Tag: Stephen Ames

PGA Tour Champions event sees final round canceled because of rain; Stephen Ames declared winner

This is just the second time in the tournament’s 37-year history that the champion was decided in fewer than 54 holes.

Sunday’s final round of the Chubb Classic on the PGA Tour Champions has been canceled due to inclement weather.

Stephen Ames, who held a three-shot lead over former Naples resident Rocco Mediate following Saturday’s round, has been declared the 2024 Chubb Classic champion.

This is just the second time in the tournament’s 37-year history that the champion was decided in fewer than 54 holes. In 1995, Bob Murphy won the Chubb Classic at Vineyards Country Club in Naples after 36 holes when rain forced the cancellation of the final round.

The Chubb Classic tournament staff will be in touch with ticket holders who purchased tickets to today’s final round of play.

A Stephen, Steven or Steve has won the last five PGA Tour Champions events as Stephen Ames wins 2023 Principal Charity Classic

A Stephen, Steven or Steve has won the last five PGA Tour Champions events

DES MOINES, Iowa — Stephen Ames, Steve Stricker and Tim Herron shuffled around the green at the 18th hole, calculating the best strategy to finish off the Principal Charity Classic on Sunday.

Ames — who teed off the final hole with a one-stroke lead — knew he had secured the win when Stricker missed his putt, and the 2021 Principal Charity Classic winner was relieved to avoid a playoff for the trophy.

“The fact that Steve (Stricker) missed his putt, I knew we weren’t going to a playoff,” Ames said. “In the past, Steve would’ve made the putt on 15, 16 and here. Fortunately for me, it worked out that way.”

Ames finished 17-under for the week after scores of 66-66-67–200. The Canadian birdied four holes on the front nine and two in the back, which gave Ames the padding needed to pull off the win, even with a bogey on No. 14.

The win at the Wakonda Club marked the third PGA Tour Champions win of the season for Ames, who came out on top in the Trophy Hassan II in February and Mitsubishi Electric Classic in May.

The Principal Charity Classic victory was Ames’ second win on this tour in less than a month. He claimed the winner’s purse of $300,000, which brings his total Charles Schwab Cup winnings to $1,138,164. He was ranked fourth ahead of the PCC, with three top-10 finishes, including his two victories and a ninth-place finish in the Insperity Invitational.

“Everything,” Ames said when asked what was working well right now. “At this stage, it’s the same things I was doing last year…and maybe the putter’s a little warmer at times.”

He held on for the win, but Sunday’s round was Ames’ highest score of the competition. Fortunately for Ames, the other leaders struggled, as well.

Stricker, who won last week at the Senior PGA, had a bogey-free day but he only birdied four times, two in the front nine, two in the back nine.

Stricker has two PGA Tour Champions major wins in 2023 – the Regions Tradition and the Senior PGA Championship – and has three wins in all this year, including the Mitsubishi Electric Championship in January.

“It was a battle today, there’s no doubt about that,” Ames said. “Steve obviously, the way he’s played this year already tells you that it was going to be a good battle. And the fact that I ended up on top is more fulfilling than anything else right now.”

Herron, who entered the final round tied for the lead, slipped a bit on Sunday. He had three bogeys across the first five holes and dropped eight places to finish ninths.

Others outside of the leader group had successful performances, but they weren’t enough to get past Ames’ advantage. Richard Green finished with the best score of the day (63), and a few others — Miguel Angel Jiménez, Marco Dawson and Ken Duke — scored a 64 on the final round.

Defending champion Jerry Kelly was fifth in the standings after two rounds and tied Stricker for second. He avoided bogeys while picking up seven birdies to score a 65 on the final round.

But the players who crept into the top-three or moved up in the standings might not have had a chance to win if the Steves had anything to do with it.

A Stephen (or Steve or Steven) has won the last five PGA Tour Champions events and seven of the last 12 tournaments on the circuit this season. Steven Alker won the Insperity Invitational in April, and Ames and Sticker have each won two of the last four.

