Tag: PGA Tour Champions

PGA Tour Champions rules official throws a shoe to get a ball out of a tree

After Billy Andrade hit a golf ball into a large tree at Phoenix Country Club, a PGA Tour Champions rules official came to the rescue.

Who throws a shoe? Honestly?

Well, on Friday, it was PGA Tour Champions VP of Rules, Competition and Administration Brian Claar, who threw a shoe into a tree at Phoenix Country Club to get a ball down.

On the 7th hole, a par 5, Billy Andrade’s second shot went into a large tree and never came down.

After a few minutes were spent trying to confirm it was his, Claar ended up with a random black shoe from the gallery and so he threw it, dislodging the ball on his first try.

Has Claar ever thrown a shoe like that before?

“No,” he said with a laugh. “In college we threw a lot of stuff to retrieve clubs that were thrown into trees. I’ve thrown a rake once, but that was the first shoe.”

Andrade and his caddie were initially not able to say for certain it was his ball, which was marked with a red line.

“It looked like by the naked eye you could see something but it was just a pine needle, perpendicular to the ball that looked like a line, till you put the binocs on it,” Claar said.

It was important to identify the ball because otherwise it would have been a lost ball and Andrade would have to go back to where he hit his second shot. As it turned out, because he could identify the ball, he was able to declare it unplayable and take a one-stroke penalty and play his fourth from there.

He ended up getting a bogey on the hole.

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PGA Tour Champions: ‘If you’re 50, you better start winning’

Fred Couples of the PGA Tour Champions, “If you’re 50 and you’re considered a very good player, you’d better start winning.”

The PGA Tour Champions has gotten a serious dose of star power in 2020 and to no one’s surprise, the newcomers started winning right away.

Phil Mickelson and Jim Furyk, who rank second and third on the PGA Tour’s all-time money list, are both Champions “rookies” this season. So is Ernie Els, who checks in at No. 11 on the all-time money list.

All three brought some extra juice to the senior circuit and each of them have already won twice in 2020, with Mickelson and Furyk both winning the first two Champions events they entered.

CHARLES SCHWAB CUP: Leaderboard

Furyk and Els have a shot this week to win for a third time in 2020 in the season finale, the Charles Schwab Cup Championship at Phoenix Country Club. Els turned 50 in October of 2019 and made his Champions debut this year. Furyk hit the big 5-Oh on May 12, while Mickelson did so on June 16.

“I gotta be satisfied,” Els said of his Champions tour success so far. “Two wins. I haven’t had a win for quite a while before this year, anywhere in the world, so it was nice to win again. As a rookie to have had the year I had so far, I’m very satisfied.”

More: Will Mickelson and Furyk be a Champions tour rivalry?

Furyk has enjoyed similar success but also knows the tour is bound to get more competitive.

“This tour had a great group of guys already there, but you start adding in the last year Retief, Ernie, Phil, Mike Weir, KJ Choi, Rich Beem. It seems like every month someone else is turning 50,” he said. “I think it’s been a good buzz for our fans, for the media. Seems like the tour’s in a pretty good spot.”

Historically, 50-year-old Champions tour rookies win one of out three events on the circuit, so it’s not surprising that Mickelson, Els and Furyk won so soon. It’s the few years after that where winning becomes a bit more challenging.

“I came out here and I did very well for two or three years,” said Fred Couples, who won four times his Champions rookie season and 11 of his 13 Champions events in his first five years on the tour. “Then 56, 57. … sporadically I won a tournament here and there. So if you’re 50 and you’re considered a very good player, you’d better start winning.”

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Fred Couples talks Tiger, Masters

Fred Couples discusses the upcoming Masters and how his good friend Tiger Woods is preparing to defend his title.

Fred Couples discusses the upcoming Masters and how his good friend Tiger Woods is preparing to defend his title.

Phoenix Country Club has come a long way from its log cabin clubhouse and oiled sand greens

Phoenix Country Club, home to the Charles Schwab Cup Championship, has a rich history since its inception more than 100 years ago.

PHOENIX, Ariz. — It started with a log-cabin clubhouse and later featured oiled sand greens. In its heyday hosting the Phoenix Open, a world-class roster filled the tee sheet. Today, Phoenix Country Club hosts the PGA Tour Champions Charles Schwab Cup Championship, the season-ending event on the tour.

