Tag: PGA Tour Champions

Thongchai Jaidee outlasts Justin Leonard in a playoff to win Pure Insurance Championship

Thongchai Jaidee needed four playoff holes to do it, but he finally outlasted Justin Leonard at Pebble Beach.

Thongchai Jaidee needed four playoff holes to do it but on a sunsplashed day at Pebble Beach Golf Links, he finally outlasted Justin Leonard to win the 2023 Pure Insurance Championship.

Jaidee had a chance to win in regulation but couldn’t drain his birdie putt on the par-5 closing hole. The duo parred then birdied the 18th in overtime before they each parred the par-3 17th. Back to the 18th tee they went for the fourth time Sunday but par was enough this time around for Jaidee after Leonard launched his tee shot left over the retaining wall. A four-man search party of the two golfers and their caddies couldn’t locate it, so Leonard reteed, then hit his second into a greenside bunker before walking off the green with a seven.

Last season, Jaidee became the first Thai golfer to win on the Champions tour. The 2015 Presidents Cupper now has his second win on the circuit. He does have 19 international wins on his resume but never did win on the PGA Tour.

As for Leonard, he came out of the TV booth to return to competition last year, playing four times on the PGA Tour Champions after turning 50. On Sunday, in his 14th event of this season and with his suitcases presumably packed for his pending return to broadcasting later this week for NBC Sports at the Ryder Cup, Leonard fell just short of his first professional win since 2008. Leonard, the 1999 Ryder Cup hero for the Americans, will be an analyst in the booth with Terry Gannon in Rome.

First Tee golfers Alyssa Stewart, Brayden Casolari win junior divisions at Pure Insurance Championship

The Pure Insurance Championship pairs PGA Tour Champions pros with golfers from the First Tee.

The Pure Insurance Championship on the PGA Tour Champions is a special event, in that veteran pros are paired with standout junior golfers from the First Tee program on the Monterey Peninsula.

Amateur Alyssa Stewart had a week to remember, teamed up with fellow Texas Justin Leonard and hit golf’s magic number, a 59, during the second round at Spyglass in a fourball format.

Stewart, ranked 241st in the Golfweek/Sagarin girls junior golf rankings, led by four in the girls division after 36 holes and went on to win by eight shots over Alaythia Hinds.

“She’s awesome,” Leonard said Saturday afternoon. “She’s made two eagles in the last two days and a bunch of birdies.”

The 17-year-old is a high school junior from Mansfield, Texas, and is committed to play college golf at Houston Christian. Leonard sounds like he  enjoyed being a mentor during this tournament.

“I’m not reading every putt and everything, but helping her with a little yardage or a decision here or there,” he said. “It’s fun. And it’s, look, she’s a great golfer, and she’s a better person and just a really fun personality to be around.”

Brayden Casolari, who was paired with Brian Gay, finished 21 under and won the boys division by a shot over Garrett Harrison, Sebastian Velazquez and Andre Follmer.

There were 80 First Tee members from 45 U.S. chapters competing in the event at the start of the week. The top 24 – 12 boys and 12 girls – advanced to Sunday.

Steve Stricker wins Sanford International for sixth PGA Tour Champions victory of season

The Ryder Cup vice captain opened the week with course-record 62.

K.J. Choi and Steve Stricker posted matching course-record 62s on Friday to open the 2023 Sanford International.

Stricker then went 66-66 over the weekend at Minnehaha Country Club in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, to earn a one-stroke win, his sixth victory of the 2023 season and 17th overall on the PGA Tour Champions.

One of two Ryder Cup vice captains in the field (Jim Furyk is the other), Stricker had 16 birdies – including five in a row on the back nine during the first round – and two eagles over 54 holes. The eagles came on the 12th hole on Saturday and Sunday. He had only four bogeys on the week, including one the 18th Sunday, but a two-shot cushion before that hole assured him some wiggle room.

“There are a lot of guys up around the lead and it just became a two-man race there towards the end. It’s always a challenge. You’re fighting your game, you’re fighting your nerves, you’re just trying to get it done,” he said. “It’s so rewarding when you do, and it’s a lot of fun. It’s a lot of fun to come here and play and enjoy the area, enjoy the course. Couldn’t ask for a better week.”

Stricker picked up $300,000 for the win and in the process set the mark for most money earned in a season on the Champions tour with $3,956,127.

