Round 4 - Bernhard Langer coasts to six shot win
May 22, 2016
Bernhard Langer erased any doubt not long after his nearest challenger had all but conceded.
Langer ran away with the Regions Tradition on Sunday for his sixth senior major and 27th PGA Tour Champions title. He birdied the final three holes and five of seven to pull away for a six-stroke victory over Olin Browne, who had already predicted that ''nobody's running down Berhnard.'' The 58-year-old German finished with a 5-under 67 at Greystone for a 17-under 271 total.
Langer matched Gary Player and Tom Watson with the third-most major championships on the 50-and-over-tour, behind Hale Irwin's seven and Jack Nicklaus's eight. He opened the day with a four-stroke lead, lost a couple of strokes and closed emphatically with the birdie binge.
Langer could become the first player to win all five of the current senior majors if he wins the Senior PGA Championship next week.
''It's just an amazing feeling to win any tournament, but to win the majors against the best players on tough venues and good courses just means that much more,'' Langer said. He called it his 100th victory as a professional, ''and to do it in a major means even more.''
Browne made a 6-foot birdie putt on the final hole for a 67. Tommy Armour III, Joey Sindelar and Kirk Triplett finished at 10 under.
It was the lowest score at the Tradition since Fred Funk finished with a 269 in 2008 at Oregon. It was also the largest margin of victory since Doug Tewell won by nine in 2001.
Browne closed with a six-foot birdie putt for a 67 but some near-misses on the greens helped keep him from challenging Langer at the end. Langer came in with the tour's lowest scoring average and still hasn't finished worse than 11th this year.
''He's as fit as he's ever been,'' Browne said. ''They've tried to ruin his putting by taking away the long putter and he's not letting that happen. He's still putting great. He's just a consummate course management guy. He absolutely refuses to give an inch. He charts the course better than anybody else, he plays to his strengths and he's tenacious.''
That was certainly true Sunday.
Langer saved par with a 20-footer upslope on No. 4 after his tee shot rolled into the water, forcing him to take a drop. The normally stoic German raised both arms in the air and then pumped his right fist celebrating the shot - more of a reaction than when he polished off a win that hadn't really been in doubt for a while.
''That was key to keep the momentum going,'' Langer said. He opened with a 5-foot birdie putt on the first hole but said his most consistent success came off the tee.
''I drove the ball phenomenal,'' Langer said. ''I can't recall hitting every fairway for 36 holes in a row, and I've done that, I think. I don't think I was in the rough once the last two days, which is pretty unique.
''I think that was key to the victory. My putter was hot and cold. My irons were hot and cold, but the driver was really the outstanding club. It didn't let me down, not one time the last few days.''
Armour closed with a 66 with birdies on five of the last six holes while Sindelar and Triplett each had 68s.
John Daly finished at 5 under with a closing 74 after three straight rounds below par. He hit a sprinkler head on No. 10, but did finish with a crowd-pleasing eagle on 18.
''The guy says two shots of Crown on a putt like that, I'm usually going to make one of those,'' Daly said. ''If it's for Crown, I'm making it.''
The 70-year-old Irwin bested his age with a 69. He finished 14 over for the tournament, though, including an 80 on Saturday.
Round 3 - Bernhard Langer vaults clear
May 21, 2016
Bernhard Langer avoided the troubles of several other Regions Tradition contenders on a day when swirling wind became a factor.
The result was a four-shot lead. A stroke behind leader Kenny Perry entering play Saturday, Langer shot a 3-under 69 to move to 12-under 204 in the first PGA Tour Champions major of the year - while Perry and others stumbled at Greystone.
''It was a tough day,'' Langer said. ''It was windy, it was swirly, never consistent. The wind, it was all over the place. Played pretty solid, drove the ball fantastic today, really drove it phenomenally, long and straight. Just a couple of short putts that hurt.''
The 58-year-old Langer, the Chubb Classic winner in February for his 26th victory on the 50-and-over tour, did miss a 4-foot birdie putt on the final hole.
Perry held the lead after each of the first two rounds but had a double bogey on the opening hole on his way to a 74. He and Scott McCarron, who shot a 72, were tied for second place going into the final round.
John Daly was among five players at 7 under after a 69. Playing in his second PGA Tour Champions event, the two-time major winner had a double bogey, two bogeys, an eagle and five birdies.
Daly eagled the par-15 13 and was 4-under over the final six holes. He's had a double or triple bogey in all three rounds but also has a pair of eagles.
