Tag: Timbertech Championship

Bogey is enough for the final spot in top 36 for 2023 Charles Schwab Cup Championship

Labritz bogeyed three of his last seven holes but held on to the 36th spot in the points standings.

Kevin Sutherland dropped out. Charlie Wi zoomed in. And Rob Labritz, despite a final-hole bogey, held on to the final spot.

The third and final event in the 2023 Charles Schwab Cup Playoffs is here, with the top 36 players in the PGA Tour Champions points standings following the TimberTech Championship earning a spot in the field at Phoenix Country Club.

For the third time in tour history, the finale will lack drama, as the season-long crown has already been claimed by Steve Stricker, who clinched the title after the first playoff event, which he skipped. He also chose not to play this week but indicated a few weeks ago that he will be in the field in Phoenix, Nov. 9-12, saying “I’ll definitely be at the last one.”

Bernhard Langer finished second in the points. Padraig Harrington, who won the TimberTech by a whopping seven shots, ended up in the third spot in the points. He won the season-ending tournament in Phoenix in 2022. Last year’s season-long champ, Steven Alker, finished fourth this time around. Ernie Els nabbed the fifth-place spot.

One up, one down

One golfer moved into the final 36, and that was Charlie Wi, whose final-round 64 vaulted him into a tie for second at the TimberTech and into the 35th spot in the points standings. Kevin Sutherland, winner of the 2020 Charles Schwab Cup Championship, fell out of the top 36, dropping seven spots to 41st after a WD at the TimberTech.

Hanging on

Labritz shot 69-68-71 at the Old Course at Broken Sound and it was just enough to advance. He was flirting with danger, however, shooting a 3-over 38 on the back nine Sunday, including a bogey putt on the closing hole. But he knew bogey would be enough and let it all out after sinking that final critical putt.

The 72-hole, no-cut Charles Schwab Cup Championship would essentially be a four-day victory lap for Stricker, who won six times this season. He played 16 events, finished top 10 in 15 of them and was runner-up five times. His only non-top 10 was right after he returned from serving as vice captain at the Ryder Cup near Rome.

Even a last-place finish in Phoenix would earn Stricker enough money to become the first to surpass the $4 million mark in one season on the senior circuit.

Qualifiers for 2023 Charles Schwab Championship

Pos Player
1 Steve Stricker
2 Bernhard Langer
3 Padraig Harrington
4 Steven Alker
5 Ernie Els
6 David Toms
7 Stephen Ames
8 Jerry Kelly
9 Brett Quigley
10 Alex Cejka
11 Miguel Angel Jimenez
12 Harrison Frazar
13 Y.E. Yang
14 Richard Green
15 Vijay Singh
16 K.J. Choi
17 Dicky Pride
18 Rob Pampling
19 Thongchai Jaidee
20 Paul Broadhurst
21 Darren Clarke
22 Joe Durant
23 Paul Stankowski
24 Ken Duke
25 Robert Karlsson
26 Mark Hensby
27 Justin Leonard
28 Colin Montgomerie
29 Ken Tanigawa
30 Steve Flesch
31 Retief Goosen
32 Marco Dawson
33 Mike Weir
34 Billy Andrade
35 Charlie Wi
36 Rob Labritz

First five out

37 Lee Janzen
38 Paul Goydos
39 Shane Bertsch
40 Scott McCarron
41 Kevin Sutherland

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=451191666]

Justin Leonard enjoys his new life on the PGA Tour Champions (and his new home in Florida)

After seven years in the broadcast booth, Leonard is back to competing on the golf course.

BOCA RATON, Fla. — Aspen, Colorado, is paradise if your perfect spot mostly requires a layer of fluffy white snow covering the ground and providing a picturesque backdrop. Then you can snowboard or ski or take part in any other activities that require temperatures dipping into the 30s.

And although Justin Leonard tossed in some biking and hiking while living in the heart of the Rocky Mountains, this was not his nirvana as he approached 50 years on this earth and decided to return to a more intense golf schedule.

Leonard needed a new home base, one in which the grass is green year-round. Golf’s epicenter beckoned.

Now, Leonard, 51, is 21 events into his PGA Tour Champions career after recently moving to Tequesta, Florida. He has advanced to this week’s TimberTech Championship, the second round of the Charles Schwab Cup playoffs, at the Old Course at Broken Sound after finishing tied for 13th at the Dominion Energy Charity Classic in Henrico, Virginia, two weekends ago.

