A final round 66 for South African hall of famer Retief Goosen earned the 57-year-old 14 points under the modified Stableford scoring system to secure his fifth win in 150 starts on the Champions Tour, finishing with 39 points – two points ahead of the rest of the field.
Players received eight points for an albatross, five for eagle and two for birdie. They lost a point for bogey and three for double bogey or worse.
Bar two bogeys at the first and ninth, Goosen was electric around TPC Sugarloaf as he made five birdies between holes two and seven.
Two more birdies came at holes 10 and 12, but it was the birdie at the par-5 18th that earned him two more points and the victory – pipping an in form Stephen Ames who finished with 37 points.
A win for Goosen was fitting as it marked 24-years since winning the PGA TOUR’s BellSouth Classic on the same course.
Ames made a late charge on the final day, posting a bogey-free nine-under-par, earning 19 points to climb 8 places and finish in second place.
Ames’s best work came at the par-5 sixth, where the 61-year-old made an eagle.
It was a weekend of struggles for Tyrone’s Darren Clarke as the 57-year-old finished in a share of 50th place on 10 points.
Clarke posted an even-par 72 on Sunday earning five points, making five birdies and five bogeys. Clarke sits 32nd in the Charles Schwab Cup money rankings.
It wasn’t to be for 36-hole leader Zach Johnson, as the 50-year-old earned eight points in his final round to finish third, one point back from Ames.
Local favourite Stewart Cink finished fourth after a 19 point round. The 52-year-old was seeking his fourth win of the year after winning the Senior PGA Championship winner last week.
Thailand’s Thongchai Jaidee finished in fifth place on 33 points, closely followed by USA’s Tommy Gainey who took sixth on 32 points. Defending champion Jerry Kelly earned nine points in the final round to finish 14th.
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