He finished strong again with a birdie on 18 for the second straight day.
''It's been get it going, then lose it, get it going and then lose it,'' Daly said. ''Just hanging in there. But the last four holes so far have been really good to me in this tournament. Finishing strong. It's that third hole or somewhere in the middle, I just seem to keep goofing up.''
Langer got his first of four birdies on the second hole, where he's 3 under for the tournament. His only misstep was a bogey on No. 5, a par 5.
McCarron, meanwhile, struggled on the greens after a second-round 66. He said he missed three five-footers and several from 10 feet.
''I wasted a lot of shots out there,'' he said. ''A little disappointing. The greens were a little tougher today, I don't know if they're a little grainier or what from the rains that we had (Friday), but I didn't make anything.''
Also at 7 under with Daly were Colin Montgomerie (70), Mark Calcavecchia (71) and Gary Hallberg (68), who doesn't have a full exemption and is playing only his fourth 50-and-over event of the year.
Hallberg is trying to avoid thoughts of what winning a major would mean to his career.
''Your mind starts going there and you have to stop it in its tracks and think of something else, and that's the challenge,'' he said.
Billy Andrade opened the day tied with Langer but wound up six strokes back with a 75.
Round 2 - Kenny Perry holds on to slim lead
May 20, 2016
Kenny Perry navigated condition changes and a course he's still learning to retain the Regions Tradition lead.
Perry shot a 2-under 70 on Friday to maintain a one-stroke advantage over Bernhard Langer and Billy Andrade after two rounds. The course was hit by early light rain and the wind switched directions from the opening day.
Perry had three birdies and a bogey to reach 10-under 134 at Greystone in the first of the year's five PGA Tour Champions majors. The 2014 Regions Tradition winner has missed only one green in regulation in the first two days.
Conditions changed after his bogey-free opening 64. Tournament officials opted for a two-tee start because of weather concerns, with Perry and Langer starting on the 10th tee. The course received 0.14 inches of rain overnight and in the morning, forcing a 30-minute delay to start but escaping any heavy rain during play.
''Totally different golf course,'' Perry said. ''We had northeasterly winds (Thursday). I think today was southerly, and so the golf course played totally different. A lot longer, I thought.
''A lot of the par 5s I was hitting 6 and 7 iron into, I was hitting 5 woods and woods in today, so pretty challenging. I mean, plus, I don't have a lot of experience here so that was kind of hard. You're kind of out there guessing.''
Langer picked up one stroke with a round that also included a single bogey. But he finished better after closing Thursday with a bogey.
''(I) didn't make all the putts I wanted to make, but made a few par saving putts there toward the end,'' Langer said. ''So I'm right there, good chance for the weekend. Just got to get my game together.''
Andrade birdied the final hole for a 68, including six birdies and two bogeys. Other players told him coming in that he'd like the course, and it's proving true so far.
''It kind of fits my style and I knew that going in,'' Andrade said.
Three players are at 8 under, including Gene Sauers, Scott McCarron and last year's runner up Kevin Sutherland.
Sauers and McCarron both returned from multi-year hiatuses from their playing careers at one point, though for very different reasons.
Sauers shot a 70 for a two-day total of 136. He had a bogey and three birdies, all in the final six holes with nothing but pars the rest of the way. Sauers has four runner-up finishes on the senior tour and hasn't won since the PGA Tour's Air Canada Championship in 2002.
He missed seven years because of a rare skin condition, Stevens-Johnson syndrome, that clogged blood vessels in his arms and legs and eventually caused his skin to burn from the inside out.
McCarron eagled the par-5 second hole after opening with his only bogey of the round for a 66. Also a TV analyst, he won three PGA Tour championships despite giving up pro golf for four years to work in his family's clothing business.
Sutherland had his second straight 68.
Recently turned 50, John Daly finished with his second straight roller-coaster 70. He had a triple bogey to go to 4 over through three holes and also had a string of four birdies in six holes.
Defending champion Jeff Maggert was 3 under after a 73.
Round 1 - Kenny Perry tops leaderboard
May 20, 2016
Kenny Perry made a couple of early birdie putts from about 20 feet, mostly steered clear of trouble and finished well.
Perry birdied the final hole for an 8-under 64 and a two-stroke lead Thursday in the Regions Tradition, the first of five PGA Tour Champions majors.
