It was Bernie’s Weekend at the TimberTech championship in Boca Raton as ageless Bernhard Langer closed with a 66 on Sunday and crushed the rest of the field in the next-to-last playoff event on the Champions Tour.
Langer, who lives in Boca, now has 44 senior wins, just one away from Hale Irwin’s record of 45.
“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 because I have a lot of supporters out there, and it’s great just to be at home, sleep in your own bed, get some home cooking,” Langer said. “We travel all year all over the place, so it’s very nice to have a tournament at home.”
Langer, who is now 65, broke his own record as the oldest winner on the Champions circuit. He shot rounds of 70-63-66, bettering his age by two in that Saturday round.
Langer started the final round at the Royal Palm Yacht and Country Club with a one-shot lead, was caught briefly by Paul Goydos and then pulled away from the younger crowd, which for him means just about everyone. Goydos and Thonchai Jaidee eventually tied for second, six shots behind Langer, who finished at 17-under par.
Langer was philosophical about getting a win away from Irwin. “I’m getting closer and closer,” Langer said. “I’m also getting older and older, so the clock is ticking and I might have another two or three years where I could win. But I’m already the oldest and I broke that record again this week.”
Langer, who earlier this year won the Chubb Classic in Florida, now has 11 victories since turning 60. He has won at least once in the 16 years on the senior circuit.
The win moved Langer to fifth in the Charles Schwab Cup standings, but without a chance to win the title for the seventh time.
Steven Alker, a four-time winner this year, tied for sixth and maintained a big lead in the Schwab Cup. It will be decided next week in the Charles Schwab Cup Championship in Phoenix, which effectively is a two-man race between Alker and Paddy Harrington. Harrington, who had to cope with a pulled muscle in his neck on Sunday, shot 67 and finished fourth to at least have a chance.
Scottie Scheffler Goes Back To Regular Putter, Closes With 62:
World No. 2 Scottie Scheffler’s experiment with a mallet-style putter ended this weekend in Mayakoba. He switched back to his Scotty Cameron and on Sunday, he used it only 25 times on his way to a nine-under par 62.
That 62 was the lowest fourth round score of Scheffler’s pro career. He finished tied for third. Scottie needed a win or solo second to reclaim that No. 1 ranking from Rory McIlroy.
But that wasn’t on his mind. “I was just trying to show up and have a good round of golf,” Scheffler said afterward. “Rankings are great, it was definitely fun being No. 1 in the world, it’s definitely something I hope to get back to, but it’s not something that’s going to occupy a lot of my thoughts.”
Dow Finsterwald Passes At Age 93:
Dow Finsterwald, an 11-time winner on the PGA Tour died in his sleep last Friday at the age of 93.
Finsterwald won the 1958 PGA Championship, the first year it went to stroke play and was captain of the winning 1977 Ryder Cup team. He was also the long-time head golf professional at Colonial Country Club in Ft. Worth.