Bernhard Langer finished solo fourth, marking his seventh straight top-10 finish of the season, a streak that started when he won the U.S. Senior Open in July. He shot a final-round 64 and was 12 under for the week, four shots back of Stricker.

John Daly, meanwhile, had had his best finish in more than a year with a tie for eighth. Daly’s average finish this season is 65th and he has WD’d from two events. This week, he went 66-64-70.

Aces high

There were two holes-in-one during the first round. Fred Funk aced the 17th hole using a hybrid from 199 yards while John Senden got his on No. 8 with a pitching wedge from 132 yards. There was another ace on Sunday when Jerry Kelly got one on the 17th hole.

Shooting his age or better

Dick Mast, 72, got in the field after Monday qualifying and bettered his age with even-par 70 in the first round. He matched his age with a 72 in Saturday’s third round. He beat his age by a shot during Sunday’s final round and tied for 67th, beating nine golfers, including Jim Furyk and European Ryder Cup vice captain Jose Maria Olazabal.

John Daly posts best finish in 15 months on PGA Tour Champions at Sanford International

Welcome back, John Daly.

Welcome back, John Daly.

The big hitter and fan favorite had his best week of golf in more than a year at the 2023 Sanford International, breaking 70 for just the fourth and fifth time all season during the first and second rounds. He finished with an even-par 70 and a tie for eighth.

Daly’s previous best finish in 2023 was a tie for 38th in July at the Galleri Classic at Mission Hills Country Club. Daly’s average finish this season is 65th and he has WD’d from two events.

This week, he opened 66-64 at Minnehaha Country Club in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. He finished 10 under.

Prior to this week, he had just three rounds in the 60s in 30 rounds played. Daly’s last top-10 finish was a tie for eighth at the American Family Insurance Championship in June of 2022. He withdrew from the Sanford in 2022.

[pickup_prop id=”34721″]

Steve Flesch sets course record, wins 2023 Ascension Charity Classic on PGA Tour Champions

Steve Flesch opened birdie-eagle-birdie-par-birdie-birdie in his final round Sunday.

Steve Flesch is back in victory lane, having routed the field at the 2023 Ascension Charity Classic with a tournament-best 62 on Sunday.

Despite shooting a pair of 66s in the first two rounds, he started the final day two shots back of the lead at Norwood Hills Country Club in St. Louis but he quickly made a move, opening birdie-eagle-birdie-par-birdie-birdie.

After three more birdies on the back nine, the lefty signed for 9-under round and earned his fourth PGA Tour Champions at 19 under. The 62 also ties Flesch’s career low round. He played the last 35 holes of the 54-hole tournament bogey free. His son Griffin was on the bag this week.

Flesch had three straight top-10s in late May/June this season then had a pair of WDs. He was T-58, T-33 and T-36 in his last three outings but definitely found the magic this week.

Kevin Sutherland and Y.E.Yang tied the then-course record with 64s in the first round while Colin Montgomerie and Bretty Quigley each had 64s in the second round. Montgomerie’s round was punctuated by his first Champions tour hole-in-one.

Boo Weekley is loving life on PGA Tour Champions and talking a good game

“I never thought I’d make it this far in my career anyway … It’s still unreal to be out here playing.”

Boo Weekley turned 50 on July 23 and is scheduled to make his fourth start on PGA Tour Champions this week in St. Louis at the Ascension Charity Classic.

Weekely won three times on the PGA Tour and represented the victorious Team USA in the 2008 Ryder Cup. But in recent years, he has dealt with a series of injuries and has been a non-factor in professional golf.

Weekley made 319 starts on the PGA Tour and earned more than $15 million during his career. Turning 50 is golf’s greatest mulligan and he’s trying to cash in. But so far, Weekley has discovered these guys are still good on the senior circuit: he’s finished T-65, T-47 and T-48 in his first three starts.

Weekley, who played his college golf at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College, remains one of golf’s great characters and his press conferences remain a breath of fresh air. Here’s some of the words of wisdom from Boo, the pride of Milton, Florida.

PGA Tour veteran Andy Bean recovering from double lung replacement surgery

“Keep Andy in your prayers as so far he’s doing well but long recovery.”

Former PGA Tour veteran Andy Bean is recovering from double lung replacement surgery last week in Orlando.

Bean, 70, is an 11-time winner on the PGA Tour and captured three titles on PGA Tour Champions. Bean turned pro in 1975 after an illustrious career at the University of Florida, where he was a three-time All-American and helped the Gators win the NCAA men’s golf title in 1973.

