Darren Clarke was a long-time stalwart on the European Tour and he nailed down his first senior victory Sunday when he birdied the 54th hole to win the TimberTech Championship in Boca Raton.
Clarke, the 2011 Open Champion, started the final round tied for the lead with Robert Karlsson at 13-under par. The final round at Broken Sound developed into a five-man battle with Clarke, Karlsson, Bernard Langer, Jim Furyk and Miguel Angel Jimenez all in the thick of it.
Karlsson took the lead briefly with a birdie at the 10th but gave it right back with a bogey at 11. He was sloppy down the stretch with bogeys at 14 and 17 and a double at the 15th took him totally out of contention.
Langer was after his 42nd senior win but hurt himself with bogeys at 15 and 17. He did birdie the 18th to post 16-under par and Clarke made six straight pars after making birdies at the 10th and 11th. He stood on 18 tee tied with Langer at 16-under and launched a perfect drive — a huge blast that left him only a six-iron into the closing par five. He hit it to 30 feet, got his first putt within three feet then watched Furyk miss his eagle bid that would have gotten him to 16-under.
Clarke tapped in and claimed his first Champions victory. It was his second round 62 on Saturday that set him up for the win. It should have been 61 but he forgot that the lift-clean-and-place rules in effect on Friday, were not on Saturday. On the second hole, after his drive, he picked up his ball and incurred the one-shot penalty. He still chipped in for par from the back fringe.
“Yes,” Clarke said, he thought about that penalty as he fought for the win on Sunday. “Thought about it, yes. That’s golf. Sometimes we make stupid mistakes.”
But it didn’t stop his march to victory. The closing birdie gave him a 68 for the day and a 17-under total, one better than Langer and Furyk and two clear of Jimenez.
“Amazing,” Clarke said of his first over-50 win. “It’s been a grind, it’s been hard work — these guys are really good!”
Clarke’s key to the win? “Today was just patience,” he added.
John Daly, who held a share of the first round lead with a 64, finished with rounds of 73-71. His eight-under total tied him for 26th. Daly is battling bladder cancer.
The PGA Tour Champions wraps up 2020 next week with the Charles Schwab Cup Championship in Phoenix, although the season will be extended to include 2021 because of tournaments lost from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Shinkwin Wins Cyprus Open In Playoff:
Callum Shinkwin is a winner for the first time on the European Tour after a spectacular performance down the stretch at the Cyprus Open.
The young Englishman birdied the 17th then made a great shot from the rough at the par five closing hole at Aphrodite Hills, leaving himself with a 54-foot eagle putt. He ran it in for a sizzling 63 that got him to 20-under par. He then watched as playing partner Kalle Samooja of Finland linled up an eagle putt of his own from nearly the same line as Shinkwin’s. Smooja missed, tapped in for birdie and the two tied at 20-under. Smooja closed with a 64.
They headed down 18 a second time for the playoff. Shinkwin found the greenside bunker and got it up-and-down for birdie then watched as Smooja took three putts from the fringe for par.
“It’s something I’ve always wanted to do and now I have,” Shinwin said afterward. “It’s been a bit of a shock but it feels great. felt relaxed all day, I felt great, to be fair — 15 and 16 were playing me up all week. I was more nervous playing those two holes just to get through them than in the playoff or on the 18th. I managed to get through them really well and I felt great.
Jamie Donaldson of Wales, South African Garrick Higgo and Scot Robert MacIntyre finished two shots out of the playoff at 18-under. Australian Jason Scrivener, Finn Sami Välimäki and England’s Dale Whitnell tied at 17-under.