And following seven years in the broadcast booth, he’s back to working on his game in year-round sunshine.

“There’s so much great golf here,” Leonard said of Florida on Wednesday before his pro-am round. “I don’t play a lot, I more practice or I’ll play by myself or with my son. But it’s just a great place weatherwise.”

Leonard watched the 50-and-over crowd mostly from afar as he worked on his second career as an analyst. And he was curious as to exactly what was the draw for so many on the back nine of their golf careers, some even surpassing typical retirement age.

His first impression was that the tour offered a group of men who, at one time, were at the top of the mountain in their sport to continue having fun on the course without the pressure and intense competition. A scaled-down version of the PGA Tour in many ways.

It has been all those things. But Leonard — who won 12 times on the PGA Tour, including the 1997 British Open, and was a member of the U.S. winning 1999 Ryder Cup team where he holed a 45-foot birdie putt on No. 17 to cap the Americans’ rally — found it was so much more.

Leonard was working as a broadcaster at the Senior Championship outside of Washington, D.C., when he went to the range on Tuesday. He saw about 40 guys out there at 3 p.m., and groups two or three deep waiting to tee off.

“It’s completely stacked up and I’m like, ‘Are you kidding me?'” he said. “These guys are working as hard as they ever have. So, yes, there’s a little lower kind of vibe on this tour, but the competition is every bit as good.

“For the most part, guys work as hard as they ever have because those are habits that got them to where they were in the game of golf and those things don’t go away.”

Leonard once again is the young blood on tour, but that does not mean instant success. He warned it would take time after spending time talking about the game instead of playing it in recent years, and that has proven correct. He has yet to win on the senior circuit, but this season he was runner-up at the PURE Insurance Championship in California and carded five top-10s.

Leonard qualified for the playoff by finishing 28th in the standings, which earned him about $832,000 in prize money. Not that a man who made just shy of $34 million on the PGA Tour after turning pro in 1994 is playing for the cash.

“I feel like I’m where I want to be,” he said. “I wouldn’t say the results are quite there. But I think that just comes with relearning some things and getting used to the rhythm of a tournament week and those kinds of things.

“There’s a few things that old habits creep into and it’s like … wait a second, that’s not me anymore. So it’s been a fun process. I’ve really enjoyed putting in the work and kind of figure out the balance between golf and the other stuff that I’ve got going on, and things with my family.”

And family was a big part of the move. Leonard’s wife, Amanda, certainly approved, considering that she grew up in North Palm Beach and attended the Benjamin School. Their son, Luke, attends Benjamin and is a member of the golf team, which makes him a teammate of Charlie Woods, whose dad is someone named Tiger.

Luke Leonard’s surge in golf coincides with the Leonards’ move to South Florida. Living in Colorado, the clubs “went on the shelf for seven or eight months,” Justin said this year at the Kitchenaid Senior PGA Championship.

“His skiing is actually pretty good,” Justin said.

Of course it was.

Last spring, Luke was paired with Charlie Woods in a junior club championship and played a round for the first time with Tiger as a spectator.

“It was cool,” Leonard said in the spring. “It was fun to watch him. I enjoyed not only watching my son play, watching Charlie play because he played great, and then talking about junior golf with Tiger for nine holes and little things that we see in our kids that they need to work on or whatever it may be.”

For Justin, he just keeps on working. Moving to the area means many more resources. He sees Daniel Berger and Eric Cole among others. He has “picked the brain” of Shane Lowry and Patrick Cantlay.

“There’s somebody always around,” he said. “And you pick up on little things … how they use their launch monitor, what kind of data it provides and how to rely on it. Those kinds of things.”

Leonard says he’s hitting the ball farther than he ever has, and not just the driver but his irons, too.

Now, it’s about the physical and mental side of his game coming together.

“Finding ways to not focus so much on the results, but more the process and those things, kind of adding that piece to it throughout this year has been fun,” he said. “I’ve seen great results at times and others I kind of forget and fall into some old habits. And so just trying to be more consistent in that way.”

[lawrence-auto-related count=4 category=1375]

Steve Stricker could skip Charles Schwab Cup Playoffs and still win season-long title

There are just three events left in the 2023 season to determine the top player on the PGA Tour Champions.

There’s dominating your tour and then there’s what Steve Stricker is doing in 2023.

