at Charles Schwab Cup Championship, co-leads with Kirk Triplett, Jim Furyk

Lefty was back on familiar turf at Phoenix Country Club, shooting a 65 in the first round on Thursday.

PHOENIX — During his college days at Arizona State some 30 years ago, Phil Mickelson and his Sun Devil teammates made monthly visits to Phoenix Country Club.

The course has been renovated since then and now hosts the PGA Tour Champions season finale but during Thursday’s first round, Lefty must have had plenty of memories flood back during his seven-birdie, one-bogey opening-round 65 at the Charles Schwab Cup Championship.

“I really had a lot of fun today. The course is in such pristine shape and to play a golf course where you can play some holes aggressive, there are a few parallel fairways, I like that,” Mickelson said. “It allows me to be a little bit more aggressive and play to some safer areas. And then I’m able to take advantage of some short iron play, so I ended up making some birdies.

“This was a good, solid start, but I’m excited to get back out here and make another run at it.”

Mickelson opened with a birdie, had two more before a bogey on No. 8, then had four more on his back nine, including a tap-in on the last. He didn’t sound like he was crazy about his putting on the first day.

“It was okay. I made some good ones on the back nine. I missed some on the front nine, so I’ve got a little work to do. The greens are so perfect, you feel like you should make everyone. The ball rolls so purely on these greens and it’s a matter of matching the speed with the line, reading it right, and getting that good touch. So I’ll have to get a little bit sharper.”

Phil Mickelson signs autographs for fans after the first round of the 2021 Charles Schwab Cup Championship at Phoenix Country Club. Photo by Todd Kelly/Golfweek

Mickelson’s round matched the 65 posted earlier in the day by Kirk Triplett, a long-time Phoenix-area resident.

“I don’t know why everybody doesn’t live in Phoenix, right?” he quipped after his round. “Eighty-five degrees, no wind, perfect conditioned golf course. Why would you live anywhere else? I don’t know what else to say. It was a beautiful day. Scores are going to be good and I’m sure there will be scores lower than mine, but I’m thrilled to shoot 65.”

Playing a home game, though, doesn’t excuse Triplett from some household chores.

“When you’re on the road, you’re just kind of focused on your golf,” he said. “When you’re home, sometimes you’re doing things like cutting up cardboard boxes first thing in the morning to get them in the recycle bin before the trash guy gets there at 6.”

Late in the day, Jim Furyk, second in the standings and playing in the final group with leader Bernhard Langer, stuffed his approach on the 18th hole and then sank his birdie putt to make it a three-way tie atop the leaderboard at 6 under.

Furyk, who had five birdies on his front nine, is one of four golfers still alive in the race for the season-long Schwab Cup title.

“Not a lot of mistakes today,” he said. “Hit a couple bad putts on the back nine on 12 and 15 that bothered me a bit, then a couple bad drives on 17 and 18 but overall I hit the ball extremely well today.”

The former Arizona Wildcat’s final-hole four created a three-way tie atop the leaderboard of golfers with strong local ties.

“That’s a good point, we got Arizona connections all the way around.”

Fred Couples, Steven Alker, Brandt Jobe, K.J. Choi, and David Toms are all tied for second, one-shot back at 5 under.

Bernhard Langer, who leads the standings and is gunning for his record sixth points title, shot a 68 and is 3 under.

Miguel Angel Jimenez and Ernie Els are the other two other golfers in the field with a shot at the title. Jimenez opened with a 1-under 70, while Els carded a 3-under 68.

Kevin Sutherland, who won the tournament a year ago, is T-34, last place, after shooting a 1-over 72. He is one of just four golfers to not break par on Thursday.

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After sporting Black Lives Matter sticker on his bag last year, Kirk Triplett takes more action on social justice issues

“Golf does a great job of contributing to the community. Maybe we haven’t always done a great job in the social justice area. I don’t see any reason we can’t.”

Last August, Kirk Triplett put a Black Lives Matter sticker on his bag for the Bridgestone Senior Players Championship.

In the wake of the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Triplett was prompted to show support for the cause of racial injustice because of his son Kobe, who is African- American.

“I was thinking about my son, who is 18 years old and could be driving a car in the wrong situation,” Triplett said Friday after the second round of the $3 million PGA Tour Champions major. “I wanted to make sure that’s not his responsibility to deescalate the situation.”