The club was established in 1899 with 75 members and was home to the aforementioned log-cabin clubhouse, a nine-hole layout and tennis courts. The club moved to a second location a few miles north for a few years and then in 1919, the club upgraded to its permeant home in central Phoenix. The golf course was designed by Harry Collis and featured oiled sand greens, once a staple of golf in certain areas of the country like Texas and Oklahoma.

Five-term Arizona Senator and 1964 Republican Presidential candidate Barry Goldwater was once an influential member. His brother, Bob, is recognized by many as the father of the Phoenix Open.

“I thought the idea of a golf tournament in Phoenix in the winter would be an ideal way to bring awareness to Phoenix,” he once said.

That golf tournament started in 1932 with the inaugural Phoenix Open, which was won by Ralph Guldahl, who captured two U.S Opens and the 1939 Masters.

Phoenix Country Club
Ralph Guldahl, who has a Masters title to his credit, won the first Phoenix Open in 1932 at Phoenix Country Club. Photo by Golfweek

Phoenix Country Club hosted the Phoenix Open 40 times in all. In 1975, Johnny Miller set the course record with a 61 in the second round en route to his second consecutive tournament win. In 1986, Hal Sutton won the final Phoenix Open at Phoenix Country Club. The next year, the tournament moved to TPC Scottsdale, where much larger crowds could be accommodated.

But in its heyday, Phoenix Country Club did just fine bringing in fans, with the Phoenix Open celebrity pro-am being a huge draw.

Bob Hope, Lawrence Welk, Jerry Lewis and Tennessee Ernie Ford were among those who participated. Hope came for several pro-ams but would only participate if certain travel arrangements were met.

“Bob Goldwater was a pilot, he had a small plane,” Phoenix Country Club History Week Chairman and club member John Spensieri said. “He would have to go pick up Bob Hope.”

It was one of the many ways Goldwater personally recruited celebrities and golfers to the event.

The list of Phoenix Open winners is legendary: Byron Nelson. Ben Hogan. Arnold Palmer. Jack Nicklaus.

LPGA founder and Hall of Fame member, Babe Zaharias, finished 33rd in the 1945 Phoenix Open.

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In 2011, Nicklaus wrote a letter to the club and sent it along with a replica of the Macgregor wood that he used when won the tournament in 1964. In the letter, Nicklaus noted that it was his debut appearance in the event in 1962 that sparked a lifelong rivalry and friendship with Arnold Palmer.

“I finished runner up to Arnold Palmer,” Nicklaus wrote. “He only nipped me by 12 shots.” The letter and the wood are among the dozens of pieces of memorabilia encased in cabinets in the clubhouse.

Phoenix Country Club
A letter written by Jack Nicklaus to Phoenix Country Club in 2011. The letter and a replica Macgregor wood donated by Nicklaus are part of the memorabilia collection in the clubhouse. Photo by Golfweek

Nicklaus’s win in 1964 was his lone Phoenix Open triumph but it ended a three-year run of Palmer winning the event.

Now home to the PGA Tour Champions Charles Schwab Cup Championship, the course is a parkland-style layout situated in the heart of the city. The course was redesigned in 2002 by Tom Lehman and John Fought.

It was recently made longer but not solely to make for more of a challenge for the tour pros.

“We really lengthened it because of the new members that we have,” Spensieri said. “We have 57 members here, including women, that are 3 handicap to plus 6 handicap. Those are some really good players and they hit the ball a very long way. They needed the length. We wanted to keep it interesting for them.”

In 2012, the club started History Week, and it’s become an annual celebration of the club’s history. Each year, a past champion is invited back. Members gather for a dinner and a fireside chat.

“In 2016, at the end of the History Week celebration for Lanny Wadkins,” Spensieri said, “the Tour came to us and said ‘Would you guys think about hosting the Charles Schwab Cup Championship?'”

The next year, the Schwab Cup made the move to Phoenix Country Club, eight years after discussions first started at the club to bring a pro golf event back.

And what of the greens that were once made of sand that was soaked in oil and smoothed by the flat end of a rake by a golfer before he made his putt? They’ve come a long way. No less than World Golf Hall of Famer Ernie Els gave them his seal of approval.