Stricker has such a massive lead in the season-long points race on the PGA Tour Champions that it’s possible he could skip all three playoff events and still win the title.

Since 2001, the winner of the season-long race has won the Charles Schwab Cup. The Charles Schwab Cup Playoffs are a three-tournament series used to determine the winner of the 2023 Charles Schwab Cup.

Stricker has been the hands-down best player on the circuit in 2023, winning the most events and earning the most money. The money earned through last week’s SAS Championship has since been converted into a points list for the Charles Schwab Cup Playoffs and Stricker’s lead will be difficult to overcome.

Here’s what else you need to know about the 2023 Charles Schwab Cup Playoffs.

Bernhard Langer dominates TimberTech Championship for 44th PGA Tour Champions win, one back of Hale Irwin’s mark

There’s not supposed to be homefield advantage in golf. Try telling that to Bernhard Langer.

BOCA RATON, Fla. — There’s not supposed to be homefield advantage in golf. Try telling that to Bernhard Langer.

The Boca Raton resident won the TimberTech Championship on Sunday, marking the third time he has won his hometown event in 15 tries.

Not even shifting the tournament from Broken Sound to Royal Palm Yacht & Country Club while the Old Course is being renovated could stop Langer’s local dominance.

The biggest impact? Langer’s daily commute to work was 25 minutes instead of 10.

Not much else changed, Langer lifting the trophy in front of family and friends for his 44th career victory on the PGA Tour Champions.

And it wasn’t close.

Langer fired a final-round 66 to pull away for a six-shot victory over Paul Goydos and Thongchai Jaidee at 17-under 199. Langer was 1-over after 15 holes Friday, but played his last 39 holes in 20 under. That’s better than a birdie for every other hole.

“I wish we had 10 tournaments around here,” Langer said with a smile. “That’s probably not going to happen.”

2022 TimberTech Championship
Bernhard Langer celebrates with the trophy and his family on the 18th green after the final round of the 2022 TimberTech Championship at Royal Palm Yacht & Country Club in Boca Raton, Florida. (Photo: Raj Mehta/Getty Images)

Sunday’s win means for the rest of his career, every time Langer tees it up on the PGA Tour Champions, he will have a chance to make history.

Langer’s next win will tie Hale Irwin’s once-thought untouchable record of 45 career titles on the 50-and-older circuit. The one after that will break the record, and more wins after that will make Langer’s mark seem untouchable.

You’re not supposed to be winning tournaments at 65. Try telling that to Langer, too.

“I’m getting closer and closer, but I’m also getting older and older,” Langer said. “The clock is ticking. I may have another two or three years where I could win. I’m not sure how much longer that will continue, but I will keep trying.”

Langer broke his own record for being the oldest champion on a major tour. Age is just another number for Langer. He bettered his age by two shots in Saturday’s second round for the sixth time in his career.

People often ask what’s the secret to Langer’s success. There’s no secret – he just outworks his peers.

Langer was one of the few players who had played Royal Palm before this week, but those were corporate outings, not tournament conditions.

He struggled on Royal Palm’s greens in the first round, like most of the players. So he arrived at the course hours before his second-round tee time to try a new putter that eventually allowed him to take only 21 putts while shooting the 63.

Langer’s career is remarkable. He turned pro earlier than most, at age 15, and he’s still winning tournaments later than anyone. Fifty years is the minimum age to join the PGA Tour, not usually the length of someone’s career.

$1.74 million in hometown tournament

They should eventually re-name this tournament the Bernhard Langer Invitational. Then again, he already owns it inside the ropes.

Consider: In his 15 starts at the TimberTech Championship, he has finished in the top three in more than half his starts (eight). The $350,000 first prize he pocketed Sunday pushes his earnings at his hometown event to—get this—$1.744 million.

That’s a career for most folks.

He isn’t ready to call it a career, either.

“I always said if I feel good, if I’m healthy, if I enjoy what I’m doing and somewhat successful, I’ll continue,” Langer said. “There’s no reason to stop. Hopefully, I know when to quit and I don’t go way beyond.”

Even then, he can always play in his hometown event. And probably win it.

“It’s always awesome to win anywhere in the world, but to win in your hometown in front of family, friends is that much more meaningful and special,” Langer said.

And, for Langer, quite often.