It’s a group that Ames is happy to be a part of.

“Popular names, I don’t know. I have no clue what’s working for the Steves, but nice fun fact, though.”

Golfers to keep an eye on at PGA Tour Champions 2023 Principal Charity Classic

This year’s field includes nine former champions at the Wakonda Club.

DES MOINES — The Principal Charity Classic tees off Friday as some of golf’s best on the PGA Tour Champions converge for three days of competition.

This year’s field includes nine former champions at the Wakonda Club, including defending champion Jerry Kelly and three-time winner Jay Haas. Five World Golf Hall of Famers and several fan favorites also highlight the tee sheet.

From Fred Couples to Steve Sticker, here are some of the golfers to keep an eye on at the 2023 Principal Charity Classic.

Stephen Ames

Ames won this event in 2021 and finished in a four-way tie for 12th in 2022. He is currently fourth on the PGA Tour Champions standings, but the third-highest-ranked player heading into the tournament, with Steve Alker not competing in Des Moines.

Notah Begay III

This is Begay’s first appearance in the Principal Charity Classic. One of the only Native American golfers to have played in the PGA Tour, the 50-year-old professional returned to playing with the Champions circuit. He is a top-100 player in the Schwab Cup rankings.

Fred Couples

A World Golf Hall of Famer and former World No. 1 will make another appearance in Des Moines. A fixture in pro golf for over four decades, Couples has finished in the top-10 twice this season — eighth in the Chubb Classic and 10th in the Galleri Classic.

2022 Principal Charity Classic
Fred Couples reacts after making a birdie putt on the 18th green during the second round of the 2022 Principal Charity Classic at Wakonda Club in Des Moines, Iowa. (Photo: Patrick McDermott/Getty Images)

Ernie Els

Another World Golf Hall of Famer and former World No. 1 with four major championships and more than 70 career victories under his belt. He doesn’t seem to be slowing down, as Els is sixth in the Schwab Cup rankings.

Judd Gibb

Iowa golf fans, this is the player to root for this weekend. The Fort Dodge native was a four-year letter winner at Iowa State and a five-time Iowa PGA Player of the Year.

Miguel Angel Jimenez

Ever the fan favorite, Jimenez returns to Des Moines as the fifth-best player in the PGA Tour Champions leaderboard. He finished in the top-35 in last year’s event.

Jerry Kelly

Kelly returns to the Wakonda Club as the reigning Principal Charity Classic champion. He beat Kirk Triplett in a playoff last season. He is currently 12th on the PGA Tour Champions leaderboard.

2022 Principal Charity Classic
Jerry Kelly celebrates on the 18th green after winning the 2022 Principal Charity Classic at Wakonda Club in Des Moines, Iowa. (Photo: Patrick McDermott/Getty Images)

Steve Stricker

Stricker is on an absolute roll right now. He sits at No. 1 in the Schwab Cup rankings after a 2023 season that includes three wins and three runner-up finishes. Stricker has already won over $2 million this season with wins in the Mitsubishi Electric Championship as well as two majors, the Regions Tradition and the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship.

David Toms

Toms is No. 2 in the rankings behind Stricker. He won the Cologuard Classic and the Galleri Classic and has collected winnings of more than $1 million this season.

Kirk Triplett

Triplett may sit at No. 53 in the Schwab Cup rankings, but he isn’t a player to count out. He finished in the top-10 in the Mitsubishi Electric Classic and was the runner-up in this event last year. Only Kelly and the playoff stood between Triplett and a win.