But Triplett knew displaying the sticker was not really taking action. An interview at Firestone Country Club and some that followed helped him discover a way to accelerate change.

One of his comments — “I actually Googled what can a white guy do?” he said — caught the attention of Hall of Fame safety Donnie Shell, who emailed Triplett and told him he had an answer to his question. The former Pittsburgh Steeler is a board member of Dedication To Community (D2C), a national non-profit that educates and empowers communities on diversity, belonging, and equity. Triplett’s partnership with the organization was announced in February.

“Putting a Black Lives Matter sticker on your bag is just kinda, ‘That’s a problem.’ But you hope people migrate from that to solutions and that’s the reason for Dedication To Community on my bag,” Triplett said. “Their main focus is law enforcement training. It’s guys that came through the NFL, worked heavily with them on their conduct policy, and the founder is [M.] Quentin Williams, he was an FBI agent and a prosecutor.

“These guys have one solution. Training law enforcement, training the communities, helping people understand each other better. Really what they work on is communication and not letting these situations escalate.”

Kirk Triplett poses with his golf bag with a Black Lives Matter sticker on it at the 2020 Bridgestone Senior Players Tournament pro-am on Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2020, Akron, Ohio, at Firestone Country Club. (Photo: Phil Masturzo/ Beacon Journal)

Triplett, who lives in Scottsdale, Arizona, and his wife Cathi have four children — twins Conor and Sam, 25, daughter Alexis, 21, and Kobe, the latter two adopted. Alexis is Latino; Kobe’s biological father is Black, his mother Japanese.

Before Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was found guilty of second-degree murder in the May 25, 2020, killing of Floyd, Triplett said he had several conversations with Kobe. Chauvin received a sentence of 22.5 years on Friday.

“We’ve discussed that fairly regularly,” Triplett said of the Chauvin case. “This is not a great deal of interest to him. It became a great deal of interest to me when I talked to him and said, ‘If you get stopped by the police, you need to do this, this and this.’ I’ve got three other kids and that conversation looked completely different with them than it did with him. I thought, ‘Here’s where the patent unfairness comes in.’

“When people say systemic racism or system inequality … it’s something that’s really hard for me to visualize and understand because I’ve never faced it. When I’m having that conversation with him, I just get the little, tiniest inkling of what this might be like. I think that’s the first step, everybody understanding what sometimes these people face.”

Triplett said Kobe got the message. The Tripletts also participated in relationship training through D2C.

D2C has a partnership with the Miami Heat, training Miami patrol officers the Heat sponsor, and is involved with other professional sports.

“They have an agreement with Joe Gibbs Racing and they train the organization there. They do some stuff with the NHL,” Triplett said. “The NHL is like golf, there’s not a lot of racial issues in those sports because they’re so white, for lack of a better term, there’s not a lot of diversity.

“Most sports today that lack diversity want to create opportunity. It’s not an overnight process, but some of it starts with funding and finding ways for young people to look at a sport and instead of saying, ‘Oh, that’s the white man’s game,’ they think, ‘Here’s this APGA,’ [a non-profit tour to prepare African-American and minority golfers] or ‘I can go to school at a HBCU.’ There’s a pathway to participate in the sport.”

Triplett sees progress in that regard.

“Phil Mickelson made a large donation to HBCU golf teams,” he said. “The PGA Tour is trying to help minority access to golf through the APGA. Billy Horschel has also sponsored a tournament for the APGA. Access to health care, access to economic opportunity, all of these things.

“Golf does a great job of contributing to the community. Maybe we haven’t always done a great job in the social justice area. I don’t see any reason we can’t.”

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Monday qualifier Dicky Pride wins Mitsubishi Electric Classic on PGA Tour Champions

One week after Alex Cejka won the Regions Tradition as an alternate, Dicky Pride won on the PGA Tour Champions as a Monday qualifier.

Just get in. Doesn’t matter how.

One week after Alex Cejka won the Regions Tradition after getting in the field as an alternate, Dicky Pride won on the senior circuit as a Monday qualifier, claiming the Mitsubishi Electric Classic at TPC Sugarloaf in Georgia on Sunday.

And he did it in runaway fashion.

Pride took his first outright lead with a birdie on the par-3 8th hole to get to 9 under. Doug Barron made things interesting after he eagled the 10th and birdied the 12th to tie things up. But on the 13th, Pride reclaimed the solo lead with a birdie and a few moments after that, Barron doubled the 15th, giving Pride a three-shot lead with five holes to go and he cruised home from there.