[vertical-gallery id=778292638]

[mm-video type=playlist id=01es6rjnsp3c84zkm6 player_id=01evcfxp4q8949fs1e image=https://golfweek.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

TimberTech Championship: Harrington’s second-round 67 a testament to perseverance

Padraig’s round started with a snowman.

BOCA RATON, Fla. — Padraig Harrington may have shot one of the best 67s Saturday in PGA Tour Champions history.

He started the second round of the TimberTech Championship with a big, fat 8.

That’s right, you can make a snowman in 85-degree weather.

“It was a good 8,” Harrington said of his triple bogey on the par-5 first hole at Royal Palm Yacht & Country Club.

He’s not kidding.

His opening tee shot went out of bounds to the left. His second tee shot should have been out of bounds to the right.

“I got a lucky break,” he said. “My third shot was going out of bounds, but it hit a tree, then hit a fence and was in bounds by an inch. I had to hit the next one left-handed, and that went behind a tree.”

He went for the green with his fifth shot, the ball landing in the water in front of the green. He dropped and hit his seventh shot to 6 feet and one-putted for the “good” 8.

Now what?

“After that, it turned into a practice round,” Harrington said. “When you feel like the tournament is gone, I reset it and let’s get the game in shape for next week.”

Most pros would have mailed in the next 17 holes. Not Harrington. He’s tougher than an IRS agent.

He birdied the fifth, sixth and ninth hole to get those three shots back and make the turn at even. He gained revenge on the two par 5s on the back nine, making eagles at the 13th and 18th holes, and added a birdie at the 16th.

No surprise Harrington finished his comeback round in style, holing a bunker shot at the 18th for an eagle. What a contrast it was to his struggling start.

Harrington went from a guy who couldn’t get off the first tee — sound familiar to the rest of us? — to playing his last 17 holes in 8 under.

The Irishman has little chance of winning the TimberTech Championship — he’s six shots behind ageless Bernhard Langer, who fired a 63 Saturday as he hopes to move within a win of Hale Irwin’s career mark of 45 PGA Tour Champions titles.

But still … What Harrington did Saturday earned the three-time major champion a ton of cred from his peers, especially on a course where he has zero confidence.

“I find this course exceptionally hard,” he said. “I’m swinging in a straitjacket out there. I wish I had more confidence on this golf course. I was struggling to get off the first tee box. That’s no fun.”

The 67 was meaningful because Harrington is the only player who can deny TimberTech Championship defending champion Steven Alker from winning his first Charles Schwab Cup. Harrington entered this week in second place in the standings, needing to earn $375,000 more than Alker in the last two playoff events to win the CSC.

Alker is in a tie for fourth place after a 68 Saturday and can clinch the title with a runner-up finish or better. Harrington’s amazing recovery left him a shot behind Alker, tied for ninth place.

So you’re saying he’s got a chance?

“Look, (5 under) is better than being 3-over par,” Harrington said. “It gives me a chance if I can shoot a good one tomorrow.”

Harrington was asked how proud he was of his 67, considering the start.

“Doesn’t often turn around like that, but if anybody knows me, they know that when bad things happen to me, I dig deeper,” he said.

It was like he had an excavator in his bag.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01es6rjnsp3c84zkm6 player_id=01evcfxp4q8949fs1e image=https://golfweek.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

Royal Palm course, brisk breeze give TimberTech combatants fits in first round

There were a lot of puzzled looks in Friday’s first round of the TimberTech Championship.

BOCA RATON, Fla. — There were a lot of puzzled looks in Friday’s first round of the TimberTech Championship.

Gusty winds and unfamiliar Bermuda greens conspired to frustrate the best players on the PGA Tour Champions.

For a change on the 50-and-older circuit, they weren’t playing limbo.

How low can you go?

Only six of 51 players shot in the 60s, with Spain’s Miguel Angel Jimenez finishing with four consecutive birdies to lead with a 5-under 67. Jimenez, who made a 30-footer on the 18th hole, leads by one over 2015 TimberTech Championship winner Paul Goydos and Rod Pampling.

“It was a beautiful finish,” said Jimenez, who tied for second behind Steven Alker in last year’s TimberTech Championship and has 13 career PGA Tour Champions wins. “I made some nice shots and a great putt on the last hole.”

The 67 was the highest score to lead after the first round in the 16-year history of the TimberTech Championship. The first 15 events were held at Broken Sound before moving to Royal Palm this year because the Old Course is being renovated.

