Jeff Maggert was the definitive journeyman golfer during his regular PGA Tour career.
He managed to win three times and was a factor in a lot of major championships but never won. In the U.S. Open alone, he recorded seven top 10 finishes, but never got the big win.
On Sunday, Maggert picked up his first-ever USGA title and his second senior major of the season. He closed with a five-under par 65 at the Del Paso Country Club and a 10-under par 270 total to capture the U.S. Senior Open title.
Maggert was near-perfect most of the day and buried most of his rivals. He finished two shots in front of defending champion Colin Montgomerie and beat playing partner and overnight leader Bernhard Langer by three shots over those final 18 holes.
Maggert, who won the Traditions championship earlier this year, closed the door on the rest of the field at the par five 15th when he hit a three-iron from 227-yards and left himself just 12 feet for eagle. He missed but the tap-in birdie got him to 11-under and a three-shot lead with three to play.
His only bogey of the day came at the par three 17th when he barely missed the green but hit a poor chip and took four.
It was his only hiccup. He drove the ball impressively and hit 15 of 18 greens.
Maggert said on Saturday that he expected the course to play its hardest on Sunday but that wasn’t the case. Billy Andrade tied for the second-lowest round ever in a Senior Open with a closing 63 and a six-under par total that earned him a tie for fifth.
Lee Janzen, twice a winner of the U.S. Open, put up a 64 and joined Andrade in that tie for fifth.