Pride, 51, opened the week as one of four Monday qualifiers making the field, but qualifying actually took place on Tuesday. Then on Friday, Pride opened the tournament with a 71 and then followed with back-to-back 67s to win by three shots.

Moments after putting out for the win, Pride turned to the fans in attendance and yelled out “Let’s go!”

Dicky Pride tees off on the 11th hole during the final round of the PGA Tour Champions’ Mitsubishi Electric Classic golf tournament at TPC Sugarloaf on Sunday, May 16, 2021, in Duluth, Georgia. (Curtis Compton/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)

It’s his first Champions title in 11 tries and he’s now won a tournament on three different PGA Tour circuits. He won the 1994 Federal Express St. Jude Classic in a playoff on the PGA Tour. Six years ago, he won the 2015 Portland Open on the Korn Ferry Tour.

“I’ve now won on all three tours, which is something I’ve always wanted to do,” he told Golf Channel after his win.

First-round leader Stephen Ames and second-round leader Paul Goydos joined Kirk Triplett in a three-way tie for second. It’s Triplett’s best finish since winning the Pure Insurance Championship in September of 2019. Barron was among three golfers to tie for fifth, along with Billy Andrade and Brett Quigley.

Other notables in the field: defending champ Scott McCarron tied for 10th, Jim Furyk tied for 19th, Cejka tied for 26th, Major League Baseball Hall of Famer John Smoltz finished 76th out of 77 golfers, beating only Shigetoshi Hasegawa. Vijay Singh withdrew after nine holes on Sunday. John Daly withdrew after eight holes on Saturday.

Next up

The second PGA Tour Champions major of 2021 is in two weeks at the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

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Lynch: Giving thanks in a lousy year—to Bryson, Brooks and the ‘stick to golf’ brigade

It’s been such a woebegone year that one might think the only part of 2020 for which we can be thankful is that its end is nigh. Yet the grim realities of the pandemic and the attendant economic hangover suggest that at least part of ’21 won’t be much better, so perhaps its more important than ever amid our shared gloominess to spare a moment to recognize the things we are thankful for. Here’s my list:

For Bryson DeChambeau, who single-handedly filled the long, dark days of summer with antics sufficient to fuel social media for an age. Blessed be his talent, his success, his work ethic and his stupendous absence of self-awareness. The PGA Tour and its fans are richer for all of the above.

For Brooks Koepka, whose most noteworthy shot during this truncated major season came at the PGA Championship, when he grazed his ex-pal Dustin Johnson in a Saturday night drive-by press conference. He also freely admitted that he wouldn’t share a protein shake with DeChambeau and that he’s not out to make friends on Tour, solidifying his reputation as a straight-shooter unafraid to flavor golf’s vanilla-centric menu.

For Patrick Reed. See above, minus the straight shooting.

For the USGA, the PGA of America and Augusta National Golf Club—three organizations often mocked as antiquated (sometimes fairly), but whose painstakingly meticulous approach to affairs saved three of the four planets around which the sport orbits. Call it karma that each was rewarded with a worthy champion.

For Jay Monahan, the PGA Tour commish, who quickly and publicly reversed himself by canceling the Players Championship in March just hours after saying it would go ahead, then working assiduously to salvage a season that seemed destined to be lost, despite a chorus of naysayers griping that the restart was a wrong move. There may be five families in golf, but Monahan is the primus inter pares, and this year proved it.

For Cameron Champ and Kirk Triplett, two men of disparate backgrounds who each took high-profile and principled stances in support of the Black Lives Matter cause. They were a noble and necessary reminder that there are thoughtful, diverse voices in the professional ranks, no matter how many of their peers retweet lunacy as gospel on a daily basis.

For Rory McIlroy, who made it explicit that his rejection of the proposed Premier Golf League wasn’t just about an independent contractor preferring to control his own schedule but rather a matter of conscience. “I didn’t really like where the money was coming from.” With that comment, McIlroy chose not to enlist himself in the Saudi government’s effort to use golf to sportswash its wretched human rights record.

For the PGA Tour Champions, the only stage on which Phil Mickelson was able to steal a show in ‘20. Made-for-TV matches aside, the Viagra circuit is Phil’s only plausible path to victory, so here’s hoping they see a lot more of each other in ’21.