“The greens staff has done a fabulous job,” said Els, who played the course for the first time this week. “These are some of the best greens we’ve seen all year.”

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Jim Furyk right at home on PGA Tour Champions, where’s he made almost $1 million already

With a fifth-place or better finish at the Charles Schwab Cup Championship, Jim Furyk will surpass $1 million on the PGA Tour Champions.

Jim Furyk is back in Arizona and he immediately wanted there to be no confusion as to where his college allegiance lies.

“It’s always good to be back in Arizona,” he said on Wednesday at Phoenix Country Club. “I went kind of down the road. I went to college in Tucson at the University of Arizona.”

The former Wildcat is well aware that Arizona State sits just 10 miles to the east in Tempe. His alma mater is about a two-hour drive south.

“This is probably pretty much split Sun Devil and Wildcat country, although we’re much closer to ASU,” he said. “I know if there were fans, there’d be some good Wildcats here.”

There will be no fans indeed at this week’s PGA Tour Champions Charles Schwab Cup Championship, although about 350 tickets were distributed to club members and tournament sponsors.

Who’s in, who’s out, what you need to know about the Charles Schwab Cup Championship

Despite his deep ties to the state, Furyk said Tuesday was the first time he’s played the course. Considering his smooth transition from the PGA Tour to the PGA Tour Champions, he’s likely to be a quick study.

After turning 50 on May 12, Furyk won the first two senior circuit events he entered. He posted a tie for second last week and in five events he has four top-10s with his worst outing so far a tie for 13th.

Furyk’s bank account has swelled in 2020 as well. He’s earned a tidy $885,700 in those five Champions Tour events. A fifth-place finish or better this week will push him over the $1,000,000 mark in earnings. While nothing to sneeze at, Furyk pocketed just $224,450 in 13 events on the PGA Tour. That season ended for him in mid-August at the Wyndham Championship.

“Once the PGA Tour season was over for me at Wyndham, I kinda committed that thought: ‘You know, I’m going to go play the rest of that schedule on the Champions Tour, see what it looks like, see how I feel.’ I think pretty shortly after that, within a couple of weeks, this was pretty much my home,” Furyk said. “This is where I’m going in the future. I’ll still go out and play some events on the PGA Tour but this is going to be predominantly where I play most of my golf.”

His two Champions Tour wins came at Warwick Hills in Michigan and Pebble Beach, courses he says he is very familiar with. But now he’s getting to try out new places.

Phoenix Country Club
The main entrance at Phoenix Country Club in Phoenix, Arizona. Photo by Golfweek

“I’m finally starting to feel more like that rookie,” he joked. “I have to punch into the GPS ‘Where am I going’, asking people ‘Where’s the locker room? Where’s the driving range?’ But I’ve enjoyed it. It’s good to see some old friends.”

The Champions courses are a bit more to his liking at this point in his career, too.

“I enjoy playing golf courses that are 7,000 yards long instead of 7,400 yards or 7,500 yards,” he said. “I went from being one of the five oldest guys and one of the ten shortest on the PGA Tour to one of the five youngest and in the top 20 percent in length, so it’s nice to be young and long. I haven’t been able to say that in so long.”

Furyk is part of a bigger wave of PGA Tour stars heading to the Champions Tour, many of whom fans know by name.

“This tour had a great group of guys already there, but you start adding in the last year Retief, Ernie, Phil, Mike Weir, KJ Choi, Rich Beem. It seems like every month someone else is turning 50.”

Mickelson is not in the field in Phoenix. He’s chose the Vivint Houston Open as his final prep for next week’s Masters, a tournament that Furyk says he’s looking forward to watching.

“I’m not in so I won’t be there. I’ll watch from home like everyone else,” he said. “I’m really curious to see what it looks like. It’s Augusta, so it’s going to beautiful, it’ll be in great shape. Is it going to play firm and fast, like we all wanna see Augusta, or is it going to be a little slower, a little longer, maybe even favor the bomber. Augusta always favors the bomber but maybe it’ll favor the bomber a little more this year.”

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Jim Furyk, Ernie Els, John Daly headline PGA Tour Champions stop in Phoenix

Phil Mickelson decided against paying a visit to Phoenix but the PGA Tour Champions Charles Schwab Cup Championship has plenty of big names.

The golf world has settled back to mostly normal, but the 2020 calendar certainly was turned upside down by the coronavirus pandemic.