Goydos said the major reason for the field’s struggles, besides the 20-mph wind, was this is the first time the players have seen Royal Palm in tournament conditions.

“It’s funny, normally I would say that that’s an overtalked-about issue,” Goydos said of unfamiliarity. “My job is to play a practice round and two pro-ams. If can’t figure the golf course out in three rounds, that’s problematic.

2022 TimberTech Championship
Scott McCarron lines up his putt on the 18th hole during the first round of the TimberTech Championship at the Royal Palm Yacht & Country Club in Boca Raton, FL. Friday, Nov. 4, 2022. (Jim Rassol/Palm Beach Post)

“Having said that, I think guys are struggling reading the greens, myself included. They’re not easy to read and I think this is one of the few exceptions to that concept. They are a little more difficult.”

Jimenez wasn’t the only player to finish strong. Pampling, who has won once on the 50-and-older circuit, closed with three birdies.

Pampling echoed Goydos’ thoughts about needing time to get familiarized with Royal Palm, an original Robert Trent Jones layout in the 1960s that was renovated by Jack Nicklaus in 2003 and updated in 2014.

“I think we get enough to see (in) the practice rounds, but we don’t see the pins, so we’re playing to the middle of the green,” Pampling said. “Now I think they’ll get lower as the week goes on. There’s definitely a visual that comes into play and once you get one or two days under your belt, you sort of can get after it after that.”

The only other players to break 70 Friday were Scott McCarron, Tom Pernice Jr. and Robert Karlsson, who each shot 69s. The field average was 72.3.

Alker, the defending champion, overcame a double bogey on the par-3 15th hole to shoot 2-under 70 and tie for seventh with 10 players, including World Golf Hall of Famers Bernhard Langer of Boca Raton and Colin Montgomerie and former major champions Retief Goosen and David Toms.

Langer has feasted on the TimberTech Championship; he’s the only player to win twice and has earned almost $1.4 million in 14 starts. He was 1-over through 15 holes Friday before rescuing his round with three closing birdies.

“Played pretty good all day,” Langer said. “Hit a couple of loose shots early on and paid the price immediately. The wind made it harder today. The greens are rather difficult for some of us to read; they’re a little grainy, changing directions, and I haven’t been putting great on them yet, so try to figure it out.”

McCarron, who won the 2017 TimberTech Championship, was the last player to get in this year’s field at No. 54 on the Charles Schwab Cup Playoff points list.

He knows what he has to do to be among the 36 players to advance to next week’s Charles Schwab Cup Championship in Phoenix.

“I know I have to win,” McCarron said. “I’m all in until I’m all out.”

They’re all chasing Jimenez after 18 holes. He did have a beautiful finish Friday, but 36 holes are left. The winds will remain, and so will the puzzled looks.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01es6rjnsp3c84zkm6 player_id=01evcfxp4q8949fs1e image=https://golfweek.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

Bernhard Langer is golf’s ageless wonder of the PGA Tour Champions

Bernhard Langer’s bar is a bit higher than us mortals.

BOCA RATON, Fla. — Bernhard Langer’s bar is a bit higher than us mortals.

In the past 15 months, the Boca Raton resident won for a 43rd time on the PGA Tour Champions, becoming the oldest champion on the tour. He also captured his record sixth Charles Schwab Cup. He not only shot his age twice – the first time coming on his 64th birthday – but beat his age with a 63.

When asked about his year entering the 2022 TimberTech Championship, which starts Friday at Royal Palm Yacht & Country Club, Langer was lukewarm in his assessment – some good moments but not as many as the last dozen or so years when he’s dominated the 50-and-older circuit.

“It’s been a solid year, not quite as good as the last 12 or 13, they were exceptionally good,” Langer said.

You could call him a victim of his own success.

Now 65, Langer is in his 50th year of professional golf, the last 15 as the best player on the PGA Tour Champions. Best player in the world over 50? That’s stretching it because of the natural decline at his age.

But the best player in the world over 60? No question.

“He’s somebody I would admire the most as a pro,” said 51-year-old Padraig Harrington. “He’s the most professional out there, he’s gotten the most out of his game. It doesn’t surprise me what he’s doing. He’s fit and strong.”

Langer won $10.76 million in three decades on the PGA Tour. Since joining the PGA Tour Champions, he has added $33.33 million to his wealth. His 43 wins are two fewer than record holder Hale Irwin but his 11 majors on the Champions circuit is the standard, four more than Irwin.

