
Final ROUND
Bernhard Langer now has
won three times in 11 career Champions Tour starts.
(Miller/WireImage)
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INSIDE
THE NUMBERS |
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Langer's Final Stats |
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Eagles |
1 |
1 |
|
Birdies |
14 |
T5 |
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Pars |
35 |
T13 |
|
Bogeys |
4 |
77 |
|
Driving Accuracy |
71.4% |
T10 |
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Driving Distance |
273.0 yds. |
T23 |
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Greens in Regulation |
66.7% |
T2 |
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Putts per Round |
27.0 |
T8 |
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Sand Saves |
83.3% |
4 |
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PALM COAST, Fla. (AP) --
Bernhard
Langer won the Ginn Championship Hammock Beach Resort for
his second Champions Tour victory in three starts, shooting a
1-under 71 in windy conditions Sunday for an eight-stroke
victory over
Lonnie Nielsen and
Tim Simpson.
Langer had one of three under-par rounds,
with the wind off the Atlantic Ocean a sustained 25 mph and the
temperature in 50s. The German star finished at 12-under 204 and
earned $375,000 for his third victory in 11 career starts on the
50-and-over circuit.
"It felt more like a 65 ... it was that
difficult," Langer said. "I stayed aggressive, and I was able to
pull most of it off. I played very solid this week, and today."
Langer took the lead on the money list and
Charles Schwab Cup points race. He supplanted
Scott Hoch
on both lists and joined Hoch as the only multiple winner.
Nielsen (77) and Simpson (75) struggled in
the difficult conditions. Simpson holed a chip from off the back
of the 18th green to his share of second.
Fred Funk
(77) and Joe
Ozaki (74) tied for fourth at 3 under, and
Tom Watson
(74), Nick
Price (75) and
David Eger
(73) followed at 2 under.
Langer began the day with a two-shot lead
over Nielsen, and birdied the second and sixth holes. Nielsen
and Funk -- who started three behind Langer -- couldn't answer,
and Langer enjoyed no less than a six-shot lead for the rest of
the day.
Langer set up a birdie at the par-5 second
hole with an awkward chip from near the edge of a bunker,
chipped in for birdie at the par-5 sixth hole, nearly holed
another birdie chip at the par-4 15th and made a 22-footer for
par on 18.
"When I saw what the weather was going to
be, I would have bet, with his short game, that was going to
win," Nielsen said. "He's a magician."
Funk agreed.
"It was phenomenal," Funk said. "But nothing
surprised me about what he did. He's won too many tournaments
around the world in conditions like that."
The only other players to break par were
Fuzzy Zoeller,
who had the low round of the day with a 69, and 64-year-old
Bruce
Summerhays (71). The final-round scoring average of 76.571
was the highest on the Champions Tour this season, and the
highest since the second round of the 2007 Senior British Open.
Copyright 2008 Associated Press. All
rights reserved.
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