Dozens of tournaments on the major golf tours were canceled, including several major championships.

On the PGA Tour Champions, a total of 14 events were knocked off the calendar, although two new ones were added last-minute in August. Four of the five senior majors were lost this year.

Further fallout included the loss of tour’s season-ending championship. The circuit is still holding the Charles Schwab Cup Championship this week but now the tournament is simply part of a combined 2020 and 2021 season, so on Sunday, the 2020 tournament winner will be crowned but the next Charles Schwab Cup will be awarded in November 2021.

Who’s in the field

The field was increased from 78 golfers to 81, while the event was reduced from 72 holes to 54.

Here’s a closer look at some of the big names set to tee it up this week.

Bernhard Langer

Winner of 41 Champions tour events and a five-time Charles Schwab Cup Champion. He tied for second on Sunday in the TimberTech Championship, finishing runner up to Darren Clarke, who won his first PGA Tour Champions title. Langer leads the points race. The World Golf Hall of Famer has earned more than $40 million while playing on the PGA Tour and the PGA Tour Champions the past 45 years; $30 million of that was won on the senior circuit.

Jim Furyk

Won his first two starts on the senior circuit, becoming the second to ever do so. He tied Langer for second at the TimberTech.

“I’ve enjoyed playing the Champions Tour, to be honest with you. I feel like I’ll play a handful of PGA Tour  events next year, but I think this is kind of my home,” Furyk said last week. “It’s been nice kind of getting the juices flowing and having chances to win golf tournaments.”

Mike Weir

Turned 50 the same day as Furyk. Has posted three top-10 finishes in just eight starts, including a runner-up finish to Mickelson three weeks ago.

Ernie Els

Turned 51 in October and he, too, has won twice this season. His first came in Newport Beach, California, in the Champions tour’s last event before the shutdown. He won again a month ago.

Jeff Maggert

The defending champion of the event, Maggert holed a wedge shot from 124 yards out on the third hole of a playoff with Retief Goosen to capture the 2019 title in the Charles Schwab Cup on Sunday at Phoenix Country Club.

John Daly

He was the first-round co-leader in Boca Raton, Florida, last week, before settling for a T-26 finish. Daly held a lead for just the second time during a tournament since joining the PGA Tour Champions in 2016. He has one Champions tour win, in 2017, and just 10 top-10 finishes in 77 starts. But he remains one of the tour’s fan favorites.

Hale Irwin

Winningest player in Champions tour history with 45 victories.

Who won’t be there

Phil Mickelson

Matched Furyk’s feet by winning his first two times out on the 50-and-over tour but instead of going for a third senior title this week, Lefty instead has committed to the Vivint Houston Open. It’s the final PGA Tour event before the November Masters.

Mickelson was openly debating between Houston and Phoenix for a few days. After finishing 76th in the 77-man field at the Zozo Championship, Mickelson expressed some concern, despite the PGA Tour’s highly successful protocols to deal with COVID-19, about the Houston Open’s decision to allow 2,000 fans per day on site. But he ultimately decided it was the best way to prep for Augusta National.

Darren Clarke

It had been nine years since Darren Clarke had a victory toast, but on Sunday, he tapped in a short birdie putt on the 72nd hole to win the TimberTech Championship by a shot over defending champion Bernhard Langer and Jim Furyk. It was Clarke’s first victory since the 2011 British Open.

Had he lost, no doubt he would have rued a one-stroke penalty he received Saturday for picking up his ball on the second hole, forgetting the field was no longer using preferred lies.

It was Clarke’s last chance to win this year. Because of visa issues, he has to be out of the country by Wednesday, meaning he won’t play in Phoenix.

The venue

Phoenix Country Club will host the Charles Schwab Cup Championship for the fourth time. PCC is a parkland-style golf course that hosted the Phoenix Open from 1932 to 1986. Ben Hogan, Byron Nelson, Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Gene Littler, Johnny Miller, Ben Crenshaw and Hal Sutton all have a Phoenix Open title on the résumés.

The course was redesigned in 2002 by Tom Lehman and John Fought.

Five-term Arizona Senator and 1964 Republican Party presidential candidate Barry Goldwater was once an influential member. His brother Bob is recognized by many as the father of the Phoenix Open.

