Round 3 - Duffy Waldorf wins season opener
January 24, 2016
Duffy Waldorf made a 30-foot birdie putt on the final hole to beat Tom Lehman by a stroke Saturday in the PGA Tour Champions' season-opening Mitsubishi Electric Championship.
The 53-year-old Waldorf shot a 6-under 66 to finish at 18-under 198 at Hualalai Golf Course. He played all 54 holes without a bogey, becoming the fourth player and second winner to accomplish the feat in the tournament. John Cook also was bogey-free in his 2013 victory.
''It was obviously 20 feet longer than I wanted,'' Waldorf said. ''When I got to it, it just looked good. It looked like this putt doesn't break at all. Sometimes you'd rather have a longer putt that you really feel good about the break. So anyway, just felt good about it. Lined up really well, felt comfortable and just felt like I needed to give it a run because Tom was in really good shape with a very makeable putt.''
Waldorf has two victories in his last three starts, winning the Toshiba Classic in November for his first senior title. He won four times on the PGA Tour.
''I hate to say it, I feel like I'm finishing last year, too,'' Waldorf said. ''I like keeping it going, which is exciting. I know the calendar's changed but it's great to get a win anywhere. I feel like it was not long ago I was winless and now to get two so quickly is super exciting.''
Lehman also closed with a 66. After Waldorf holed his birdie putt on the par-4 18th, Lehman left his 15-footer inches short.
''I'm happy for Duffy,'' Lehman said. ''He played very well. He made some really good putts when he had to make them. The greens here are so straight, so many putts are so straight, it's easy to get line conscious and that's what happens on 18 when you just worry about the line so much that you don't hit it. So disappointing, but a good week for me.''
Two strokes behind Lehman was six holes left, Waldorf made a 7-foot birdie putt on the par-4 13th and pulled even with a 15-footer on the par-4 16th. Waldorf got up-and-down from the rough on the par-3 17th, saving par with a 7-foot putt.
Waldorf opened with rounds of 67 and 65 to take a one-stroke lead into the final round. He earned $300,000 in his first appearance in the event for major champions from the last five years, tournament winners the last two seasons and sponsor invitees.
''I knew I was playing well, but this is a strong field,'' Waldorf said. ''Even starting the day, I'm like, 'If I play well there's a good chance I won't win.' So I really didn't feel any pressure out there that I had a chance to win or was going to do well, just wanted to play as good a round as I could.''
Davis Love III was third at 15 under after a 68. The U.S. Ryder Cup captain was making his sixth senior start after playing the PGA Tour's Hawaii events the last two weeks. He won the PGA Tour's Wyndham Championship in August.
Jay Haas (65) and Joe Durant (68) were 14 under, and Fred Couples (66) and Kenny Perry (67) were another stroke back.
Tom Watson, two strokes behind Waldorf entering the round after bettering his age Friday with a 65, had a 71 to drop into a tie for 11th at 11 under. The 66-year-old Watson is winless since the 2011 Senior PGA Championship.
Round 2 - Duffy Waldorf moves two clear
January 23, 2016
Tom Watson bettered his age Friday in the Mitsubishi Electric Championship, leaving him two strokes behind leader Duffy Waldorf in the PGA Tour Champions' opener.
The 66-year-old Tom Watson had a 7-under 65 at Hualalai Golf Course to move into a tie for fifth place. Waldorf also shot 65 to reach 12-under 132.
''Today, the wind laid down,'' Watson said. ''I took advantage of those conditions, hit some good shots. I was very happy about my overall performance today. It was pretty good for an old guy, 66.''
Watson won at Hualalai in 2010 and has 14 senior titles, the last in 2011 in the Senior PGA Championship. He won eight major titles and had 39 victories on the PGA Tour.
''I still enjoy preparing for a tournament and I don't enjoy playing poorly,'' Watson said. ''Days like today make me feel like I'm doing something useful out here.''
Waldorf had a one-stroke lead over Davis Love III, Tom Lehman and Tom Pernice Jr. with a round left in the event for major champions from the last five years, tournament winners in the last two seasons and sponsor invitees.
''My iron play's been a little off, but I've been able to save myself when I got in trouble,'' Waldorf said. ''When I do hit a good shot or play a par 5 I've been able to make birdie, so I'm really getting a lot out of my game right now. I'm going to have to play a lot better tomorrow to have a chance.''
Lehman had a 65, and Love and Pernice shot 67. Lehman played the four par-5 holes in 7 under with three eagles and a birdie. He made a 25-foot putt on No. 4, just missed another eagle on No. 7 to set up a tap-in birdie, and holed a 3-footer on 10 and a 45-footer on 14.
''I did it on the Hogan Tour in Reno in 1991,'' Lehman said about making three eagles in a round. ''I'm not sure if I've done it since then but I remember specifically that I shot 62 that day, made three eagles. You don't hear that very often, especially without holing one from the fairway on a par 4, so the par 5s were very good to me.''
Love played in the PGA Tour's Hawaii events the last two weeks. The U.S. Ryder Cup captain tied for 29th at Kapalua in the Hyundai Tournament of Champions and made the 36-hole cut but failed to advance to the final round in the Sony Open in Honolulu. He won the PGA Tour's Wyndham Championship in August at 51 years, 4 months, 10 days to become the third-oldest champion in tour history.
''I drove the ball better today than I did yesterday and just didn't get quite as much out of it, but I'm happy with the way I'm hitting it,'' Love said. ''Just got to get the wedges, 8-irons, 9-irons a little bit closer to the hole. Had a lot of opportunities today and hopefully I can do that tomorrow.''