Full field at the 2023 Principal Charity Classic

Robert Allenby
Stephen Ames
Billy Andrade
Stuart Appleby
Woody Austin
Notah Begay III
Shane Bertsch
Kris Blanks
Jason Bohn
Paul Broadhurst
Mark Calcavecchia
Alex Cejka
Russ Cochran
Brian Cooper
Fred Couples
Marco Dawson
Glen Day
Chris DiMarco
Ken Duke
Scott Dunlap
Joe Durant
David Duval
Ernie Els
Bob Estes
Steve Flesch
David Frost
Fred Funk
Jim Furyk
Brian Gay
Paul Goydos
Richard Green
Jay Haas
Mark Hensby
Tim Herron
John Huston
Thongchai Jaidee
Lee Janzen
Miguel Angel Jimenez
Robert Karlsson
Jerry Kelly
Rob Labritz
Bernhard Langer
Tom Lehman
Jeff Maggert
Billy Mayfair
Scott McCarron
David McKenzie
Rocco Mediate
Colin Montgomerie
Timothy O’Neal
Rod Pampling
Scott Parel
Tom Pernice Jr.
Kenny Perry
Tim Petrovic
Dicky Pride
Brett Quigley
Fran Quinn
John Senden
Wes Short Jr.
Vijay Singh
Jeff Sluman
Paul Stankowski
Steve Stricker
Kevin Sutherland
Ken Tanigawa
Mario Tiziani
Esteban Toledo
David Toms
Kirk Triplett
Scott Verplank
Duffy Waldorf
Mike Weir
Willie Wood
Y.E. Yang

Wakonda Club is a par-72 golf course that will play 6,851 yards this week. The first place prize is $300,000.

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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Stephen Ames goes wire-to-wire in Morocco for third PGA Tour Champions win at Trophy Hassan II

Stephen Ames is coming home with a win and a giant knife.

Stephen Ames’ game was sharp, but the trophy he’s bringing home is even sharper.

Ames ran away with the Trophy Hassan II at Royal Golf Dar Es Salam in Rabat, Morocco, for his third PGA Tour Champions victory. He went wire-to-wire, carding an even-par final round to finish at 9 under for the tournament.

His final round consisted of 18 pars. His reward? A giant knife.

“This is up there with all the good events, great events that we have on our tour right now,” Ames said. “The beauty about this event is the fact that it’s in another country, which I’m used to traveling and playing the world. For me, I enjoy coming here because of the cuisine, of the food. I enjoy it very much. This is very much up my alley when I came here.”

Mark Hensby got as close as one shot behind Ames, but a pair of double bogeys let Ames cruise to victory. Hensby finished second, his highest finish in 11 career starts on the PGA Tour Champions.

The tour’s next event is in Naples, Florida, at Tiburon Golf Club for the Chubb Classic.

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Steven Alker wins KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship for third win in five starts

Steven Alker shot a 63 in the final round to win the 82nd Senior PGA Championship.

BENTON HARBOR, Mich. — A year ago, New Zealand golfer Steven Alker was preparing to turn 50 in two months so he could try to carve out a decent living on the PGA Tour Champions.

His professional résumé left much to be desired.

Now Alker is the hottest golfer on the senior circuit.

Sunday at the par-71, 6,762-yard Jack Nicklaus-designed Harbor Shores by Lake Michigan, Alker overcame a four-stroke deficit at the start by shooting an 8-under 63 in the final round that included nine birdies. His 16-under 268 earned him the 82nd Senior PGA Championship with a three-shot victory over third-round leader Stephen Ames for his third victory in his last four starts.

“It’s been a great ride out here and I’m enjoying myself,” said Alker, who earned $630,000, pushing his bankroll to $1,813,961 with his seventh top-10 finish. “The first couple of weeks were okay. I wouldn’t say I’m comfortable yet, but just comfortable playing with the guys out here.”

Alker’s amazing play this season has certainly impressed his colleagues, especially Ames, who managed a 1-under 70 to finish runner-up at 13-under 271, three strokes ahead of 64-year-old legend Bernhard Langer of Germany, who closed with a 71.

“I’ve watched Steven play on the European Tour and the Korn Ferry Tour,” said Ames, whose round included four birdies and three bogeys. “All of a sudden out here, wow. It’s fantastic, great to see.”