“I thought the idea of a golf tournament in Phoenix in the winter would be an ideal way to bring awareness to Phoenix,” he once said.

In 2017, pro golf returned to the central Phoenix course with the Charles Schwab Cup Championship.

No fans, for the most part

In September, the Sanford International at Minnehaha Country Club in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, became the first professional golf tournament to welcome fans back, with 10,000 daily tickets distributed.

The Schwab tournament this week is closed to fans, although tournament officials are making about 350 daily tickets available to Phoenix Country Club members and sponsors.

On TV

Golf Channel will have live coverage all three days from 4 to 6:30 p.m. ET.

The Palm Beach Post contributed to this article.

Bernhard Langer’s driver felt out of sync all day, yet he was clubhouse leader until final putt

Bernhard Langer’s driver felt out of sync in the TimberTech Championship’s final round, yet he was the clubhouse leader until the last putt.

BOCA RATON, Fla. — Bernhard Langer was recapping his tournament. Talking about a three-day stretch in which he navigated the first 50 holes of the TimberTech Championship without a bogey, how he reached the top of the leaderboard Sunday after another birdie on the 11th hole of The Old Course, how he was the leader in the clubhouse after shooting a 67, when, in the background, the sound of champagne corks popping started to fill the air.

Langer, the Boca Raton resident, is used to that bubbly being served in his honor, especially at a tournament in which he rolls out of bed, jumps in his car and pulls into the players’ lot in about 10 minutes. But on Sunday, Langer surrendered that home-course advantage to Irishman Darren Clarke, who captured his first PGA Tour Champions title in Langer’s backyard.

Clarke’s birdie on the 18th hole gave him a 68 and three-day total of 17-under 199, one shot better than Langer and Jim Furyk.

“He’s over the moon, I’m sure,” Langer said.

TimberTech Championship: Leaderboard

It’s rare that the stars do not align for Langer on the 50-and-over tour, but this just was not his day. Anytime the 63-year-old is leading a tournament with four holes to play, the chances the all-time leading money winner on the Champions tour (he surpassed $30 million Sunday with his $160,000 check) and the man with 41 victories since joining the tour 13 years ago hanging on are about as automatic as a 3-foot putt.

Except on Sunday, when Langer’s driver and one crucial 3-foot putt were not automatic.

First, the driver.

Langer knew by the second hole something was not right, or should I say, too far right.

“I probably hit six or seven tee shots way right and that’s going to bite you sooner or later,” he said.

Langer fought it for 14 holes, managing six birdies. But his final three drives on Nos. 15, 17 and 18 all leaked right. The most damaging was on the 15th hole when he landed in the rough and his second shot caught a tree branch and ended up in the water short of the green. The bogey — his first of the tournament and the first in 70 holes — dropped him out of the lead.

“I took a big chance,” he said. “My caddie (Terry Holt) wanted me to lay up. I said ‘No, I’m going to go for this. I’m going to play for the win.’

“Hit one branch and the ball fell in the water.”

Langer almost chipped in for a birdie on the par-3 No. 16 but settled for par. Then his drive on No. 17 went right again, but this time he recovered and had a chance to regain the lead when he was staring at 3-foot birdie putt.

The putt caught the edge of the cup and rolled out. Langer dropped his putter in frustration, the third time the normally stoic golfer showed emotion in two holes.

“Didn’t feel good about the putt,” he said. “I should have walked away. Started over. Didn’t.”

Still, despite it all, including a tee shot on par-5 No. 18 that settled in the wood chips, Langer gave himself a chance. His second shot landed on the green, his long eagle putt stopped about 2 feet short and his birdie putt pulled him back into a tie with Clarke and made him the leader in the clubhouse.

Langer knew it would be short-lived with the man who was second in driving distance for the weekend still having to play the final par 5.

Clarke easily reached the green in two and had a gimme birdie putt for the win.

“The odds were against me because he’s one of the longest guys out here,” Langer said. “He hits a decent drive, he hits 7-iron. I hit driver, 2-iron. He’ll probably birdie it nine out of 10 (times).”

So Langer walked away as runner-up for the 37th time of the Tour Champions to go along with those 41 titles. He remains four wins shy of Hale Irwin’s career mark of 45.

In 13 starts at The Old Course, Langer has placed in the top 3 seven times, including winning in 2019 and 2010.