Bean’s lungs had been badly damaged from a bout with COVID-19, according to a Facebook post by friend Alan Pope. He underwent surgery at Advent Health Hospital in Orlando last Thursday.

“It’s hard to find a better Christian man as he would do anything for anybody – rich or poor,” Pope wrote, noting that Bean was “brought up to always do the right thing in life.”

https://www.facebook.com/100035173364468/posts/1048344533014649/?mibextid=cr9u03

Bean, who played on the U.S. Ryder Cup team twice, finished inside the top 35 on the Tour money list from 1977 to 1986, a stretch that included five top-seven finishes. Three times he was a runner-up in a major.

“Keep Andy in your prayers as so far he’s doing well but long recovery,” Pope wrote.

Bernhard Langer got a nice text from Hale Irwin after he broke his PGA Tour Champions’ record

“We’ve had a good relationship, friendly one … I believe we both have a lot of respect for each other.”

Even for Bernhard Langer, a walking Masterclass in consistency, the number appeared otherworldly.

Hale Irwin’s record of 45 PGA Tour Champions titles was one that most assumed would never be broken. Irwin’s incredible stretch started in 1995 when he captured the Ameritech Senior Open and extended through the 2007 MasterCard Championship at Hualalai. Along the way, Irwin captured seven major titles, including two U.S. Senior Opens.

So when Langer, now 66, held off a crowd at SentryWorld in July to put the finishing touches on the 2023 U.S. Senior Open and his 46th win on the senior circuit, even he was in awe of what had been accomplished.

On Wednesday, in advance of the Ascension Charity Classic at Norwood Hills Country Club outside St. Louis, Langer reflected on the win and the milestone he never thought he’d reach.

“It’s incredible, really amazing. I didn’t think it was achievable when I came out here first, and then as I came closer and closer to it, I said, oh, well, maybe, outside chance, but you never know if you get hurt or if your game goes south or whatever the case may be,” he said. “I got closer and closer, and thought, well, it’s definitely possible now.

“But the way it turned out, to win it with maybe one of the biggest events that we have with the U.S. Senior Open and to do it in the fashion I did it, having a seven-shot lead with a few holes to go, was pretty amazing. I couldn’t have dreamt it up any better. It was a great victory, great venue, and had a few friends there to celebrate with me.

“Now everything else is just gravy, whatever comes.”

Opening the day with a two-shot lead at the U.S. Senior Open, the 65-year-old steadily held off Steve Stricker and others with a 7-under 277 for the tournament, capped by a solid 1-under 70 final round.

2023 U.S. Senior Open Championship
Bernhard Langer poses with the Francis D. Ouimet Memorial Trophy after winning the 2023 U.S. Senior Open Championship at SentryWorld in Stevens Point, Wisconsin. (Photo: Patrick McDermott/Getty Images)

This week’s event is one of five remaining regular-season tournaments before the Charles Schwab Cup Playoffs. Langer is looking for his third win of the season and currently sits third in the Schwab standings, but he added on Wednesday that he’s still enjoying looking back at passing Irwin. Respectfully, of course.

“We’ve had a good relationship, friendly one. We’ve known each other for many, many years, competed in the U.S. in other tournaments, mostly against each other in the Ryder Cup once or twice, I think,” Langer said. “But I believe we both have a lot of respect for each other. He used to be on the PAC Advisory Council for the two and so was I, so we spent some meetings together there. We share a lot of commonalities.

“He’s a great ambassador for the game of golf, great role model for all of us, and I still enjoy seeing him when he plays in the Legends or Tournaments of Greats they call it when they come out two or three times a year.”

And when Langer clipped Irwin’s record, did he hear from the now 78-year-old star?

“I did, yeah. He sent me a text congratulating me, and it was very nice to receive it from him because of the respect I have for him and what he’s achieved in his career. It means a great deal,” Langer said.

[lawrence-auto-related count=1 tag=2362]

Vijay Singh wins on PGA Tour Champions after Paul Goydos five-putts 17th hole

Leading by a shot on the 17th, Goydos hit the green on the par-3 but needed five putts to find the jar.

[anyclip pubname=”2122″ widgetname=”0016M00002U0B1kQAF_M8224″]

Vijay Singh returned to victory lane on the PGA Tour Champions on Sunday but he needed a big assist from Paul Goydos to get there.

