Lehman wins Champions Tour finale, points title
Published 4:00 am Monday, November 5, 2012
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Asked about the season title scenarios entering the Champions Tour finale, Tom Lehman said all he knew was “if I win, I win.”
That’s all he needed to know.
Lehman won the Charles Schwab Cup Championship on Sunday at Desert Mountain to become the first player to win the season points title two straight years.
After shooting 68-63-62 to take a one-stroke lead into the final round, Lehman birdied four of the last five holes for a 5-under 65 and a six-stroke victory.
“It was a great week from start to finish,” Lehman said. “Absolutely, I played some of my best golf of the year. I’m very, very fortunate and thankful to be able to kind of bring my best when I needed it.”
Lehman won at the mountainside club where he first worked with Jim Flick, the noted swing instructor stricken by pancreatic cancer.
“The more I thought about that, the more teary-eyed I would get,” said Lehman, who spoke to Flick on the phone before the round. “I decided I can’t play this round of golf with tears in my eyes. I have to wait until business is finished.”
Lehman finished at 22-under 258 on the par-70 Cochise Course to break the Champions Tour record for the lowest numerical score in a 72-hole event. Jack Nicklaus set the previous record of 261 at par-72 Dearborn Country Club in Michigan in the 1990 Mazda Senior TPC.
Lehman received a $1 million annuity in the Charles Schwab Cup points competition and earned $440,000 for the tournament victory.
Jay Haas shot a 69 to finish second. Jay Don Blake was third at 14 under after a 66, and Fred Couples and Fred Funk were another stroke back. Bernhard Langer was sixth at 11 under after a 65. He finished second in the season race, 435 points back after entering the week with a 211-point lead.
Also on Sunday:
Poulter triumphs in China
SHENZHEN, China — Ian Poulter won the HSBC Champions for his first victory of the season, overcoming a four-stroke deficit with a 7-under 65. The Englishman finished at 21-under 267 on Mission Hills’ Olazabal Course for a two-shot victory. Phil Mickelson (68), Jason Dufner (64), Scott Piercy (65) and Ernie Els (67) tied for second.
Lewis wins in Japan
SHIMA, Japan — Stacy Lewis rallied to win the Mizuno Classic for her LPGA Tour-leading fourth title of the year, birdieing the final three holes for an 8-under 64 and a one-stroke victory over South Korea’s Bo-mee Lee.
14-year-old gets Masters invite
BANGKOK — Guan Tianlang won the Asia-Pacific Championship, making the 14-year-old Chinese star the youngest player ever to qualify for the Masters. Guan easily surpasses the mark set by Italy’s Matteo Manassero, who was about to turn 17 when he played in 2010.