“Would have been nice to do it again here at home especially since I was defending champion as well.” Langer said. “But they’re all important. Unless it’s a major, it’s more important. They all more of less count the same.”

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TimberTech: Darren Clarke victorious for first time since 2011 British Open

“I haven’t had one of these in a while,” Darren Clarke said after winning the TimberTech. “I was drunk for a week the last time I won.”

BOCA RATON, Fla. – It has been nine years since Darren Clarke had a victory toast, but he showed Sunday he still knows how to win and celebrate.

Clarke birdied the 18th hole to win the TimberTech Championship by a shot over defending champion Bernhard Langer and Jim Furyk. It was Clarke’s first victory since the 2011 British Open, and Clarke celebrated with a champagne toast outside the Broken Sound clubhouse.

“I haven’t had one of these in a while,” Clarke said. “I was drunk for a week the last time I won. I imagine I’ll wake up with a headache tomorrow.”

Clarke shot a 4-under 68 on The Old Course to finish at 17-under 199, edging defending champion Bernhard Langer (67) and Jim Furyk (68) by a stroke. Miguel Angel Jimenez (66-201) was fourth.

Clarke earned $300,000 for his first victory on the PGA Tour Champions in his 40th start. The Northern Ireland native won three PGA Tour titles, highlighted by his memorable win at Royal St. George’s just before his 43th birthday.

TIMBERTECH: Leaderboard

“I’ve had a lot of opportunities the last few years, so it’s great to finally win one,” Clarke said. “I wouldn’t be working this hard if I didn’t think I could still win.”

Clarke took advantage of rare mistakes by Hall of Famer Langer, a Boca Raton resident who was trying to win his 42nd career PGA Tour Champions title. Langer was leading at 17-under after 14 holes and hadn’t made a bogey all week on a course where he had already won twice.

Langer (67) then bogeyed two of his next three holes. He hit it in the water at the difficult 15th hole after an errant drive – he had to get up-and-down from the fairway to save bogey – and missed a short par putt at the 17th.

Langer birdied the 18th to finish at 16-under and force Clarke to birdie the par-5 18th to win. Langer remains four wins behind Hale Irwin’s career mark of 45 on the PGA Tour Champions.

“I got off to a good start with a birdie at the first and kept going,” Langer said “I didn’t drive the ball well and I  could feel something wasn’t right with my swing and it showed up over and over. I made a great birdie at the end, but the swing just wasn’t quite where it needed to be.”

Darren Clarke
Darren Clarke hits a drive off the 12th tee during final round of the TimberTech Championship in Boca Raton, Florida on November 1, 2020. Photo Richard Graulich/Palm Beach Post

Furyk was trying to win for the third time in five starts on the PGA Tour Champions. He spent most of the back nine within a shot or two of the lead, but made one birdie on the last seven holes, a disappointing one at the 18th.

“I didn’t make a lot of putts,” Furyk said. “I was burning a lot of edges. At 18, I had a nice look for eagle from about 20 feet and thought I hit a great putt. I didn’t even sniff the hole. I probably missed it a good cup low and we just misread the putt.”

Clarke birdied three of his first seven holes Sunday and led at 16-under until he double-bogeyed the ninth hole after his drive went into the water. Clarke responded with birdies on the next two holes to remain in contention.

Had Clarke lost, no doubt he would have rued a one-stroke penalty he received Saturday for picking up his ball on the second hole, forgetting the field was no longer using preferred lies.

This was Clarke’s last chance to win this year. Because of visa issues, he has to be out of the country by Wednesday, meaning he will miss next week’s season-ending event in Phoenix.

He’ll take with him a nice parting gift – the TimberTech Championship trophy. And more time to celebrate.

“I would love to go and try and win again next week, but unfortunately that won’t be the case,” Clarke said. “I’m going to have to sit at the beach down in Abaco Club, drink some sea breezes and watch the boys on the big screen.

“When everybody makes a birdie, I’ll go cheer and have another sea breeze or a Kalik Light. It will be a little bit of both.”

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Defending champ Bernhard Langer positioned for another win at TimberTech Championship

Defending champ Bernhard Langer could earn another win at the PGA Tour Champions’ TimberTech Championship.

