Missing a short putt can leave scar tissue — just ask Rory McIlroy — but it happens to the best of us.
Missing a short putt can leave scar tissue — just ask Rory McIlroy — but it happens to the best of us. What’s worse is to miss the ball completely. That’s what happened to British pro Paul Broadhurst, 58, during the first round of the British Senior Open at Carnoustie Golf Links in Scotland.
“I had a fresh air putt,” said the winner of the 2016 Senior Open after the round.
That’s never a good thing. Broadhurst’s first putt came up inches short at the seventh hole and when he went to tap-in, he whiffed.
“I sort of pulled out of it but the putter passed over the ball and went past it,” he explained. “I checked with the referee. I made a legitimate attempt at it. I sort of went back and didn’t get to the ball. ”
He marked a double-bogey six on the card and proceeded to bogey the ninth and could feel the round slipping away. But he rallied to come home in 31, making a birdie at No. 10 that seemed to right the ship, birdies both of the par 5’s at Nos. 12 and 14 and closed with back-to-back birdies at 17 and 18 to shoot 69.
Most golfers would have been mentally broken by missing from inches away but Broadhurst found a way to overcome the gaffe. Still, this will be shown on blooper reels for years to come.
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.
The longest playoff in Charles Schwab Cup Championship history needed a Monday finish to determine the winner.
PHOENIX — Kevin Sutherland loves him some playoff.
Sutherland won the 2020 Charles Schwab Cup Championship in a Monday finish on the ninth playoff hole over Paul Broadhurst. His last three wins on PGA Tour Champions have now come in extra time.
The 54-hole event ended up needing 63 holes before things were settled, including 24 on Sunday between Sutherland, the 2017 Charles Schwab Cup Championship winner, and Broadhurst. It’s the second year in a row that the PGA Tour Champions season-ending event went to a playoff at Phoenix Country Club.
Sunday’s playoff was a race against darkness but neither golfer could get the upper hand, as they both parred all six playoff holes. They returned at 8 a.m. local time and resumed the playoff on No. 17 with the temperature at about 50 degrees.
They both parred the 17th and then they both birdied the par-5 18th. Back to 17 they went for the fifth time in the playoff. Sutherland stuffed his approach to about four feet, while Broadhurst came up short of the green. Broadhurst’s chip missed right and was deep and he was still out on the opposite side of the hole from Sutherland.
Broadhurst continued his technique of looking at the hole and not down at his ball and he drained the par putt. Sutherland then made his putt for birdie to finally end the tournament. Sutherland will take home the $375,000 first-place prize.
The Phoenix Country Club members, many of whom were allowed on the grounds to watch the tournament this week, then took to the course for a 10 a.m. shotgun event.
The longest previous Schwab playoff was five holes. The longest playoff in Champions tour history is 10. The Rapiscan Systems Classic in March of 2019 was the last tour event that needed a Monday finish to settle a playoff. That one involved Sutherland, who beat Scott Parel in seven holes. Sutherland also beat Parel in the 2019 Principal Charity Classic in a playoff.
At the Schwab, Woody Austin birdied the 18th to get to 12 under to finish solo third. Wes Short, Jr., was solo fourth at 10 under. Bernhard Langer, Retief Goosen, Ernie Els, Fred Couples and Glen Day were all T-5 at 9 under.
Langer maintains his lead in the points race.
John Daly withdrew on the ninth hole. He got last-place money along with Mark Calcavecchia and Tom Byrum, who each withdrew on Saturday.
Up next
The next Champions tour event isn’t for 11 weeks.
The 2021 season opens Jan. 21-23 at the Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai on the island of Hawai’i. The complete 2021 PGA Tour Champions schedule is still being finalized.
The 2021 Charles Schwab Cup Championship will be back at Phoenix Country Club Nov. 11-14. After being a 54-hole event this year, it will return to its 72-hole format in 2021. The club is scheduled to host the event through 2027.
Paul Broadhurst and Kevin Sutherland are going to a Monday finish at the Charles Schwab Cup Championship.
PHOENIX — The Charles Schwab Cup Championship was scheduled to be a 54-hole event. They played 60 and still didn’t have a winner by Sunday night.
For the second straight year, the PGA Tour Champions season-ending event went to a playoff at Phoenix Country Club but this time, they’ll need a Monday finish between Kevin Sutherland and Paul Broadhurst.