The victory also secured Alker a spot in next year’s PGA Championship at Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, New York. “It’s just perseverance with a capital P,” Alker said about his career turnaround.

Alker, who birdied three of his first five holes, bogeyed the difficult 443-yard seventh but then ran off four birdies in a row beginning at No. 8. He added birdies at Harbor Shores Nos. 15 and 16 to close the door on the competition.

Alker, who played in the second-to-last group Sunday, was comfortable chasing Ames, Langer and Canadian Mike Weir.

“I was very, very calm,” he said. “I wanted it but I had a lot of ground to make up. I didn’t want to push too hard and go too aggressive. So I got a nice start, made some nice putts. I just kind of did everything well today.”

Ames, who had a share of the 36-hole lead with housemate Scott McCarron at 8-under and was the solo third-round leader by two strokes over Langer and fellow Canadian Mike Weir, said Harbor Shores played different Sunday because of warmer temperatures in the low 80s and south-southwest winds gusting to 25 miles an hour.

“The lines and clubs were different off the tee, but I think everybody adjusted well,” Ames said. “Obviously some (golfers) played better than others.”

One of them wasn’t Langer, who now has four top-10 finishes at Senior PGAs played at Harbor Shores but not a victory. Seeking his 12th senior major title, Langer bogeyed three straight holes starting at No. 12—doubling his bogey total of the first three rounds—for a closing 71 and a 10-under 274 for solo third. Four golfers tied for fourth at 9 under: Spain’s Miguel Angel Jimenez (69), South Korea’s K.J. Choi (65), Weir (72) and California’s Paul Goydos (71).

Langer, who made four birdies on his front nine, had to play out of two divots at the 548-yard 10th before managing to save his par 5. “That really stopped the momentum,” said Langer, who then bogeyed Nos. 13 through 15. “It was obviously a missed opportunity. I was 14 under leading by one with eight holes to go and just didn’t close it.”

Ames birdied Nos. 2 and 3 to build a three-shot lead at 14-under. But Ames gave a stroke back with a bogey at the difficult 443-yard seventh hole overlooking Lake Michigan and Alker, Langer and others began to close in.

Langer caught Ames at 13 under with his third birdie of the day at No. 8 and then added another birdie at par-5 ninth to turn at 14 under.

Alker, meanwhile, started the day with four straight 3s, two of them birdies, and then after bogeying the seventh, strung together four birdies beginning at the short 376-yard eighth hole to reach 14 under through 11. When Ames birdied the 133-yard 11th, the three foreigners were in a three-way tie and had effectively separated themselves from the rest of the field.

The three-way tie didn’t last long as Langer made bogey from the fairway at the 12th, and then he hooked his tee shot at the 193-yard 13th into the rough on way to a second straight bogey to fall two back at 12-under.

Up ahead, Alker made birdie at the 508-yard, par-5 15th by the Paw Paw River after Ames and Langer bogeyed the 14th hole, and Alker suddenly found himself in control of the tournament at 15-under. His final birdie at 16 and two up-and-down pars at 17 and 18 secured it.

Alker leads the tour with three wins. He has three wins a tie for second and a tie for third in his last five starts.

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Senior PGA: Can Stephen Ames hold off Bernhard Langer and Mike Weir?

The 58-year-old Canadian would prefer to be the hunter instead of the hunted in Sunday’s final round at Harbor Shores.

BENTON HARBOR, Mich. — If Stephen Ames had his way in the 82nd KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship, the 58-year-old Canadian would prefer to be the hunter instead of the hunted in Sunday’s final round at Harbor Shores.

“I don’t like to be that guy, period,” said third-round leader Ames after his 4-under-par 67 in Saturday’s third round left him at 12-under 201, two strokes ahead of fellow Canadian Mike Weir and PGA Tour Champions legend Bernhard Langer of Germany, who also recorded 67s at the par-71, 6,852-yard Jack Nicklaus design by Lake Michigan.