BOCA RATON — Some folks in their 60s rely on annuities to get by.
Bernhard Langer has the TimberTech Championship.

The World Golf Hall of Famer has earned more than $40 million while playing on the PGA Tour and the PGA Tour Champions the last 45 years. But he had to travel all over the U.S. (and the UK for the British Open) to earn this grand sum of money, sometimes leaving a tournament without a penny earned if he missed the cut.

Not so at the TimberTech Championship.

During the last 12 years, Langer has only had to make an eight-minute commute from his Boca Raton home to The Old Course to earn $1,186.385.

And counting.

The defending champion once again positioned himself for another high finish with a 4-under 68 Saturday that left Langer tied for fourth place at 11-under 133, two shots behind co-leaders Darren Clarke and Robert Karlsson entering Sunday’s final round.

The round could have, should have been lower. Langer missed only two greens, but lacked his usual touch with the putter.

“I gave myself opportunities, and that’s what I need to do because I’m hitting a lot more clubs into these greens than some of my opponents,” Langer said. “Didn’t make a lot of putts, but I’m still there.”

Langer has averaged almost $100,000 a start ($98,865) at The Old Course. That doesn’t get old.

That’s what happens when you win twice, finish second twice, third twice, not to mention eight top-10s in 12 starts.

Numbers on a scorecard don’t always tell the story, but these numbers are numbing:

In 38 rounds at The Old Course, Langer has shot 66 or lower 10 times. He has shot even-par once and been over par just three times (with a pair of 73s). His overall average is 68.34, which basically turns the four par-5s into par-4s.

Not only does Langer take the fewest shots, he also has the most memorable one: His hole-out from a bunker for eagle to defeat John Cook in a playoff in 2010.

From a plugged lie, no less.

Sorry, Bart Bryant, but that eagle edges out the albatross you made to finish the second round in 2015. A trophy beats a Shot of the Day.
Just one question: What the heck happened to Langer in 2017 when he finished 37th? Was that an imposter? He only beat half the field that year.

Langer has been beating these guys since 2007. At 63, he refuses to act his age.

“Hopefully, I am acting my age,” Langer countered. “I’m wiser than I was 20 years ago.”

Langer made history in 1986 when he became the first player to be ranked No. 1 when the world rankings debuted. He also is one of five players who have won tournaments on all six continents where golf is played.

His game travels, as well.

Langer won a pair of Masters (1985 and 1993), but also appears in one of the most-famous photographs at Augusta National in 1986, when he put the green jacket on 46-year-old champion Jack Nicklaus.
Langer needs four more wins to tie Hale Irwin’s career record of 45 PGA Tour Champions titles. If Langer finishes in the top four Sunday, he will go over the $30 million mark.

On just the PGA Tour Champions.

There’s no secret to Langer’s success. He outworks and out-thinks most of his colleagues. Jeff Waber, Broken Sound’s director of golf, said Langer averages about 10 practice rounds a year on The Old Course.

“He doesn’t get himself into trouble,” Waber said. “He may not hit the prettiest, best-looking shot, but he never hits it out of play and takes a penalty shot. He always misses it on the correct side. He’s the most patient player out there.”

Waber also praised Langer’s actions off the course. Five years ago, Waber was looking to raise money for his old boss, John Skaff, after he suffered a serious health issue. Waber called Langer to see if he had any suggestions on what items raised the most money in a charity auction.

“Bernhard came over later that night and brought me the current year’s Masters flag from the champions dinner that had been signed by 34 of the living winners,” Waber said.

“I said, ‘Mr. Langer, I’m kind of shaking here.’ He said, ‘No, this will raise the most amount of money and it’s all yours.’”
It’s not always about the money.

Langer’s pay days on The Old Course

Bernard Langer has made more than $1.186 million playing in his hometown TimberTech Championship at Broken Sound Club in Boca Raton. He is the only player to win the event twice and has a pair of seconds and thirds. His average score on the par-72 Old Course is 68.34 (in 38 rounds) and his average earnings is $98,865.33.

