Kapolei Golf Club (Par/Yards: 72/6,972)—Kapolei, Hawaii—September 14-16, 2012: Willie Wood birdied the final two holes, including a 20-footer at No. 18, to post his second victory in his last three starts on the Champions Tour. Bill Glasson, the 36-hole leader, stumbled on the back nine. Leading by as many as five strokes in his final round, Glasson finished with bogeys on three of his last four holes. After Wood drained his 20-footer at No. 18, Glasson needed to make a 10-footer to get into a playoff, but his putt missed on the right side, handing Wood his second win this year.
Willie Wood earned a first-place check for $270,000 and increased his 2012 earnings to $854,817 which moved him up from 22nd to 14th on the current money list. He also earned 270 points in the season-long Charles Schwab Cup race and is now 18th on that list.
The victory capped a productive three-tournament run for Wood. In addition to his win here, he claimed the Dick’s Sporting Goods Open in a playoff last month over Michael Allen and he was third in his last start at the Boeing Classic near Seattle. In the last three weeks, he has earned $684,000, an average of $228,000 per start.
Willie Wood played all 54 holes without a bogey and became the 14th tournament winner to post a bogey-free victory and the first since David Frost at the 2010 3M Championship. Wood also ran his string of bogey-free holes to 57 dating back to his final three holes at the Boeing Classic.
Bill Glasson’s second-place finish was his best showing in 47 starts on the Champions Tour.
Tom Lehman increased his lead in the season-long Charles Schwab Cup race. With his T4 finish, Lehman picked up 96 points and now leads with 2,139 points, 246 points in front of Bernhard Langer (1,893/did not play). Roger Chapman is third with 1,756 points followed by Michael Allen with 1,531 points. Fred Couples remains fifth with 1,530 points.
Mark O’Meara finished T8 for his fourth consecutive top-10 finish since returning from a rib injury which sidelined him for an extended period in the spring and into the summer. The last time O’Meara had four consecutive top-10 finishes was early in the 2007 season. O’Meara is now 38th on the 2012 money list with three full-field events remaining.
As an alternate for the upcoming SAS Championship, Dick Mast earned a berth into that event thanks to his top-10 finish. Mast was T6 and earned $68,400.
With four events remaining, there are a number of players battling for some of the remaining half dozen or so spots available for the season-ending championship in Scottsdale, Ariz., from Oct. 29-Nov. 4. A year ago, the player in the No. 30 spot had earned $552,390 heading into the season finale. So far, through 20 events, 24 players have surpassed that figure. Below is a rundown on the players in positions 25-35.
Mike Reid’s streak of consecutive holes without a three-putt ended at 189 when he three-putted No. 17 (he started on No. 10).
Kirk Triplett had the tournament’s best comeback. After opening with a 6-over-par 78 in his opening round, Triplett was a combined 14-under-par on the weekend on the strength of consecutive 65s which helped him come back from a T76 on Friday to a T12 finish.
Larry Mize’s T6 finish helped vault him into the top 30. He was 31st coming into the event, but moved up three places to 28th after earning $68,400.
Rick Fehr finished T59 in his Champions Tour debut. After opening with a 70, he shot a pair of 2-over-par 74s on the weekend.
The scoring average dropped from 71.240 (-.760) in the second round to 71.087 (-.913) on Sunday. A total of 23 players posted round in the 60s compared to 20 on Saturday and there were 53 sub-par rounds compared to 45 in the second round.
Hole No. 13 was the most difficult for the event with an average score of 4.186 (+.186). There were just 23 birdies in the three rounds. While No. 13 was the hardest, No. 17 was the easiest with an average score of 4.413 (-.587). There were seven eagles and 137, six more than on No. 14 which was the second easiest hole.
World Golf Hall of Famer Isao Aoki, a former Hawaiian Open winner, withdrew prior to his round with a hip injury.
Weather: A mix of sun and clouds with highs in the low-to-mid 80s. Winds from the ENE at 10-15 mph with occasional higher gusts.
Final Leaderboard:
1. Willie Wood 202/-14
2. Bill Glasson 203/-13
3. Peter Senior 204/-12
T4. David Frost 205/-11
Tom Lehman 205/-11
T6. Larry Mize 206/-10
Dick Mast 206/-10