In addition to Weir, the 2003 Masters champion, and Langer, who has won two Masters and a record 11 senior major titles, the leaderboard’s top 12 golfers include defending Senior PGA champion Alex Cejka of Germany and the top two money-winners on senior circuit – No. 1 Steve Alker and No. 2 Miguel Angel Jimenez.

That’s heady company for the 58-year-old Ames, the 2006 Players champion who has just two senior victories, to hold off.

“Either way I look at it, I’m going to go out there and play my game,” Ames said. “I can’t control what anybody is doing. The only thing I can control is myself, so I’m going to try and keep my emotions the way they are right now and play golf. If it comes out, it comes out.”

The 64-year-old Langer and the left-handed Weir, who started the day two strokes behind Ames and his co-leader and housemate for the week, Scott McCarron, were among the 39 golfers who shot sub-par rounds in Saturday’s ideal scoring conditions which were opposite of Friday’s rain, wind and cold temperatures.

Ames started his round with birdies at Nos. 2 and 3. After he bogeyed the 436-yard seventh hole, Ames finished the front with a birdie on the par-5 ninth to turn in 2-under 34. Ames then birdied Nos. 10 and 12 and finished with six straight pars to maintain his lead over Langer and Weir, who stumbled on their way to the clubhouse.

“I was just keeping it in play and getting those long putts really nice and close,” added Ames, who had double bogeys in each of his first two rounds but didn’t come close to one Saturday.

The 52-year-old Weir couldn’t avoid one at the par-3, 201-yard 17th hole where his 6-iron tee shot missed a bunker but not a rake outside of it. The ball caromed off the rake into the hazard where it lodged against a couple of branches. Weir ended up making an 8-footer to save his double bogey.

“That was an unfortunate bounce,” added Weir, who made seven birdies in his round, including five in a six-hole stretch beginning at the fifth hole. “I hit a nice drive and an 8-iron close at 18 (for his last birdie).”

Langer would be a shot closer if not for his three-putt bogey from 35 feet at 18, his only mistake in a round which began with a birdie at No. 1 and two more at Nos. 6 and 9 for a front-side 33. He added two more on the back nine at Nos. 12 and 15 before chipping in from the fringe for par at the par-4 16th and then getting up-and-down at No. 17 for another par.

“It’s always fun to be in contention,” said Langer, who has three top-10 finishes in previous Senior PGAs played at Harbor Shores in 2012, 2014 and 2016. Langer, who makes his home in Boca Raton, Florida, completed the senior grand slam with his Senior PGA championship in 2017 at Trump National outside Washington, and while he didn’t play in the 2018 event at Harbor Shores because of his youngest son’s high school graduation, he did show up for its media day.

“The golf course was perfect,” Langer continued. “(It was) really (in) very good shape. Nice fairways, fantastic greens and the weather was phenomenal.”

As was the scoring. American Paul Goydos, who has just three bogeys in three rounds, was a stroke behind Langer at 9-under 204 after a four-birdie 67. A stroke behind Goydos at 205 are defending Cejka (68), Florida’s Brian Gay (69) and the 50-year-old Alker (69), who has two victories and almost $1.2 million in earnings. Alker managed to overcome a pair of double bogeys in his round with six birdies.

Jimenez, who is No. 2 in money earnings with two victories, had the best round of the day, a 6-under 65, and leaped into a tie for eighth at 7-under 206 with Americans Shane Bertsch (67) and Gene Sauers (66), Thailand’s Thongchai Jaidee (66) and Ireland’s Padraig Harrington, who fought through a stiff neck to shoot 68.

Sunday’s weather is predicted to be sunny and warmer but with gusty south winds. That could mean Harbor Shores’ record winning scores of 19-under 265 by champions Rocco Mediate (2016) and Paul Broadhurst (2018) could be safe.