Here are his year-by-year results:

  • 2019: Finished first. $255,000
  • 2018: Finished second, $140,800
  • 2017: Finished T-37, $9,450
  • 2016: Finished T-10, $28,850
  • 2015: Finished T-26, $14,450
  • 2014: Finished T-7, $54,400
  • 2013:Finished T-2, $144,000
  • 2012: Finished T-3, $118,350
  • 2011: Finished T-17, $23,991
  • 2010: Finished first, $255,000
  • 2009: Finished third, $122,400
  • 2008: Finished T-35, $9,693

Darren Clarke, Robert Karlsson lead TimberTech Championship, Jim Furyk in contention

Darren Clarke and Robert Karlsson lead the TimberTech Championship through 54 holes with Jim Furyk T-3 and in contention.

BOCA RATON – Darren Clarke got off to a fast start for the second consecutive day on Saturday, and this time he didn’t let up.

Clarke, 52, who is seeking his first PGA Tour Champions victory, shot a bogey-free 10-under-par 62 Saturday for a 13-under 131 total.

He was tied for the lead of the TimberTech Championship with Robert Karlsson, 51, who followed his opening 65 with a six-birdie 66, during an intermittently wet and windy second round at The Old Course at Broken Sound.

They were one shot ahead of Jim Furyk, who had shared the first-round lead with John Daly at 64. Furyk was alone in third place after a 68 Saturday and a 132 total. Daly shot a 1-over 73 with four bogeys and three birdies to fall into a tie for 20th.

Cameron Beckman, 50, who is playing in only his fifth Champions Tour event, and Kent Jones, 53, both shot 66 Saturday and were tied for fourth along with hometown favorite and defending champion Bernhard Langer and Scott Parel, who both shot 68. Gene Sauers and Rod Pampling both shot 65 to move up 19 spots into a tie for eighth.

Sunday’s final round begins at 9:35 a.m. Clarke, Karlsson and Furyk tee off in the last threesome at 11:45 a.m.

Clarke, who won the 2011 Open Championship, had four birdies on the front nine Friday, but he had two bogeys and a birdie coming home to finish at 3-under 69, which put him in a 19-way tie for 27th in the 81-player field.

A native of Northern Ireland who now lives at The Winding Club at Abaco Bay in the Bahamas, Clarke birdied the first hole Saturday morning and added four more birdies on to finish the front 5-under 31. He then birdied the first two holes on the back to give him three consecutive birdies and five in a six-hole stretch.

A birdie at No. 13 put him at 8 under for the day. After four pars in a row, he concluded his round in style on the 507-yard par-5 18th. Clarke hit his second shot, an 8-iron from 163 yards, three feet from the hole, then rolled in the eagle putt. Approach shots like that were the key to his round.

“I holed one 30-footer on No. 9 and one 12-footer on No. 10 
 about everything else was about three, four feet,” said Clarke, who is in his third season on the Champions Tour. “The greens are receptive, obviously, and if you play it well, you give yourself opportunities. Today I read the greens better than I have for quite some time. But again, it was much easier to hole putts – it goes without saying – if you hit it closer.”

Clarke was on such a good roll, not even a mental mistake could stop his momentum.

“The last few weeks with the weather conditions, we’ve been ball in hand, marking it and placing it,” said Clarke, adding that on the first tee the starter told his threesome that no placing was allowed Saturday. “First hole, fine. Second hole, down the middle of the fairway, marked it, picked it up. Oops. One-shot penalty straightaway. Anyway, hit it over the back of the green, chipped it in for par.

“A 61 would’ve been nice, but a 62 is just fine with me.”

Karlsson, a native of Sweden, has six top-10 finishes in 11 events in his first season on the PGA Tour Champions. He had four birdies on the front nine, birdied the 14th hole to pull within a shot of Clarke, and two-putted the 18th for birdie for the tie.

Playing aggressively, but smart, has been a key to his success this year, which includes a tie for second, and three straight top-10s coming into this tournament.

“I’ve had too many tournaments where I made too many mistakes early on, otherwise I probably would have done a bit better because a lot of my good tournaments have come from really great last holes, or last few holes anyway, in the last round,” said Karlsson, who had 11 European Tour wins. “When you play on the Champions Tour, it’s just very, very low scoring all the time and very bunched up. I’m trying not to get too caught up in it, play my own game and that’s going to be the plan tomorrow as well.

“I’m ecstatic with my first year on the tour. I didn’t play well at the end on the European Tour and coming out here and being up in the top of the leaderboard again, see my name on the leaderboards, being in contention, it’s great fun again to be there.”