DESTIN, Fla. -- Loren Roberts won The Boeing Championship
for his first Champions Tour victory of the year, closing with a
6-under 65 on Sunday for a three-stroke victory over Argentina's
Eduardo Romero.
Roberts finished with a 16-under 197 total on the Sandestin Golf
and Beach Resort's Raven Golf Club. He earned $247,500 for his
sixth victory in three seasons on the 50-and-over tour. Romero
finished with a 69.
"I hit some quality shots when I needed to and combined that
with some really good patience that I haven't had lately," Roberts
said.
He also brought his wife and two daughters, ages 20 and 15, with
him for the first time this year. They made a vacation out of their
visit to the Florida Panhandle.
"We had great quality time together," Roberts said. "I
probably was more relaxed."
Bob Gilder (65) and Tom Purtzer (71) tied for third at 12 under,
and Jay Haas (73) and Dana Quigley (66) followed at 11 under.
Roberts entered the tournament without a victory this year
despite his tour-leading 69.12 scoring average.
Roberts began the day tied for fourth, three stokes behind
second-round leader Haas, two back of Purtzer and one behind
Romero.
Each of those four players held or shared the lead at least
twice through the 11th hole, including a four-way tie after nine.
Roberts went ahead for good, though, with a birdie on the 12th
while Purtzer and Romero each had a bogey and Haas shot par.
Roberts, though, didn't know that.
"I made a point not to look [at the leaderboard] until I walked
off the 17th hole," Roberts said. "I really didn't want to know
what was going on."
When he did look after the 17th he was up by four strokes. A
model of consistency to that point with seven birdies, Roberts then
carded his only bogey on the 18th, but by then he knew no one could
catch him.
By contrast, the three players who started the day ahead of him
were up and down throughout the final round trying to deal with 15
mph winds.
Florida continued to frustrate Haas, the Champions Tour money
leader and only two-time winner this year. He has played 102 PGA
Tour events and six on the Champions Tour without a professional
victory in the Sunshine State.
Romero also finished second last week in the Senior PGA
Championship.
"My confidence is going up every week," Romero said. "I think
my week is coming very soon. ... I can smell it."