Round 3 - Wire to wire win for Paul Goydos

November 14, 2016

Paul Goydos and Bernhard Langer got the big trophies and checks Sunday in the PGA Tour Champions' season-ending Charles Schwab Cup Championship.

Goydos completed a wire-to-wire victory in the tournament, and Langer finished second to win his third straight season points title and fourth overall.

''Wire-to-wire, baby!'' Goydos said.

Goydos shot a 4-under 66 to finish at 15-under 195 on Desert Mountain's Cochise Course. He opened with a 62 in windy conditions and shot a 67 on Saturday to take a two-stroke lead over Colin Montgomerie and four-shot advantage over Langer into the final round.

''You start out and really, the best place you could be is way ahead, especially with Montgomerie and Langer, Langer four shots,'' Goydos said. ''If we played a match, he'd have to give me like two a side, so I thought it was a pretty even spot to be in. Montgomerie probably the same thing, I was lucky to get past him. These guys are Hall of Famers.''

The 52-year-old Goydos earned $440,000. He also won the Dick's Sporting Goods Open in July in New York and has four victories on the 50-and-over tour. He won twice on the PGA Tour and shot a 59 in the 2010 John Deere Classic.

''You've got to hit the ball in play here,'' Goydos said. ''You've got to hit greens. It's not a scrambling type golf course. At least if you do you've got to miss it in the right place, which I thought I did a very good job of all week for the most part.''

Langer had a 64. Recovering from a left knee injury that forced him to withdraw from the playoff opener at Sherwood, the 59-year-old German star won the $1 million annuity as the Charles Schwab Cup season champion and topped the tour with four victories and $3,016,959.

''The guy's a super hero. I don't get it,'' Goydos said. ''Seems like he should get older. ... I mean, he's getting better. It's his best year and he's 59. He's amazing.''

In 21 tournaments this year, his worst finish was a tie for 13th.

''It's incredible,'' Langer said. ''Finishing all the tournaments throughout the year in the top 13, it's extremely tough to do. So it's difficult to put it all into words, how consistent it's been, how good it's been, but very blessed, very fortunate.''

Montgomerie had a 68 to finish third at 11 under. The Scot was second in the standings, earning a $500,000 annuity.

Goydos finished third in the Charles Schwab Cup standings and earned a $300,000 annuity.

Woody Austin (64) and 62-year-old Jay Haas (68) tied for fourth at 7 under.

Round 2 - Paul Goydos holds on to two shot lead

November 13, 2016

Paul Goydos shot a 3-under 67 on Saturday to take a two-stroke lead into the final round of the PGA Tour Champions' season-ending Charles Schwab Cup Championship.

A day after opening with a 62 for a three-stroke lead, Goydos birdied the par-5 18th to reach 11-under 129 on Desert Mountain Club's Cochise Course.

''I was happy. It was a nice day,'' Goydos said. ''The wind had calmed down a little bit. It seems to be windy in the morning here and better in the afternoon. Playing good's an advantage to some extent.

Colin Montgomerie, third in Charles Schwab Cup season standings, remained second. He followed his opening 65 with a 66. The Scot matched playing partner Goydos with a closing birdie.

Points leader Bernhard Langer was third at 7 under after a 66.

The top five in the standings - Richmond winner Scott McCarron is second, followed by Montgomerie, Joe Durant and Miguel Angel Jimenez - can take the season title with a victory Sunday. Durant was tied for 15th at 1 under after a 69, McCarron was tied for 17th at even par after a 71, and Jimenez was 22nd at 1 over after a 67.

The season standings were reset after the event last week in Virginia, with Langer's lead over McCarron reduced from 935,657 to 200. The tournament winner will receive $440,000 and 2,000 points.

''I just know that there's a bunch of possibilities like we imagined and here we are,'' Langer said. ''I guess right now if it stands like this, Monty and I would be tied and we're going to a playoff. But will it stand that way tomorrow, nobody knows. I don't know. It's certainly exciting, it's volatile. You know, it comes down the stretch.''

The 59-year-old German has a tour-high four victories and has wrapped up the season money title with $2,836,459. He won season titles in 2010, 2014 and 2015. He's recovering from a left knee injury that forced him to withdraw from the playoff opener at Sherwood.

''It's been the same for the last two weeks, just being very careful walking,'' Langer said. ''I can't read my putts properly because I can't bend down the way I used to. But my goal is to finish the tournament, not to read my putts properly. Obviously, I would love to read them right, but if that would kick me out of the tournament, that's no good, so I've just got to do what I've got to do.''

Goydos is 24th in the standings. The two-time PGA Tour winner won the Dick's Sporting Goods Open in July for his third senior title. He shot a 59 in the PGA Tour's 2010 John Deere Classic.

''I've gotten off to good starts and, hopefully, I can continue that tomorrow,'' Goydos said. ''A little sloppy on the back nine, quite frankly. But I'm Paul Goydos, I'm not Bernhard Langer, as I've proven time after time after time after time. But I hung in there pretty good. Made a couple birdies on the 5 pars, which is nice, and looking forward to playing tomorrow.''

Round 1 - Paul Goydos leads with opening 62

November 12, 2016

Paul Goydos shot an 8-under 62 on Friday in windy conditions to take a three-stroke lead in the PGA Tour Champions' season-ending Charles Schwab Cup Championship.

The 52-year-old Goydos holed out from 167 yards for eagle on the par-4 12th and closed with birdies on the par-3 17th and par-5 18th on Desert Mountain Club's Cochise Course.

''It started off hard, it calmed down a little bit as the day progressed,'' Goydos said. ''In tough conditions we need to do good things. I made a bomb on the first hole for birdie, which kind of maybe relaxes you a little bit. I thought if I shot under par today, you'd have a good day.