With two TimberTech titles, Langer is the only golfer to win that event more than once.

So why would he ever consider a life of mah-jongg and early bird dinners? Or transition his competitive juices onto a pickleball court?

He isn’t … just yet.

No retirement plans in Langer’s golf bag

“I’m getting closer to where I’m thinking about it,” Langer said about putting away the sticks. “So far I really haven’t thought about it much. I always said if I feel good and I’m healthy, I enjoy what I’m doing and I’m somewhat successful, I’ll continue.”

Few play or look as good as Langer at 65. He’s in extraordinary shape and dedicated to his conditioning. Langer started producing “Burn Baby Bern” exercise videos during the pandemic that typically end with him in his pool.

Langer admits his priorities are changing — he was anxious to get home Thursday to have pictures taken with his four grandchildren — but the drive is still there. He is disappointed he is seventh in the Schwab Cup standings and has no chance of winning the championship this season.

2021 Charles Schwab Cup Championship
Bernhard Langer celebrates after winning the season long Charles Schwab Cup after the final round of the 2021 Charles Schwab Cub Championship at Phoenix Country Club. (Photo: Allan Henry-USA TODAY Sports)

As for his game, he accepts things are different. How can they not be?

“It’s a little bit of everything,” he said when asked where age is catching up the most. “The body starts to ache here and there. Different parts of the body, it’s not always the same.

“It could be two percent here, two percent there. I noticed I’m getting a little bit shorter. That makes a different. If you’re 10 yards shorter off the tee you’ve got to hit an extra club more into a green and the other guys are already farther so if they’re hitting 7-iron and I’m hitting 4-iron, that’s every hole, it’s hard to make that up. You’re going to hit a 7- or 8-iron closer to the hole than a 4-iron just about every time.”

But Langer’s 4, and every other, iron still is better than most.

On Aug. 27, 2021, Langer shot his age at the Ally Challenge in Michigan … on his birthday. Less than three months later, he beat his age with a 63 during the Schwab Cup Championship at the Phoenix Country Club. He called it his best round ever.

Langer believes he’s equaled his age about five times, but does not remember thinking about it as much as on the day he turned 64.

After all, he was reminded of his age all day.

“Usually I don’t think about stuff like that but I was aware of it,” he said. “Since it was my birthday people were yelling from the stands and singing Happy Birthday.”

Since then, Langer has celebrated one more, which means shooting his age could become easier as each year passes.

[listicle id=778101266]

NFL Hall of Famer Lawrence Taylor now terrorizing golf courses: ‘Nothing else for me to do but play golf’

“I just can’t practice like I used to. Everything hurts when I swing.”

BOCA RATON, Fla. — At 63, Lawrence Taylor still knows how to deliver a shot.

On Wednesday, he was hitting golf balls instead of quarterbacks.

The NFL Hall of Fame outside linebacker played in the TimberTech Championship’s PNK DRV Pro-Am at Royal Palm Yacht & Country Club.

“I play golf almost every day,” he said. “I’m retired. There’s nothing else for me to do but play golf.”

Taylor said he plays to a handicap of 5, but admits his best days on the course are in the past. That’s because he now feels like some of the quarterbacks he leveled over the years.

“I used to be really good,” Taylor said of his golf game. “I just can’t practice like I used to. Everything hurts when I swing.”

That doesn’t stop Taylor, who was wearing a diamond-encrusted “LT” earring, from having fun on the golf course. Even when he’s having a bad hole.

Such was the case at No. 18 Wednesday. His tee shot on the par 5 landed in the right rough. There was a large tree in front of him.

“I’ve got no shot,” he said.

Sure enough, the ball smacked into the middle of the tree and ricocheted right, hitting one of the multi-million-dollar homes at Royal Palm, the ball bouncing on the upstairs balcony before it came to rest.

At some point, the residents will realize they have a souvenir outside their back door. The ball says “56 LT” on it.

“I’m quite sure there are a few people out here looking to sue me,” Taylor said, laughing. “I hit a couple balls on people’s balcony today.”

Green Bay Packers quarterback Lynn Dickey is grabbed by New York Giants linebacker Lawrence Taylor during a game at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin, during the 1985 season. (Photo: Green Bay Press-Gazette Film / USA TODAY Network)

Paul Stankowski, the professional who was paired with Taylor, thought he was in luck when he saw one of his amateur players was listed simply as “LT.”

