CONCORD, Mass. -- Jay Haas set his sights on second place
and instead came away with his second consecutive victory on the
Champions Tour.
Whittling away a three-stroke deficit when Tom Purtzer suffered
through an eerily familiar Sunday collapse, Haas shot a 6 under-par
66 to win by three strokes and earn his fourth victory of the year.
The only multiple winner on the over-50 tour, Haas finished at
13-under to pick up a check for $247,500.
"You can't feel sorry for anybody out here when you're doing
it," Haas said. "But after the fact, sure, I wish he would have
had a better day."
Leonard Thompson, who had a double-eagle on the first round and
eagle on the 538-yard, par-5 10th on Sunday, finished second, tied
with Brad Bryant at three strokes back. Purtzer shot a 73 to finish
four strokes back, and first-round leader Tom Watson tied for fifth
with Dan Edwards and R.W. Eaks.
Purtzer has twice finished fourth and twice finished second in
four trips to Concord, including the previous two tournaments when
he also took the lead into the final round. Last year's event was
canceled because of rain and flooding -- the tour's first complete
cancellation since the Sept. 11 attacks.
"That's one of my best friends out here," Haas said of
Purtzer, who shot 39 on the back nine to fall into fourth place.
"My best hope was I was going to get into a playoff with Tom. I
thought it would be pretty cool if I did that, or maybe finish
second to him."
Purtzer shot 66 in the first round and 68 on Saturday, and he
still led Haas by a stroke at the turn over the 6,741-yard, par-72
course.
"I still thought that Tom Purtzer was going to be champion,"
Haas said. "He had been playing so well and it didn't look like
[having the lead] bothered him coming out of the blocks. It looked
like we were all playing for second place."
But Purtzer bogeyed three straight holes and then plunked his
tee shot into the water on the par-3 17th for a double-bogey.
"I self-destructed more than anything," Purtzer said. "I just
kind of struggled. I didn't have the feeling I had the last few
days.
After the first round this year, a beaming Purtzer proclaimed
his love for all things Nashawtuc. Asked on Sunday if he still
loved the place, Purtzer said, "There's nothing wrong with the
course. It was self-induced."
Meanwhile, Haas made the turn at 11-under and picked up a pair
of birdies on the back nine to complete his bogey-free round. He
added his name to a list of champions that includes his uncle, Bob
Goably, who won the event in its very first year and taught Haas
how to play golf.
"I always feel grateful to him for what he gave to me," Haas
said.
Haas, who won the tour's last event in Des Moines, Iowa, two
weeks ago, is the only multiple winner on the Champions Tour this
year. It's the second time in his career that he has won
back-to-back events, and his 10th win overall in 49 starts on the
over-50 tour.
Divots
Haas went over $20 million in career earnings (PGA and
Champions Tour). He extended his lead over second-place Denis
Watson in the Charles Schwab Cup race to 1,703-1,120.