It became a race to beat the setting sun. Both golfers parred the first four holes and on the fifth playoff hole, after they each teed off, rules officials started using golf carts to get them quickly to their next shots.
Sutherland could’ve won it on the fifth extra hole but watched his putt lip out. After a quick chat with rules official Joe Terry, the two agreed to play on to a sixth. After both parred the par-5 18th for a third time in the playoff, it was simply too dark to continue.
“I did this once before and had to come back the next day. I prefer to get it done on Sunday, but coming back the next day is not so bad,” said Sutherland, who admitted he didn’t plan on staying another night in Phoenix. “I’ve got to go find a hotel, that’s next on the agenda.”
Paul Broadhurst hits his tee shot on the third hole during the final round of the 2020 Charles Schwab Cup Championship at the Phoenix Country Club in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo: Steve Dykes/Getty Images)
Broadhurst, who has his rental house till Monday, noted the pace definitely picked up in an effort to finish.
“As quick as I’ve ever played six holes. I didn’t dream we’d get six holes in.”
The longest previous Schwab playoff was five holes. The longest playoff in Champions tour history is 10. The Rapiscan Systems Classic in March 2019 is the last tour event that needed a Monday finish to settle a playoff. That one also involved Kevin Sutherland, who beat Scott Parel.
The golfers will be back on the course at 8 a.m. MT (10 a.m. ET). They’ll head to No. 17 and continue to alternate between 17 and 18 until someone claims the $375,000 first-place prize.
Broadhurst shot the best round of the week, a 63, on Sunday, but he missed a short birdie putt on 18 that would’ve sealed his first win since he won three times in 2018.
Sutherland, the 2017 Charles Schwab Cup Championship winner, later drained a 30-footer on 18 to force the playoff, which might have seemed unlikely at the start of day, as he lead the field by five, and Broadhurst by six, after he shot a second-round 64.
Kevin Sutherland hits his tee shot on the sixth hole during the final round of the 2020 Charles Schwab Cup Championship at the Phoenix Country Club in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo: Steve Dykes/Getty Images)
Woody Austin birdied the 18th to get to 12 under to finish solo third. Wes Short, Jr. was solo fourth at 10 under. Bernhard Langer, Retief Goosen, Ernie Els, Fred Couples and Glen Day were all T-5 at 9 under.
John Daly withdrew on the ninth hole. He’ll get last-place money along with Mark Calcavecchia and Tom Byrum, who each withdrew on Saturday.
Season rolls on
Normally the Charles Schwab Cup Championship is a celebration to cap the season, the culmination of a year’s worth of hard work.
Due to the schedule shakeup in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, there is no Cup trophy being handed out. This is still the final event of the calendar year but the PGA Tour Champions is combining the 2020 and 2021 seasons, so the points race continues.
This came in the wake of 14 PGA Tour Champions events getting canceled, although two new ones were added last-minute in August. Four of the five senior majors were lost this year.
The next Champions tour event isn’t for 11 weeks at the Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai on the island of Hawai’i, Jan. 21-23, 2021. The full 2021 PGA Tour Champions schedule is still being finalized but the 2021 Charles Schwab Cup Championship will be back at Phoenix Country Club Nov. 11-14. The club is scheduled to host the event through 2027.
Off to Augusta
From here, golfers will scatter. There are eight former Masters champions in the field in Phoenix and they’re all planning to travel to Augusta National. Fred Couples says he’s got a Monday tee time with Tiger Woods and Justin Thomas.
“I’ve been trying to stay COVID free because Augusta is my favorite tournament of the year and as I got closer to it, I really started to not do anything but maybe practice a little bit,” Couples said.
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Mark O’Meara said he’s going but only to mingle. He stopped playing in 2018.
“I’m actually going to drive back to Vegas on Sunday night and I’m on a Monday morning flight to Atlanta and drive over Tuesday mid morning, get tested, then go to the dinner on Tuesday night,” O’Meara said. “Then Tuesday night straight back to the Atlanta airport and then Wednesday morning, back to Las Vegas, watching the guys on TV.”
Vijay Singh, Mike Weir, José Maria Olazábal, Larry Mize, Bernhard Langer and Sandy Lyle are all former winners of the green jacket who played Phoenix this week.