“He’s a great guy, lots of fun,” Stankowski said. “He’s a good player. For a big guy, he’s got really good hands. He has a good short game and feel with the putter.

“His swing is a little short, but obviously his body has been through the ringer. He delivers the club into the ball solidly and he’s long enough.”

It’s been almost 30 years since Taylor stopped terrorizing NFL quarterbacks, having spent his entire 13-year career (1981-93) with the New York Giants. Taylor was three-time Defensive Player of the Year, an honor he now shares with J.J. Watt and Aaron Donald.

LT has started following the Giants again

Taylor said he hasn’t kept up with the Giants in recent years because of their constant struggles, but is “actually back to watching some of their games” after a 6-2 start this season.

“They are exciting,” Taylor said. “The defense plays ball, and the offense is doing better. I just hope they can keep it up.”

Other celebrities playing in the TimberTech Championship’s pro-am Wednesday were former Florida Panthers No. 1 pick Ed Jovanovski, former Panthers GM Dale Talon and IndyCar driver Kyle Kirkwood.

The TimberTech Championship, the second of three PGA Tour Champions playoff events, is Friday through Sunday. Steven Alker is the defending champion.

[listicle id=778067916]

PGA Tour Champions: Win at the 2021 TimberTech changed Steve Alker’s golf trajectory

Alker has five wins, five seconds and four thirds in his past 22 starts on the PGA Tour Champions.

BOCA RATON, Fla. — When Steven Alker showed up at last year’s TimberTech Championship, he had no status on the PGA Tour Champions, hadn’t won a tournament in seven years and had the same financial concerns as most 50-year-olds.

He was a journeyman’s journeyman.

Not anymore.

Much has changed in the past 52 weeks, beginning with his two-shot victory at the TimberTech Championship to earn him a precious exemption on the 50-and-older circuit.

“That was huge, to be able to avoid Q-school,” Alker said. “It’s not easy to get out here.”

But the New Zealander has made it look easy since the day he turned 50. He Monday-qualified for an event and then finished in the top 10 in his first five tournaments to continue earning starts on the PGA Tour Champions.

Winning at Broken Sound last year took his game to new heights. He has five wins, five seconds and four thirds in his past 22 starts.

Money concerns? Not now.

Alker has earned almost $4.4 million in the past 14 months on the PGA Tour Champions, which is almost double what he earned ($2.31 million) while playing mainly on the European and Korn Ferry tours during a 22-year stretch from 1998-2020.

He could clinch another $1 million payout in the Charles Schwab Cup playoffs if he were to win this week, with the $350,000 first prize pushing his PGA Tour Champions earnings past $6 million. It’s not LIV Golf kind of money, but it’s changed his world.

“I haven’t had a lot of chances to spend that money because it’s happened so fast,” Alker said. “But it’s nice to have that security for my family, knowing I can put my kids through college. I haven’t had that type of security since, almost, never.”

Alker will never be a household name — despite his success, he doesn’t get much airtime on Golf Channel’s telecasts — and he knows he doesn’t move the proverbial needle. But his fellow players respect his game and what he has accomplished in a short time.

“If you ask anybody out here, they’d say they’re probably surprised at what he has done,” said 2011 British Open champion and 2020 TimberTech winner Darren Clarke. “Some people bloom at different stages of their career. The scores he has been shooting and his consistency are impressive.”

There were several factors that helped Alker’s emergence: He continued to play a full-time schedule into his late 40s, keeping him competitive; he was looking forward to playing on the PGA Tour Champions (“some guys aren’t,” he said); and he sought out the advice of countryman Bob Charles when he was 47.

Charles was the first lefty to win a major (1963 British Open) and he ranks fourth on the PGA Tour Champions career wins list with 25. Charles also enjoyed longevity, becoming at 70 the oldest player to make a cut on the PGA European Tour in 2007.

“Bob knows my game and he told me not to change anything,” Alker said. “He knew I had the game to play out here. He told me to just keep doing what I’ve been doing.”

Alker has never shied away from his journeyman tag. He said the only place he hasn’t played competitively was the Middle East.

“I guess when you talk journeyman, you’ve kind of been everywhere and done everything, and I kind of feel like I’ve done that,” Alker said. “A lot of places I’ve been I haven’t done it well, but some places I have.”