Playing a course where he won three times on the PGA Tour, Singh earned his fourth win overall at Warwick Hills Golf and Country Club in Grand Blanc, Michigan, claiming the 2023 Ally Challenge for his first senior circuit win in five years.

Singh, 60, parred the 18th at nearly the same time some unfortunate circumstances were happening a hole behind him.

Leading by a shot on the 17th hole, Goydos hit the green on the par-3 and then putted to about three feet. From there, however, he needed another four putts to find the bottom of the jar, turning his advantage into a two-shot deficit.

Goydos blew his first putt past the hole and his comebacker caught a piece of the lip, returning to the spot where it was just a minute prior. After taking a few minutes to collect himself, he jabbed at the next putt, missing right and then he almost hit the tap-in before the ball came to rest. After picking up his ball out of the hole, he looked towards his caddie, crossed his arms, then stared at the hole in bewilderment for several moments. He would par the 18th to shoot a 71. Singh closed with a 68.

“I’m as shocked as anybody,” said Singh. “I guess for some reason I drive the ball very well here. Whenever I come here, tree-lined, I drive it well and I’ve putted well. My putting has been a mystery for a long time, but I’ve found a few things out the last few weeks and I’ve been putting really well.”

Due to heavy rain last week, the 54-hole tournament didn’t start until Saturday and was completed in two days.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1375]

Fred Couples is again at ease with Steve Flesch’s son as his caddie

Griffin Flesch has grown up with Couples, and the two have a certain comfort level that shines through.

[anyclip pubname=”2122″ widgetname=”0016M00002U0B1kQAF_M8224″]

The last time Fred Couples found himself holding the trophy after a PGA Tour Champions event — back in October at the SAS Championship in North Carolina — he had the son of Steve Flesch on his bag. Although he occasionally caddies for his dad, Griffin Flesch has grown up with Couples, and the two have a certain comfort level that shines through quickly as they walk the course.

This week, Couples has the younger Flesch as his caddie once again at the Shaw Charity Classic in Calgary, Alberta, and the magic seems to have resurfaced, as the 14-time Champions winner used a birdie on the final hole of the day to post a solid 68, putting him in a tie for 13th place after the opening round.

But Couples’ demands of Griffin Flesch are different than when he caddies for his father.

Griffin said Couples simply wants a number to the flag when he’s in the heat of battle, but Flesch asks for the front, back and sometimes drags him 20 yards in the rough for a precise number.

“Well, I’m in the rough, too. Don’t let him kid you, his father hits the ball very, very clean,” Couples joked in advance of the opening round. “I’ve known Grif since he was young, and we’ve had lunches and sat. I don’t even know really how it worked, I said you want to caddie and he picked the right week. And then he’s going to caddie there again this year.

“I love the kid. We’re going to have a good time.”

Flesch also played well in the opening round, posting an identical 68, and he said having his son on-site is a real treat, even if he’s caddying for a competitor.

The win at the SAS was special for the Flesch family, which has included Couples in a group text chain for years, largely talking about other sports. At SAS, Couples didn’t start the round smoothly, but things improved as the week went on.

“I opened up with a double on the first hole and I’m like, ‘Hey, Grif, nice to have you out here,’ ” Couples joked. “Ended up playing well. Then the second day played well, and then the last day was just, you know. He did a phenomenal job. He gets every yardage, he read a lot of putts. You know, I think it was maybe easier for both of us that I had a big lead because when you’re only one up and you don’t know the guy that well, you can bark at him a little bit to make you feel better.

“I didn’t really need to bark at Grif on the back nine because I was birdieing every hole.”

For Steve Flesch, who has three Champions titles under his belt, seeing his son enjoy success on a pro circuit was something special.

“Griffin has always had this insane passion for all aspects of golf,” Steve Flesch told PGA Tour.com. after the victory last year. “He played in college at Xavier in Cincinnati, then just lost it, and transferred to Kentucky. He has now found his game again and is better than ever. He went through a mental meat-grinder of emotions and has found loving the game, again.

“I believe Fred’s texts and friendly banter with Griff about the Dodgers and Reds, and golf, played a huge part in getting that passion back. Griffin looks up to him so much for his legacy in the game. I can’t think of anyone else he would drop everything for, to have this week. Well, hopefully me, maybe. Haha. Anyway, this was a bucket-list item in life, for Griffin. I couldn’t be happier for or prouder of my son.”

[lawrence-related id=778382277,778352721,778341823,778332268]