''You knew the first five or six holes were going to be difficult, and to get a birdie early kind of calms you down. Actually, there were two. I made about a 12-footer for par after a mediocre iron shot. If I don't make that, I might shoot 70 today, but I made that putt and kept the momentum going.

Colin Montgomerie, third in Charles Schwab Cup season standings, was second. The Scot birdied the final two holes.

''I must say Paul Goydos' score this morning, because it was windy this morning, I think that 8 under this morning was one of the best scores we've seen all year,'' Montgomerie said. ''Tremendous score. Even to get within three for me was a delight.''

Points leader Bernhard Langer topped the group at 67.

''I actually played very nicely,'' Langer said. ''I maybe hit two bad 5 irons, came out of it a little bit and that was it. One resulted in a bogey and the other one I three-putted for bogey. But the rest of the day I hit the ball very solid, gave myself opportunities and just didn't make a whole lot of putts. ... Not too far behind, right there to still challenge for the championship.''

The top five in the standings - Richmond winner Scott McCarron is second, followed by Montgomerie, Joe Durant and Miguel Angel Jimenez - can take the season title with a victory Sunday. McCarron holed out from the fairway for eagle on the par-5 15th in a 69. Durant shot 70, and Jimenez had a 74.

''I'm a scoreboard watcher and I know exactly what's going on, especially with my German friend behind and Scott McCarron and Joe and also Miguel,'' Montgomerie said. ''It's just great to get in after just one round ahead of these guys at least to give myself a chance.''

Tom Pernice Jr., the winner of the playoff opener two weeks ago in California, also was at 67 along with Paul Broadhurst and Duffy Waldorf.

The season standings were reset after the event last week in Virginia, with Langer's lead over McCarron reduced from 935,657 to 200. The tournament winner will receive $440,000 and 2,000 points.

Langer is recovering from a left knee injury that forced him to withdraw from the playoff opener at Sherwood, The 59-year-old German has a tour-high four victories and has wrapped up the season money title with $2,836,459. He won season titles in 2010, 2014 and 2015.

Goydos entered the week 24th in the standings. He birdied four of the last five holes in a front-nine 30, and bogeyed the par-4 10th.

''I messed up 10 a little bit, made a bad swing and that's going to happen,'' Goydos said. ''It's hard to be perfect in tougher conditions.''

He rebounded with the eagle on 12.

''On the fly, didn't damage the cup, couldn't have been more center cup,'' Goydos said. ''It didn't even touch the cup. I had 167 yards, a 6-iron into the wind. It wasn't blowing too hard.

The two-time PGA Tour winner won the Dick's Sporting Goods Open in July for his third senior title. He shot a 59 in the PGA Tour's 2010 John Deere Classic.

''I remember when I did the 59 group and I talked to Annika (Sorenstam) about it, talked about being in the zone,'' Goydos said. ''When you play good, you're always in the present. You're not worried about what you're shooting, you're worried about the shot at hand. You're not worried about the green or the bunkers or whatever's up there, you're worried about your target and making a good swing.

''Today, I was very much in the present almost the entire day and that tends to be at least one of the prerequisites to playing good and then good things happen.''

Scores

1 - Paul Goydos -15 F -4 62 67 66 195
2 1 Bernhard Langer -13 F -6 67 66 64 197
3 1 Colin Montgomerie -11 F -2 65 66 68 199
T4 11 Woody Austin -7 F -6 70 69 64 203
T4 1 Jay Haas -7 F -2 68 67 68 203
T6 3 Scott Dunlap -6 F -3 71 66 67 204
T6 2 Duffy Waldorf -6 F E 67 67 70 204
T8 4 Kevin Sutherland -4 F -2 69 69 68 206
T8 3 Jesper Parnevik -4 F +1 70 65 71 206
T10 1 Tom Pernice Jr. -3 F E 67 70 70 207
T10 2 Esteban Toledo -3 F -1 70 68 69 207
T10 1 Doug Garwood -3 F E 70 67 70 207
T13 9 Miguel Angel Jimenez -2 F -3 74 67 67 208
T13 4 Rocco Mediate -2 F -2 70 70 68 208
T15 2 Gene Sauers -1 F -1 73 67 69 209
T15 2 Tom Byrum -1 F -1 71 69 69 209
T15 - Joe Durant -1 F E 70 69 70 209
T15 8 Bart Bryant -1 F +3 68 68 73 209
T19 2 Kirk Triplett +1 F +1 68 72 71 211
T19 2 Scott McCarron +1 F +1 69 71 71 211
T19 12 Mike Goodes +1 F +5 70 66 75 211
T22 2 Fred Funk +2 F -1 73 70 69 212
T22 1 Joey Sindelar +2 F E 73 69 70 212
24 7 Wes Short, Jr. +3 F -3 80 66 67 213
25 1 Olin Browne +4 F +1 75 68 71 214
T26 5 Michael Allen +5 F -1 72 74 69 215
T26 8 Brandt Jobe +5 F -2 75 72 68 215
T26 2 Jeff Sluman +5 F +2 73 70 72 215
T26 14 Paul Broadhurst +5 F +7 67 71 77 215
30 6 David Frost +6 F +3 73 70 73 216
31 7 Tommy Armour III +7 F +4 72 71 74 217
T32 1 Jerry Smith +8 F +2 73 73 72 218
T32 2 Jeff Maggert +8 F +4 70 74 74 218
34 10 Billy Andrade +9 F +6 73 70 76 219
35 - Carlos Franco +16 F +5 76 75 75 226

 

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