Price earns 2nd Champions Tour win of season
West Des Moines, IA (Sports Network) - Nick Price captured his second victory
of the season with a four-under 67 Sunday to win the Principal Charity
Classic.
Price finished with a 14-under 199 on the Glen Oaks course to beat Champions
Tour rookie Tommy Armour III by four shots.
It was Price's third senior tour victory overall and second this season after
he won the Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf with Mark O'Meara in April.
"I've been playing so well the last two months, and today was a big day for me
because I think if I had not finished off (the win), it would have left a
psychological scar in me because I couldn't have played any better than I did
this week," said Price, who earned $258,750 for the win.
Armour only trailed by two shots heading to the final hole after Price
stumbled to a bogey at the 17th. But Armour made a double-bogey from a fairway
bunker and shot an even-par 71 to lose by four strokes at 10-under 203.
It was the third time Armour has finished as a runner-up in his rookie season
on the Champions Tour. He won twice on the PGA Tour, the last time coming in
2003.
John Cook (66) and Loren Roberts (68) tied for third place at nine-under 204,
while 2003 champion Don Pooley (72) led a six-way tie at 205.
Price shared the 36-hole lead with Armour -- a similar position to last year,
when he also carried a lead into the final round but lost in a three-way
playoff that was won by Mark McNulty.
The Hall of Famer from Zimbabwe did enough on the front nine Sunday to ensure
he wouldn't find himself in the same position.
Price had four birdies in his first 10 holes, including one at No. 4 that gave
him the lead for good. He chipped in from 75 feet at the par-four sixth, then
added back-to-back birdies at the ninth and 10th holes to build a four-shot
lead.
Armour battled, but didn't make his first birdie until the 11th hole. He had a
10-foot par putt lip out at the 14th, then followed that with back-to-back
birdies.
One of those holes was also birdied by Price, who went on to bogey the 17th
and see his lead trimmed to two shots.
But Armour pulled a shot into a bunker at the 18th and closed with a double-
bogey to give Price the lopsided win.
"It was a really hard day today," said Price. "I just did all the right
things."
NOTES: Champions Tour money leader Fred Couples shot a 66 and tied for 11th
place...Price joined Couples (three wins) and Bernhard Langer (two) as the
only multiple champions this season...It marked the first time Price captured
multiple wins in a season since 1994, when he won six times and was named PGA
Tour player of the year.
06/06 21:03:04 ET
|