Watson was tied with Olin Browne (66) and first-round leader Joe Durant (69).
Round 1 - Joe Durant takes opening round honours
January 22, 2016
Joe Durant shot a 7-under 65 on Thursday to take a one-stroke lead in the PGA Tour Champions' season-opening Mitsubishi Electric Championship.
The 51-year-old Durant had nine birdies and two bogeys at Hualalai Golf Course. He teamed with Billy Andrade last year to win the Legends of Golf for his first title on the 50-and-over tour.
''I putted beautifully and I think that was kind of the key,'' Durant said. ''Made a couple good putts right out of the gate and, yeah, I was real happy. The wind was a little tougher today, it was a little heavier and it was definitely a lot stronger than we had the two pro-am rounds. It was a little different animal today.''
Defending champion Miguel Angel Jimenez, Davis Love III and Tom Pernice Jr. were a stroke back.
''I hit a couple bad drives, but other than that I hit the ball real solid,'' Love said. ''I made, I guess really, one or two tough putts, longer putts, but really just hit it well enough that I had a lot of birdie chances and got the par 5s. Other than one bogey, pretty good solid day.''
Love played in the PGA Tour's Hawaii events the last two weeks. The U.S. Ryder Cup captain tied for 29th at Kapalua in the Hyundai Tournament of Champions and made the 36-hole cut but failed to advance to the final round in the Sony Open in Honolulu. He won the PGA Tour's Wyndham Championship in August at 51 years, 4 months, 10 days to become the third-oldest champion in tour history.
''The first two weeks identified things I needed to work on,'' Love said. ''It's good, I've been playing. I played four rounds at Kapalua, three at Sony, so I've gotten the rust off and feeling better about my game.''
Duffy Waldorf and 2006 winner Loren Roberts shot 67.
''I hit the ball really consistent,'' Roberts said. ''I hit a lot of greens today and, if I did miss a green, it was just right off the edge and it wasn't bad. I actually missed some putts. I missed it from like 4 1/2, 5 feet three times today for birdies.''
The event features major champions from the last five years, tournament winners in the last two seasons and sponsor invitees.
''I've watched this tournament on television several times and I remember Loren shot something ridiculous one year and seems like every year there's some pretty low scores,'' said Durant, a four-time winner on the PGA Tour. ''You've got to get 15 to 20 to even have a shot at it, especially if the wind lays down at all.''
Colin Montgomerie and Fred Funk were in the group at 68. Funk tied for 50th in the Sony Open.
Bernhard Langer and Fred Couples shot 70. Langer, the winner in 2009 and 2014, used a long putter without anchoring it to his body. The event is Langer's first since the anchored stroke was banned Jan. 1.
Vijay Singh had a 72 after tying for 50th in the Sony Open.
Scores
1 4 Duffy Waldorf -12 F -7 67 65 - 132
T2 5 Tom Lehman -11 F -7 68 65 - 133
T2 - Davis Love III -11 F -5 66 67 - 133
T2 - Tom Pernice Jr. -11 F -5 66 67 - 133
T5 7 Tom Watson -10 F -7 69 65 - 134
T5 2 Olin Browne -10 F -6 68 66 - 134
T5 4 Joe Durant -10 F -3 65 69 - 134
T8 4 Jeff Maggert -9 F -6 69 66 - 135
T8 4 Mark O'Meara -9 F -6 69 66 - 135
T8 4 Roger Chapman -9 F -6 69 66 - 135
T11 17 Vijay Singh -8 F -8 72 64 - 136
T11 7 Kenny Perry -8 F -6 70 66 - 136
T11 6 Loren Roberts -8 F -3 67 69 - 136
T11 9 Miguel Angel Jimenez -8 F -2 66 70 - 136
T15 8 Jay Haas -7 F -6 71 66 - 137
T15 3 Fred Couples -7 F -5 70 67 - 137
T15 3 Bernhard Langer -7 F -5 70 67 - 137
T18 6 David Frost -6 F -3 69 69 - 138
T18 11 Fred Funk -6 F -2 68 70 - 138
T20 12 Marco Dawson -4 F -5 73 67 - 140
T20 12 Wes Short, Jr. -4 F -5 73 67 - 140
T20 8 Kirk Triplett -4 F -4 72 68 - 140
T20 3 Hale Irwin -4 F -3 71 69 - 140
T20 2 John Cook -4 F -2 70 70 - 140
T20 8 Corey Pavin -4 F -1 69 71 - 140
T20 13 Colin Montgomerie -4 F E 68 72 - 140
T20 13 Jeff Sluman -4 F E 68 72 - 140
T28 4 Esteban Toledo -3 F -4 73 68 - 141
T28 4 Joe Daley -3 F -4 73 68 - 141
T28 5 Larry Nelson -3 F -2 71 70 - 141
T28 - Kohki Idoki -3 F -3 72 69 - 141
32 - Lee Janzen -2 F -3 73 69 - 142
T33 5 Billy Andrade -1 F -3 74 69 - 143
T33 15 Peter Jacobsen -1 F +1 70 73 - 143
T35 3 Paul Goydos E F -2 74 70 - 144
T35 7 Mark Wiebe E F E 72 72 - 144
T35 12 Craig Stadler E F +1 71 73 - 144
T38 6 Jerry Smith +2 F +1 73 73 - 146
T38 15 Scott Dunlap +2 F +3 71 75 - 146
T40 1 Michael Allen +5 F +1 76 73 - 149
T40 1 Ian Woosnam +5 F +1 76 73 - 149
42 2 Mark Calcavecchia +11 F +8 75 80 - 155
43 2 Tom Kite +12 F +8 76 80 - 156
