Bernhard Langer, at age 65, wins the US Senior Open to break the Champions’ victory record
STEVENS POINT, Wis. (AP) — Bernhard Langer won the U.S. Senior Open on Sunday at SentryWorld to break the PGA Tour Champions’ career victory record.
Pushing his record as the oldest winner on the 50-and-over tour to 65 years, 10 months, 5 days, the German star broke a tie with Hale Irwin for the victory mark with No. 46.
Seven strokes ahead on the back nine, Langer bogeyed the final three holes for 1-under 70 and a two-stroke victory over home-state favorite Steve Stricker on the tree-lined course with thick rough.
Langer finished at 7-under 277, with only eight players breaking par for the week. He shattered the tournament age record set by Allen Doyle in 2006 at Prairie Dunes at 57 years, 11 months, 14 days.
Also the 2010 U.S. Senior Open winner at Sahalee outside Seattle, Langer extended his record for senior major victories to 12. He won the Chubb Classic in Florida in February to tie Irwin.
Stricker — from Madison, 100 miles to the south — birdied three of the last five holes for a 69. He won the first two senior majors of the year and took his hometown Madison event three weeks ago for his fourth Champions victory of the season.
Fellow Madison player Jerry Kelly was third at 4 under after a 71.
PGA TOUR
DETROIT (AP) — Rickie Fowler made a 12-foot birdie putt on the first playoff hole in the Rocket Mortgage Classic, outlasting Collin Morikawa and Adam Hadwin two weeks after squandering a chance to win his first major at the U.S. Open.
The 34-year-old Fowler won his sixth PGA Tour title and first since the 2019 Phoenix Open.
After getting knocked down on the leaderboard at Detroit Golf Club, Fowler responded on his 72nd hole of the tournament with an approach from 145 feet that left him with a 3-foot birdie put to pull into a three-way tie with Morikawa and Hadwin.
Morikawa shot an 8-under 64 to match Hadwin (67) and Fowler (68) at 24 under.
Because of anticipated rain, the leaders teed off Sunday about five hours earlier than originaly scheduled, with threesomes starting on both the front and back nine.
LIV GOLF LEAGUE
SOTOGRANDE, Spain (AP) — Talor Gooch won his third LIV Golf League title of the year, making a curling 15-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole at Valderrama for a 4-under 67 and a one-shot victory over Bryson DeChambeau.
Gooch won $4 million. Along with victories in Australia and Singapore, the former Oklahoma State player now has earned $13,376,583 in eight LIV events this year.
Gooch finished at 12 under to become the first player with three victories in the Saudi-funded rival league. DeChambeau closed with a 69.
EUROPEAN TOUR
SUTTON COLDFIELD, England (AP) — Daniel Hillier won the British Masters for his first European tour title and a spot in the British Open, making two late eagles in a two-shot victory.
Hillier shot a 6-under 66 at The Belfry to finish at 10 under. The New Zealander ran in a 40-foot eagle putt on par-5 15th, made birdie from a fairway bunker on the 16th and holed a 6-footer for eagle ion the par-5 17th.
England’s Oliver Wilson (71) and American Gunner Wiebe (66) tied for second.
KORN FERRY TOUR
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — Paul Barjon shot a 6-under 65 for a one-stroke victory in the Korn Ferry Tour’s Memorial Health Championship.
Barjon birdied five of the first seven holes, added birdies on the two back-nine par 5s and made only one bogey. The 30-year-old Frenchman finished at 26-under 258 at Panther Creek for his second career Korn Ferry Tour victory.
Jackson Suber was second after a 62. Tom Whitney was another stroke back after a 63-61 weekend.
OTHER TOURS
Jbe Kruger of South Africa closed with a 5-under 67 and won the Shigeo Nagashima Invitational Sega Sammy Cup by two shots over Anthony Quayle (64) and Naoyoku Kataoka (67) on the Japan Golf Tour. It was Kruger’s seventh win worldwide and second in Japan … Darren Fichardt of South Africa closed with a 5-under 67 for a two-shot victory over Oliver Farr in Le Vaudreuil Golf Challenge in France on the Challenge Tour. … American Chandler Blanchet won the PGA Tour Latinoamerica Championship with a par on the third hole of a playoff at Quintana Roo, Mexico. … Carmen Alonso of Spain shot a 4-under 68 to claim a one-shot victory over Johanna Gustavsson in the Ladies Open in Finland on the Ladies European Tour. … Kokona Sakura closed with a 4-under 68 and beat Shiho Kuwaki in a playoff to capture the Shiseido Ladies Open on the Japan LPGA.
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