Roger Rowland upped his game considerably yesterday in the final round of the Chubb Classic in Naples before heading to the $1.8 million Cologuard Classic beginning Friday in Tucson, his second outing on the Champions Tour schedule.

    After his disappointing rounds of 77 and 81 in the first two rounds at Tiburon Golf Club, the former Ocalan closed with an even-par 72 Sunday, but still finished 73rd in the field of 79. He earned a check for $1,120 and entered the Champions Tour money list in the 82nd position. If it's any consolation, he finished ahead of such past senior stalwarts as Robert Allenby, Joey Sindelar, Tom Pernice Jr. and Jay Haas.

    Roger had a chance for an under-par round after making two birdies and two bogeys on the front nine, followed by an early birdie on the back. But a costly double on No. 16 dropped him to 1 over, and he birdied 18 to get back to even. 

    Bernhard Langer, not losing any part of his game at age 64, went wire-to-wire and finished at 16 under par, three strokes ahead of Tim Petrovic and four ahead of Retief Goosen. Langer is just two away from catching Hale Irwin for the most victories on the senior circuit. 

    Brian Gay, one of four former Gators in the lineup, showed in his first Champions foray that he's going to be a factor to be reckoned with, as so many of the just-turned-50 group have in the past. Gay shot 70-67-69-206, finished alone in fourth at 10 under and cashed his first check for $95,000. Scott Dunlap was second-best Gator, tied for 18th at 4 under, followed by Mark Calcavecchia, tied for 34th at even par, and Chris DiMarco, tied for 52nd at 4 over.   

    Mike Balliet, a local pro from Calusa Pines Golf Club in Naples, may have set the all-time booby prize record for any event on any pro tour. Mike was 65 over par, and has to be commended for seeing it through to the end.      

comments powered by Disqus