Tag: Mitsubishi Electric Classic

Stephen Ames rides two final-round eagles to Mitsubishi Electric Classic title

Ames eagled the par-5 sixth and par-4 13th at TPC Sugarloaf on Sunday.

Two of the seven events so far in 2024 have been won by a Steve: Steven Alker at the season opening Mitsubishi Electric Championship in Hawaii in January and Stephen Ames, who won the Chubb Classic in February.

Now, make it a third.

This follows a 2023 in which 13 of the 28 events were won by some form of a Steve, including Alker, Ames, Steve Stricker and Steve Flesch.

This week at the 2024 Mitsubishi Electric Classic at TPC Sugarloaf in Duluth, Georgia, it was Ames riding the strenth of two eagles in the final round to win by four shots over Paul Broadhurst and Doug Barron.

On the sixth hole Sunday, which is his 60th birthday, Ames grabbed a share of the lead after holing out for his first eagle of the day.

Ames took a three-shot lead on 13 when he carded his second eagle of the day after driving the green on the 310-yard par 4 to get to 14 under. From there, he had two birdies and two bogeys to close with a 67 to claim his eighth win but more impressively his sixth in his last 29 starts on the tour.

“Two reasons to celebrate tonight,” Ames said, noting the win on his birthday, which is also his third in this event. “The first day wasn’t that bad, I hit two bad shots, made two doubles. It was like, you know what, it felt good, I didn’t really kick myself down at all. Then I came out the next day and I was like it was a little calm unlike today and I just played golf and didn’t make any mistakes and I made eight birdies. So that just kind of vaulted me straight back up the board there. I was like, hey, now I give myself an opportunity and I took the opportunity in hand, which was nice.”

K.J. Choi and Steven Alker tied for fifth at 9 under.

Chip shots

Broadhurst, who led by a shot after 36 holes, was seeking to be the first to win back-to-back tournaments on the PGA Tour Champions since Steve Stricker won consecutive majors in May of 2023 and also the first to win back-to-back weeks on the Champions tour when Bernhard Langer did it in 2017.

Langer, out since February after tearing his Achilles playing pickleball, has announced his return to the Champions tour will come next week at the Insperity Invitational near Houston.

Jay Haas, 70, beat his age by three shots with a 5-under 67 in the second round. It’s the fourth time he’s shot his age or better during the 2024 season.

John Daly, not in the field this week, turned 58 on Sunday.

Stephen Ames wins 2023 Mitsubishi Electric Classic at TPC Sugarloaf

Ames ran away from the field Sunday to earn his second win of 2023.

Stephen Ames ran away from the field Sunday at the Mitsubishi Electric Classic to earn his second win of 2023.

Ames, tied for the lead with David Toms after 18 holes, enter the final round with a three-shot lead over Ken Tanigawa.

On Sunday, he posted a 4-under 68 at TPC Sugarloaf in Duluth, Georgia, to finish at 19 under and cruise to a four-shot victory over Miguel Angel Jimenez. Ames, 59, joins David Toms as the only two-time winners on PGA Tour Champions this season. Ames won the Trophy Hassan II event in Morocco in February. He has now won four times on the senior circuit.

Toms, after opening with a 65, shot a second-round 70 and stumbled on Sunday with a closing 76 to finish tied for 24th.

There were two aces at the Mitsubishi this week and they both came on the par-3 16th hole. Jimenez made his hole-in-one Friday and then Steve Stricker did it on Saturday. For Jimenez, it was his 14th professional ace (11 on the DP World Tour, three on the Champions tour, one on the PGA Tour).

Bernhard Langer, who tied for the all-time lead on the Champions tour with 45 wins in February, finished tied for 8th.

Tim O’Neal, a rookie on the senior tour, posted his best finish, a tie for 10th. His previous best was a tie for 15th.

The first Champions major of 2023 starts Thursday at the Regions Tradition at Greystone Golf & Country Club in Birmingham, Alabama.

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Steve Flesch wins Mitsubishi Electric Classic for second time on PGA Tour Champions

Steve Flesch has two PGA Tour Champions wins. Both have come in the Mitsubishi Electric Classic.

After a second-round 73 on Saturday, Steve Flesch started the final round of the PGA Tour Champions Mitsubishi Electric Classic fours shots back of David Toms.

Flesch quickly carved into that lead with five straight birdies on Nos. 2-6. He bogeyed Nos. 8 and 9 but carded four more birdies on the back nine, including the clincher on the 17th hole. After stuffing his second shot on the 455-yard par-4 to about 12 feet, Flesch made the birdie putt to get to 11 under to take the solo lead. He would hold on from there to win the title.

Flesch now has two victories on the PGA Tour Champions, both of them have come in the Mitsubishi Electric Classic at TPC Sugarloaf in Duluth, Georgia. He also won the event in 2018.

Toms, who bogeyed the 14th hole to fall back to 10 under, parred his final four holes to finish tied for second with Padraig Harrington and Fred Couples, who birdied the 18th to get to 10 under.

Harrington started the final round six shots back of Toms and was 2 under through nine but caught fire on the back nine. Harrington made five straight birdies on Nos. 10-14 and tacked on one more birdie at 17 to shoot an 8-under 64. That got him to 10 under and tied for the lead but he could climb no higher on the leaderboard. Harrington, who joined the tour after turning 50 last August, is still seeking his first win on the senior circuit.

Ken Duke led Toms by a shot Saturday before a four-shot swing on the 15th hole. Toms made birdie, while Duke’s birdie putt went past the hole and kept going, eventually rolling 30 yards off the green. Duke ended up with a triple bogey on the hole. He shot 73-73 over the weekend to finish 5 under, tied for 10th.

Jay Haas, 68, who became the oldest player to make the cut in a PGA Tour event two weeks ago at the Zurich Classic, a team event in which he paired with his son Bill, finished tied for 14th. Haas made a hole-in-one on the 11th hole during Saturday’s second round.

Champions tour stalwart Bernhard Langer shot 76-71-70 to finish the week 1 over, tied for 39th. Langer also posted a T-39 at the Rapiscan Systems Classic five weeks ago but he has posted top-5 finishes in all five of his other starts this season.

The first major of the PGA Tour Champions season starts Thursday at the Regions Tradition at Greystone Golf & Country Club in Birmingham, Alabama.

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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!”

Curtis Compton/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP
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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Stephen Ames leads Mitsubishi Electric Classic on PGA Tour Champions

Stephen Ames shot a 6-under 66 on Friday at TPC Sugarloaf in Duluth, Georgia, to lead the Mitsubishi Electric Classic.

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

But first things first.

Stephen Ames shot a 6-under 66 on Friday at TPC Sugarloaf in Duluth, Georgia, to lead the Mitsubishi Electric Classic. He opened with a bogey but was bogey-free from there. He hit just 11 greens but led the field with 23 putts.

Paul Goydos is one back, while Gene Sauers is two back. John Houston and Billy Andrade are tied for fourth at 3 under. In a group of nine golfers at 2 under, four off the lead, is Scott McCarron, who won the Mitsubishi in 2019 and is the defending champion as the tournament was canceled last year.

Also at 2 under is Jim Furyk and Miguel Angel Jiménez.

Ames is looking for his second win at the event and second win on the senior circuit. He also claims the 2017 title. Monday qualifier Dicky Pride and last week’s winner Alex Cejka are among four golfers at T-15 at 1 under.

Major League Baseball Hall of Famer John Smoltz shot a 12-over 84 and is one shot ahead of last place.

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