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Two players sharing a house at the Senior PGA Championship are also sharing the 36-hole lead

Housemates for this week’s 82nd Senior PGA Championship at Harbor Shores have something in common – a share of the 36-hole lead at 8-under.

BENTON HARBOR, Mich. — The Odd Couple, golfers Scott McCarron and Stephen Ames, they are not.

But the housemates for this week’s 82nd Senior PGA Championship at Harbor Shores do have something in common – a share of the 36-hole lead at 8-under 134 after shooting matching 5-under 66s in Friday’s second round which started with rain and wind and only got colder as the day progressed.

“It was crazy,” said 56-year-old McCarron, who has 11 PGA Tour Champions victories including the 2017 Senior Players major title. “Weather (when) we teed off … was not too bad. (It was) 60 (degrees) and then we got to the third hole, and I think it dropped 10 or 15 degrees.”

Nevertheless, McCarron made eight birdies in his round, five for an incoming 30 on the back nine of the 6,852-yard Jack Nicklaus design that sits near Lake Michigan. The 58-year-old Ames, who made a double bogey for the second straight day, made six birdies over his final 11 holes despite the deteriorating conditions.

“It’s not my cup of tea,” Ames said. “I’m not a fan of the cold weather even though I lived in Canada. But I never went out and played golf in this.”

McCarron is coming off major reconstructive surgery of his left ankle last August and has just one Top 25 finish this season in nine events, a tie for 16th at the Regions Tradition major on May 15 that was won by Steve Stricker, who is not playing this week after testing positive for COVID.

“It’s been a slow process,” McCarron said about his surgery. “I knew it would be. It’s been a struggle, but the last couple of weeks it’s gotten better.”

Ames, meanwhile, is 11th on the money list with $406,237 in earnings thanks to four Top 10 finishes.

“Putting has been a bit of an issue the last six weeks I’ve played,” Ames said after making a 25-foot birdie for his final birdie at the 16th. “I’ve had opportunities, but I couldn’t make putts to close things out.”

McCarron and Ames were two strokes ahead of four golfers – 64-year-old World Golf Hall of Fame member Bernhard Langer of Germany, who shot a second straight 68, Florida’s Brian Gay (68), Canada’s Mike Weir (71) and PGA Tour Champions rookie sensation Steven Alker (72) of New Zealand.

Senior PGA Championship: Germany’s Bernhard Langer has priorities in order for Senior PGA event in Michigan

By the numbers: A fun peek at notable numbers associated with the Senior PGA Championship at Harbor Shores

Langer, a two-time Masters champion who has won the most senior majors (11) since turning 50, made four birdies, three of them on Harbor Shores’ par-5 holes at 9, 10 and 15, to offset a bogey at the 436-yard seventh hole where the windswept small green overlooks Lake Michigan.

“It was cold today, much colder, and the ball just went nowhere at times,” Langer said. “It’s nice to go below 70 on a day like this because it’s not easy. The course played a lot longer.”

Alker, who eagled his first hole of the tournament (the par-5 10th) Thursday by draining a 25-foot downhill putt, bogeyed the first hole and the last Friday with just birdie in between. “It was a grinding day,” said Alker, who has two victories and almost $1.2 million this season. “Obviously I didn’t hit it as close as yesterday … couldn’t reach the par-5s.”

After surrendering 56 sub-par rounds to the 156-player field in Thursday’s opening round, Harbor Shores fought back Friday with plenty of help from Mother Nature. Only 17 golfers shot under-par Friday.

The best round of the afternoon, a 2-under 69, belonged to defending champion Alex Cejka, who was in a group at 5-under 137 with morning golfers multi-major champion Ernie Els (70) of South Africa, Rod Pampling (68) of Australia and Americans Paul Goydos (68) and Tracy Phillips (68), one of 39 club professionals playing this week.

