Gilder rallies for win in Iowa
West Des Moines, IA (Sports Network) - Bob Gilder fired a bogey-free, six-
under 65 Sunday to come from behind and win the Principal Charity Classic by
one stroke.
Gilder finished his 10th Champions Tour title at 14-under-par 199 at Glen Oaks
Country Club.
Second-round leader Mark Brooks bogeyed the final two holes to post a three-
under 68. That left him one shot back at minus-13.
Rod Spittle and Mike Goodes both closed with six-under 65s to share third
place at 12-under-par 201. Mark Calcavecchia managed a two-under 69 to take
fifth at minus-11.
Gilder trailed by two at the start of the round and was still two back at the
turn. He had birdied the third, fifth and ninth, while Brooks had birdies on
three, eight and nine.
Brooks tripped to a bogey on the 10th and that dropped him into a share of the
lead with Spittle, who had eagled the ninth and birdied the 12th to get to
six-under for his round.
While the 60-year-old Gilder was running off five straight pars from the 10th,
Brooks caught fire after his bogey.
Brooks, the 1996 PGA Champion, poured in three straight birdie efforts from
the 11th to jump to 15-under, where he was three shots clear of Spittle and
four ahead of Gilder.
Gilder began to cut into the deficit at the par-five 15th. He made birdie
there, and made it two in a row with a birdie on 16.
Brooks, who played in the final group with Gilder and Calcavecchia, tripped to
a bogey on the 17th to cut his margin to one. The 18th proved to be the big
turning point.
Gilder poured in a 30-foot birdie putt on the 18th, while Brooks stumbled to a
three-putt bogey to end one back.
"I felt confident today and wanted to give myself lots of chances," Gilder
stated. "The putt at 18, I played pretty straight, and three feet from the
hole, I knew it was going in. This gives me a lot of confidence for the rest
of the year."
With the loss, Brooks was denied his first Champions Tour title.
"I made one or two (putts) out there, but it was a struggle with the blade,"
Brooks admitted. "And I made a dumb play on No. 17, and I didn't get a very
good lie in the right rough. I was lucky to make five there.
"At No. 18, both putts were bad. It was one of the few I hit past the hole all
week actually. If I would have putted good, I would have won by three or four
shots. So we're going work on our putting and come right back."
NOTES: Gilder earned $258,750 for the win...Gilder and Jay Haas are the only
multiple winners so far this year...Brooks posted his best finish on the PGA
or Champions Tour since losing in an 18-hole playoff to Retief Goosen at the
2001 U.S. Open Championship...With Brooks failing to win, this event has yet
to have a first-time winner claim the title...Damon Green, better known to
golf fans as Zack Johnson's caddie on the PGA Tour, finished his Champions
Tour debut at minus-one after closing with a three-under 68.
06/05 22:03:17 ET
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