''I mean, I didn't miss a green,'' he said. ''I putted for birdies or eagles on every hole so took a lot of pressure off myself by doing that. I hit the ball nicely, drove it beautifully, hit lots of fairways. Was able to attack the par 5s.''
Bernhard Langer matched him going into the final hole. Then Langer bogeyed No. 18 for a 66 to fall into a second-place tie with Gene Sauers at Greystone Golf and Country Club, hosting its first PGA Tour Champions event since the Bruno's Memorial Classic in 2005.
Perry won the Regions Tradition a few miles away at Shoal Creek in 2014, and the 14-time PGA Tour winner started on a roll. He birdied five of the first eight holes in a bogey-free round, including the two long putts during that hot start.
He was in a tie going into 18 with Langer, who had three straight birdies starting on No. 11.
Billy Andrade was three strokes back at 67. Defending champion Jeff Maggert was among seven players four shots behind.
Langer, who has not finished worse than 11th this year, needed two attempts to escape the greenside bunker on 18. The two-time Masters winner, who leads the tour in scoring average, then two-putted.
''I bladed it,'' Langer said about his first bunker shot. ''I was just trying to bank it against it but not fly it into the netting. No other way to get it close. It was a very bad trap.''
He said he had hit ''a beautiful 3-wood'' that kicked right and into the sand.
Sauers, who tied for third at last year's Regions Tradition, had birdies on four of the final six holes, including 18. The three-time PGA Tour winner has four runner-up finishes on the 50-and-over circuit. His only bogey came on the par-5 fifth hole.
Sauers started practicing a new putting grip a couple of days before leaving for the Insperity Invitational, where he tied for 12th after a closing 67.
''I made some putts where before I wasn't making the putts and now I'm really rolling it better and I'm kind of going cross-handed, left hand low,'' Sauers said. ''This is my second week for it, so I should have done it 20 years ago.''
With an eagle and a double bogey, John Daly finished his first round in a PGA Tour Champions major with a 70. He made an eagle from the fairway on the 435-yard fifth hole. Two holes later, came the double bogey after Daly's drive went into the rough.
''Getting into this thing is pretty cool, I'm enjoying myself,'' he said. ''But having a start like that is kind of cool. My last round at Houston I had it going but didn't finish it, so I've just got to keep going and try to finish these good starts.''
In the meantime, he relished having a big following around Greystone - and not having to worry about making a cut.
''Oh, it's great, man. It's just awesome,'' Daly said. ''That's what's cool. They get me for three or four days now instead of two, so it's good to work on weekends again.''
Jesper Parnevik, who's coming off a four-stroke victory at the Insperity Invitational, finished with a 70. He was 3 over on the final three holes, including a double bogey on No. 18.
With rain and thunderstorms forecast for Friday, Perry expects the scoring and conditions to change significantly. Play will start on two tees with tour officials aiming for a mid-afternoon finish.
''I'm not a great rainy (day) player,'' he said. ''I have trouble hanging onto the club and stuff, so it's going to be a challenge.''
Scores
1 - Bernhard Langer -17 F -5 66 69 69 67 271
