CARY, N.C. -- Craig Stadler became the first player in more than six years to win three straight tournaments on the Champions Tour, making birdies on the final three holes Sunday to win the SAS Championship presented by Forbes with a tournament-record score of 17-under-par 199.
"I guess you get to the point where you expect things, you expect to hit good shots," Stadler said. "The more time you spend in the so-called zone, the easier it is to live up to the expectations."
Stadler closed with a 6-under 66 to avoid any real challenge from Jenkins, who shot a 68 Sunday. Jose Maria Canizares (66) and Doug Tewell (67) tied for third at 8 under.
"I told him on the 18th green, after he made his putt, that he's too good. He needs to go back to the (PGA TOUR)," Jenkins said.
Stadler won the JELD-WEN Tradition and the The First Tee Open at Pebble Beach presented by Wal-Mart in his previous two starts. In 1997-98, Gil Morgan also won three consecutive events he entered. When Stadler returns to action in two weeks at the Administaff Small Business Classic near Houston, he could become the first player to win four in a row since Chi Chi Rodriguez in 1987.
"Now, I know I'm playing well," Stadler said. "I'll be honest with you, I came here and I expected to win or be right there. When you go in like that, it doesn't make the week harder, it makes it easier."
Since he turned 50 in June 2003 to become eligible for the Champions Tour, Stadler has eight victories, including five this season. He also has a runner-up, two thirds and 10 top-10 finishes in 18 events.
Stadler also won on the PGA TOUR at the B.C. Open last season.
"I passed him on the course, and I acted like I was falling," Tewell said. "I told him, 'Would you just trip and fall or something?' And he just had the sheepish smile on his face. He's just in the zone right now, and I'm jealous."
Jenkins moved within four shots with a birdie at No. 9, but Stadler responded with two of his own at 10 and 11.
"I knew I was playing for second," Jenkins said.
Yet Stadler wasn't done. He rolled in a birdie putt on No. 16, then ripped a 337-yard drive on the par-5 17th, the longest of the day. An 8-iron landed just beyond the pin and spun back to about 9 feet, and even though he lipped out the putt, he had another birdie.
On 18, after a 9-iron left him only 9 feet from the hole again, he spent very little time reading the putt. He calmly took a practice stroke, then drained it for another birdie.
"I figured I could six-putt from there pretty easily," Stadler said, joking. "I was just standing there waiting on the other guys to finish, and I said, 'It looks like it's left edge.' So I hit it there and it went right in the middle of the hole.
"That's how it's going now. I'm comfortable with the reads, and I'm comfortable with the speeds. The ball just goes in."
© The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
NOTES:
•Craig Stadler became the first player to win three consecutive starts on the Champions Tour since Gil Morgan did so at the close of 1997 (Ralphs Senior Classic, Energizer SENIOR TOUR Championship) and the start of 1998 (MasterCard Championship).
•Stadler remains perfect on the Champions Tour when he goes into the final round leading or tied for the lead. With his win on Sunday, Stadler has now won all five events that he has been in that position. In addition to this event, Stadler also claimed The First Tee Open at Pebble Beach and the ACE Group Classic this year and the Ford Senior Players Championship and the SBC Championship last year.
•Stadler's first-place check for $270,000 pushed his season earnings to $2,179,666. He becomes the first player to hit the $2 million mark since 2002, when Hale Irwin ($3,028,304) and Bob Gilder ($2,367,637) reached that figure. The $2 million total has been reached a total of 15 times on the Champions Tour, including six times by Hale Irwin.
•Stadler now has a comfortable lead of $548,569 in the season-long money race over Hale Irwin with four events to play. Irwin was scheduled to play in this event but withdrew on Friday with a shoulder problem. Irwin will have a chance to cut into that margin this week at the Constellation Energy Classic in Baltimore where he is slated to compete in the $1.6 million event. Stadler is not entered in the tournament.
•Stadler also leads Irwin by 281 points in the year-long Charles Schwab Cup race. Stadler has 3,133 points followed by Irwin with 2,852. Tom Kite is third with 2,101 points, while Peter Jacobsen (1,837) and Mark James (1,756) are fourth and fifth, respectively.
•With his victory, Stadler becomes the first player to win five events in the same season Larry Nelson had five in 2001.
•Stadler's performance on the back nine played a major role in his win. He was only 3-under-par on the front nine, but he was a blistering 14-under-par on the back nine
•In his current winning streak, Stadler is a combined 35 under par.
•Doug Tewell continued his strong play of late. Tewell finished tied for third, his fifth straight top-10 finish. Tewell won the Greater Hickory Classic at Rock Barn last month to start the string and was also tied for second last week at the Kroger Classic and tied for fourth at the JELD-WEN Tradition. During his current streak, Tewell has recorded 14 sub-par rounds in 16 starts with 11 rounds in the 60s.
•Allen Doyle claimed a tied for 11th finish and earned $41,400. It moved him over the $1 million mark in earnings for the sixth straight year and he now has earned $1,019,849 in 2004.
•The most difficult hole was No. 6 with an average of 4.309 (+.309), making it the 34th hardest hole on the Champions Tour in 2004. The easiest hole was No. 17 with an average score of 4.304 (-.696). That would make it the second easiest hole on the Champions Tour in 2004. The easiest hole remains No. 10 at Hualalai Country Club in Hawaii which averaged 4.274 (-.726). Hualalai Country Club is the site of the MasterCard Championship.
•Lonnie Nielsen continues to improve his standing on the 2004 money list. With his season-best tied for fifth finish, Nielsen earned $74,400 and increased his season earnings to $485,797. The tied for fifth finish helped him move from 42nd on the list to 37th. Nielsen will need to finish in the top 30 on the current money list to earn fully-exempt status for 2005, but any spot in the top 50 on that list will earn him exempt status for many events next year.
•The final scoring average for the tournament was 72.739, an increase from last year's average of 71.733.
•Jose Maria Canizares removed any doubt about a berth in the season-ending Charles Schwab Cup Championship when he finished tied for third and pushed his season earnings to $718,132. He jumped from 27th to 22nd on the money list.
•Vicente Fernandez supplanted Jay Haas for the 30th spot on the current year money with his tied for 14th finish. Fernandez has earned $555,292 with Haas at $541,920. The top 30 players earn berths in the Charles Schwab Cup Championship in Sonoma, Calif. (Oct. 21-24)
|