For Mike Clayton, the eminence grise of the equipment rollback movement. Amid a debate marked by flim-flam and petty grievances, the Australian architect and former player remains the most eloquent and measured voice making the case to preserve the integrity and relevance of golf’s greatest courses.

For the many Golf Channel employees leaving the network this year as it shifts operations from Florida to Connecticut, and from whom I learned more than they know.

For Brady Riggs, Brad Faxon, Pete Cowen, Denis Pugh, Parker McLachlin, James Ridyard, Paul Azinger, Jim Lusk and the countless other pros who offered some form of swing counsel in ’20. All of them failed me, but it’s the effort that counts.

And finally, for the many correspondents who reach out, even if only to suggest I stick to golf or to make orificial comparisons.

My list is entirely subjective, of course, a thoroughly personal accounting designed to remind myself of one thing: that there’s more for which to be thankful than to regret. In this year, that’s not nothing.

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PGA Tour Champions: Kirk Triplett out to defend title at Pebble Beach

Kirk Triplett will face a legendary field at the PGA Tour Champions Pure Insurance Championship this weekend at Pebble Beach.

The 2020-21 PGA Tour Champions season continues this weekend with the Pure Insurance Championship at Pebble Beach Golf Links. Since 2014, the tournament has been played at both Pebble Beach and the neighboring Poppy Hills Golf Course, but due to COVID-19, it will be limited to a single venue this time around.

Kirk Triplett won this event last year, defeating Billy Andrade in a playoff after both finished the final round 9-under par. Having also won in 2012 and 2013, Triplett will look to add a fourth Pure Insurance title to his name. He has eight PGA Tour Champions wins and 62 top-10 finishes in total.

Pebble Beach holds a great deal of sentimental value for the 58-year old from Moses Lake, Washington, who became acquainted with the course nearly four decades ago.

“The first time I played it, we started at the bottom of Carmel Avenue over there at about nine o’clock at night, and jumped up and played six or seven holes in the dark ahead of the sprinkler guy,” Triplett recalled with a laugh. “A college teammate and I did that, probably 1981, ’82. I just fell in love with it down here.”

Ever since, Triplett has made it a point to compete in as many Pebble Beach golf tournaments as he can, from the U.S. Open to the AT&T Pro-Am. Yet he is disappointed that, due to COVID-19, this year’s Pure Insurance Championship will run without Impacting the First Tee, a unique pro-am event that sees each participating Champions Tour pro team up with a 14- to 18-year old junior and two amateurs.

“I’ve been fortunate enough to have some great relationships with the kids that I’ve played with through the years,” said Triplett about First Tee, which has taken place since 2004. “I mean, to a person, the 81 kids that come through here, they get it. They’re hard workers, they come from all different backgrounds. There’s something about the game of golf that just brings out character.”

Despite the absence of the First Tee juniors, there will still be plenty of names to watch, including Andrade. The 56-year old from Rhode Island failed to break into the winner’s circle last year, but his second-place finish to Triplett was one of three such performances he managed in 2019. Andrade owns three PGA Tour Champions wins and 44 top-10 finishes.

Triplett and Andrade’s previous meeting at Pebble Beach was certainly memorable. Triplett overcame a four-shot deficit with three birdies at the 14th, 15th and 18th holes to shoot 67. Andrade bogeyed 14 and 15, but forced a playoff with a birdie at 18. Triplett won the playoff with a 10-foot birdie putt on the first extra hole.

Nine members of the World Golf Hall of Fame will be in action as well: Fred Couples, Ernie Els, Retief Goosen, Tom Kite, Bernhard Langer, Davis Love III, Colin Montgomerie, Mark O’Meara and Vijay Singh. They will be joined by former Pure Insurance winners Jeff Sluman, Ken Tanigawa, Bernhard Langer, Paul Broadhurst and Esteban Toledo. The victor will take home $330,000 from a purse of $2.2 million.

After the pandemic-related cancellation of 13 tournaments, the PGA Tour Champions has combined the 2020 and 2021 seasons into a singular campaign. This weekend’s field has been reduced to 80 professionals and 80 amateurs. Golf Channel’s live coverage of the event will run 4-7 p.m. ET on Friday and 3-6 p.m. ET on Saturday and Sunday.

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