2 6 Olin Browne -11 F -5 71 67 72 67 277
T3 15 Tommy Armour III -10 F -6 72 68 72 66 278
T3 5 Joey Sindelar -10 F -4 73 67 70 68 278
T3 5 Kirk Triplett -10 F -4 72 67 71 68 278
6 4 Scott McCarron -9 F -1 70 66 72 71 279
T7 13 Duffy Waldorf -8 F -5 68 72 73 67 280
T7 3 Gary Hallberg -8 F -1 72 69 68 71 280
T9 6 Jeff Hart -7 F -2 71 70 70 70 281
T9 6 Doug Garwood -7 F -2 69 71 71 70 281
T9 1 Larry Mize -7 F -1 70 69 71 71 281
T12 8 Jerry Smith -6 F -3 71 70 72 69 282
T12 6 Steve Lowery -6 F -2 70 69 73 70 282
T12 4 Gene Sauers -6 F E 66 70 74 72 282
T15 5 Willie Wood -5 F -2 71 67 75 70 283
T15 11 John Daly -5 F +2 70 70 69 74 283
T17 3 Kevin Sutherland -4 F -1 68 68 77 71 284
T17 3 Mark O'Meara -4 F -1 70 70 73 71 284
T17 3 Steve Pate -4 F -1 73 70 70 71 284
T17 3 Brandt Jobe -4 F -1 72 71 70 71 284
T17 3 David Frost -4 F -1 71 72 70 71 284
T17 13 Colin Montgomerie -4 F +3 70 69 70 75 284
T23 20 Scott Verplank -3 F -3 72 71 73 69 285
T23 10 Esteban Toledo -3 F -1 68 71 75 71 285
T23 10 Jeff Sluman -3 F -1 68 75 71 71 285
T23 10 Jerry Pate -3 F -1 73 71 70 71 285
T23 3 Todd Hamilton -3 F E 78 66 69 72 285
T23 8 Marco Dawson -3 F +2 72 68 71 74 285
T23 15 Billy Andrade -3 F +3 67 68 75 75 285
T23 15 John Huston -3 F +3 71 72 67 75 285
T23 21 Kenny Perry -3 F +5 64 70 74 77 285
32 12 Fred Funk -2 F +1 69 72 72 73 286
T33 - Scott Hoch -1 F +1 69 71 74 73 287
T33 29 Mark Calcavecchia -1 F +6 72 66 71 78 287
T35 17 Stephen Ames E F -2 72 71 75 70 288
T35 8 Tom Byrum E F E 73 71 72 72 288
T35 2 Tom Lehman E F +2 72 71 71 74 288
T38 5 Paul Goydos +1 F +1 72 71 73 73 289
T38 5 Joe Daley +1 F +1 70 77 69 73 289
T38 2 Jim Carter +1 F +2 74 70 71 74 289
T38 2 Tom Pernice Jr. +1 F +2 69 71 75 74 289
T38 5 Rocco Mediate +1 F +3 70 71 73 75 289
T38 18 Jeff Maggert +1 F +4 68 73 72 76 289
T44 11 Mark Brooks +2 F -1 75 72 72 71 290
T44 1 Brad Bryant +2 F +2 71 70 75 74 290
T44 11 Larry Nelson +2 F +4 71 73 70 76 290
T44 24 Peter Senior +2 F +5 70 72 71 77 290
T48 12 Scott Dunlap +3 F -1 68 71 81 71 291
T48 2 Wes Short Jr. +3 F +2 70 73 74 74 291
T48 28 Carlos Franco +3 F +6 71 71 71 78 291
51 8 Jesper Parnevik +4 F +4 70 70 76 76 292
T52 8 Ian Woosnam +5 F +1 71 71 78 73 293
T52 3 Craig Parry +5 F +2 68 74 77 74 293
T52 3 Jay Haas +5 F +2 72 73 74 74 293
T52 3 Rod Spittle +5 F +2 72 72 75 74 293
T52 - Jim Thorpe +5 F +3 74 71 73 75 293
T52 12 Guy Boros +5 F +6 72 72 71 78 293
T58 2 Michael Allen +6 F +2 73 74 73 74 294
T58 2 Mike Goodes +6 F +2 76 72 72 74 294
T58 6 Glen Day +6 F +4 70 71 77 76 294
T58 8 Sandy Lyle +6 F +5 72 69 76 77 294
T62 10 Gil Morgan +7 F E 72 73 78 72 295
T62 10 Leonard Thompson +7 F E 75 75 73 72 295
T62 10 Brian Henninger +7 F E 72 73 78 72 295
T62 19 Mike Grob +7 F +7 72 72 72 79 295
T66 3 Lee Janzen +8 F +2 72 72 78 74 296
T66 3 Grant Waite +8 F +2 72 77 73 74 296
T66 3 Scott Simpson +8 F +2 72 77 73 74 296
T69 3 Greg Kraft +9 F +4 76 71 74 76 297
T69 9 Bob Tway +9 F +5 77 69 74 77 297
T69 14 Tom Kite +9 F +6 75 75 69 78 297
T72 6 Bobby Wadkins +10 F E 74 73 79 72 298
T72 6 Dan Forsman +10 F +5 76 70 75 77 298
T72 12 Jay Don Blake +10 F +6 73 70 77 78 298
75 1 Tom Jenkins +11 F +3 74 75 75 75 299
T76 3 Bob Gilder +12 F E 79 72 77 72 300
T76 - Wayne Levi +12 F +4 77 73 74 76 300
T76 4 Roger Chapman +12 F +5 77 76 70 77 300
T76 10 Brad Faxon +12 F +7 71 75 75 79 300
80 1 Hale Irwin +14 F -3 75 78 80 69 302
81 1 Tom Purtzer +17 F +3 76 75 79 75 305