There’s a new star on the PGA Tour Champions. It might have taken Alker 30 years to become an overnight sensation, but it’s one of those feel-good stories the tour is known for.

Better late than never.

“I guess where I’m at and what I’m doing right now, I’ve only got so many years left in my career so it’s kind of like, ‘OK, that’s done, great, fantastic. What’s next?’ ” Alker said. “That’s kind of how I’m treating it.”

It’s been quite a journey for the ex-journeyman.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01es6rjnsp3c84zkm6 player_id=01evcfxp4q8949fs1e image=https://golfweek.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

Can longtime club pro Rob Labritz stay out of PGA Tour Champions Q-School? He needs a big week at the TimberTech Championship

He defied the odds last fall at Q-School, earning his spot on the PGA Tour Champions. He was so happy, he cried.

It’s been a magic-carpet kind of ride for Rob Labritz during his rookie season on the PGA Tour Champions.

He’s gotten to play alongside some of the legends of the game while banking more than a half-million dollars.

His favorite moment of this year?

“This whole year has been a moment,” he said Tuesday.

Can the longtime club pro earn more memorable moments? That’s his quest this week.

Labritz enters the TimberTech Championship at Royal Palm Yacht & Country Club in Boca Raton ranked 40th on the PGA Tour Champions’ playoff points list.

Only the top 36 after this week earn fully exempt status on next year’s PGA Tour Champions.

Labritz needs a good week to keep his full-time job. A really good week.

No pressure, huh?

“I’m just taking it like another week,” Labritz said. “I’ve prepared myself physically and mentally. My game is ready. I just hope everything clicks.”

Labritz won’t be done with the PGA Tour Champions if he finishes outside the top 36. Due to injuries, players ranked between 37th and 40th will get plenty of starts next year. Shane Bertsch, who was 37th last year, has played in 25 events this year.

But there’s a big difference between being able to set your schedule and playing when you get a late opportunity. Moreover, Labritz can’t drop any more spots unless he wants to return to q-school.

Rob Labritz fist bumps his caddie on the 15th hole during the second round at the 2022 U.S. Senior Open at Saucon Valley C.C. (Old Course) in Bethlehem, Pa. on Friday, June 24, 2022. (Steven Gibbons/USGA)

“The key for me this week is to have fun and hopefully get in the top 5 or top 10,” he said. “If I don’t, I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it. I don’t want to predict success or failure.”

No matter what happens this week, it’s been a remarkable story for Labritz, who played on the South Fork High golf team in the late-1980s after his family moved from Connecticut to the Treasure Coast.

Labritz worked as a PGA Professional at several Florida clubs in the early-1990s while also playing mini-tours. He moved to New York in 2001 to become director of golf at GlenArbor Golf Club, the club giving him time to qualify for eight PGA Championships.

He defied the odds last fall when he was medalist at Q-School to earn his spot on the PGA Tour Champions. He was so happy, he cried. Tom Watson and Gary Player called Labritz to congratulate him.

Then came the difficult part: Proving he belonged.

He has.

Labritz has had three top-10s in 24 starts, highlighted by a tie for fourth place at the U.S. Senior Open. That finish moved Labritz into the top 36 in the Charles Schwab Cup standings, but he dropped to 40th after finishing T66 in the first playoff event two weeks ago.

“That was a bummer because I could have solidified my spot,” said Labritz, who has earned $531,913 this season. “I know I belong, but I also know I have holes in my game that I need to work on.”

Labritz is about 17,000 points behind No. 36 Mike Weir entering the TimberTech Championship. With points doubled during the playoffs, Labritz needs to earn at least $9,000 more this week than the four players ahead of him – and hope nobody passes him – to earn another fully exempt year on the PGA Tour Champions.

Labritz has several factors going for him this week: He loves playing in Florida and, because the TimberTech Championship moved to Royal Palm this year while its regular course at Broken Sound is under renovation, Labritz isn’t spotting the rest of the field years of course knowledge.

The only course on the tour he previously played before this year? Saucon Valley, where he finished fourth in the U.S. Senior Open.

“Darn right playing in Florida helps,” he said. “I’ll keep it going. You know me – I have a flair for the dramatic.”

His ride isn’t over.

[listicle id=778101266]

[mm-video type=playlist id=01es6rjnsp3c84zkm6 player_id=none image=https://golfweek.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]