Cejka started his Friday afternoon round at the par-5 10th hole, made birdie at the par-3 11th and then finished the nine with back-to-back bogeys at 17 and 18. But he made four birdies on Harbor Shores’ front side.

“I grinded on (his) back nine,” Cejka said. “It was really, really tough, but I hit some good shots, made some good putts, made some clutch up-and-downs.”

A total of 71 golfers made the 36-hole cut which came at three-over 145.

He just grinds

Langer, who has 43 PGA Tour Champions victories and won 11 major championships since turning 50, has himself again in the hunt for a victory at Harbor Shores after a second-straight, three-under 68 in different scoring conditions. Friday’s rain and winds from the northwest across Lake Michigan mystified many in the field, but the 64-year-old Langer was not among them. He had four birdies, three on par-5 holes.

“The conditions were pretty rough,” Langer said. “It was cold today, much colder, and the ball just went nowhere at times.”

The two-time Masters champion (1985 and 1993) also said the weather forecasts he has received the first two days have not been correct. “Yesterday (Thursday) they were wrong, and today they were wrong again,” he laughed. “It was nice to go below 70 on a day like this because it was not easy.”

In his previous three visits here – Langer did not play in the event in 2018 because of his son’s graduation from high school – he’s finished tied for fourth in 2012 (to champion Roger Chapman of England), tied for third in 2014 (to champion Colin Montgomerie) and tied for third in 2016 (to champ Rocco Mediate).

Past champions

Montgomerie followed his opening two-under 69 with a 71 and was at two-under 140, one stroke ahead of a group at 141 that included 2018 champion Paul Broadhurst, who managed a two-under 69 in Friday’s crazy conditions.

When he won in 2014, Montgomerie shot 13-under 271 to win. Broadhurst shot 19-under 265 to win in 2018, matching 2016 champion Rocco Mediate’s winning score.

Chapman, who opened with a one-under 70 Thursday was two-over for the day midway through Friday’s round and was at one-over. The projected 36-hole cut was expected to be three-over.

Down the road

Mediate, who opened with a three-over 74 Thursday, won’t be among those who make the cut as he was one of four golfers who no-carded Friday. A wrist injury caused his withdraw. John Daly, the 1991 PGA champion at Crooked Stick who shot 72 Thursday, withdrew with knee problems. Rich Beem, the 2002 PGA champ who opened with a 75, and Jonathan Kaye (78) also started Friday’s play but withdrew.

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A game: Stephen Ames, Billy Andrade tied for lead at U.S. Senior Open

Stephen Ames posted a 65 in the morning wave. Billy Andrade matched it late at Omaha Country Club on Thursday.

Stephen Ames posted a 65 in the morning wave at the 41st U.S. Open. Late in the day, Billy Andrade matched it and those two co-leaders will take a one-shot lead into Friday’s second round.

Andrade had five birdies and was bogey-free on Thursday. Ames had two bogeys but carded seven birdies, including four on the back nine.

Wes Short, Jr., also went bogey-free and he is in solo third, a shot back.

Alex Cejka, who didn’t play the Senior Players but won the first two majors of 2021, sits in a tie for fourth with Robert Karlsson after shooting each shot a 67. Cejka has now posted his ninth consecutive round of par or better in a major this year.

U.S. Senior Open: Leaderboard

Jay Haas, the oldest golfer in the field at age 67, shot a 69 on Thursday. Fred Couples shot a 1 under as well. Those two are among a group of eight golfers tied for eighth.

“I tied a 67-year-old man, so I’m tickled pink,” Couples, 61, joked on Golf Channel after his round.

There are 34 amateurs in the field. Two of them, William Mitchell and Jeff Wilson, posted even-par rounds of 70 and are T-16 after day one.

Omaha Country Club is hosting the U.S. Senior Open for a second time. Kenny Perry, who won the event there in 2013, is tied for 29th after shooting a 1-over 71.

There is a chance of some inclement weather rolling through the area on Friday.

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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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