Ace gives defending champ winning hand in final round
McCarron roars back to become first two-time winner of Shaw Charity Classic
The defending champion had an ace up his sleeve.
During Sunday’s final round at the 2018 Shaw Charity Classic, it turned out to be the difference.
Scott McCarron rocketed into a tie for top spot on the leaderboard with a hole-in-one on No. 14 and ultimately scratched out a one-stroke victory to repeat as winner of Calgary’s annual senior shootout at Canyon Meadows Golf & Country Club.
“That was a huge momentum change right there,” McCarron said. “Before that, it was like, ‘Let’s just keep plugging away and see what happens.’ But then as soon as I made that hole-in-one, it was like, ‘We have a chance now.’”
McCarron is the first two-time winner of the Shaw Charity Classic and also the first of the divot-digging stars to successfully defend a title this season on the PGA Tour Champions circuit.
The 53-year-old closed Sunday with a superb spin of 7-under 63, signing for a three-round tab of 15-under 195.
That was one shot better than Joe Durant, Scott Parel and Kirk Triplett, who split the runner-up honours at 14-under.
“I can’t believe this happened again,” McCarron beamed during Sunday’s trophy presentation at Canyon Meadows. “I guess I have to pinch myself.”
The pinch-me moment came on No. 14.
McCarron was trailing Durant by three strokes when he arrived at that shortie, measuring 156 yards to a tricky pin position in the backright portion of the green.
He picked a perfect line with his 9-iron, with his lucky Titleist hopping once and then finding the bottom of the cup.
Moments after hearing that roar, Durant settled for a bogey on No. 13.
Suddenly, they were sharing the top slot on the leaderboard.
It was a bit of roller-coaster ride from McCarron for the next four holes — a pair of bogeys, a pair of birdies.
The other contenders, though, had their own hiccups.
Durant bogeyed three of his last six assignments. He currently owns the best putting average on the seniors’ tour but missed a par attempt from gimme range on No. 17, later telling reporters it was a “total mental meltdown.”
Needing a birdie on No. 18 to force a playoff, Triplett’s drive strayed right, spoiling any hopes of reaching the dance floor in two on the par-5 finisher. The backbreaker was his approach, which stopped on the front fringe.
“For me, it ended up coming down to No. 18 and I just didn’t play the hole very well — poor teeshot, poor second and even worse third, so I’m pretty disappointed,” Triplett said. “I hope Scott remembers Joe and I at Christmastime this year, because I feel like we kind of ...
“He earned it. He birdied the last hole, but we could have made him work harder.”
McCarron, now an eight-time winner among the 50-and-over crowd, is US$352,000 richer after Sunday’s repeat feat.
And that doesn’t include a bit of bonus money from his birdieseeking buddies.
“We have a hole-in-one club,” Durant revealed. “So that’s going to be another $100 out of my pocket.”
McCarron might want to use that cash to buy something nice for his better half. When a reporter asked about his career hole-in-one total, he cracked: “That’s 15 now. So I’m 15 ahead of my wife, Jenny.”
Or perhaps, he should buy something nice for his dad, Barry.
McCarron striped the ball all week but was frustrated with his putter. He even switched his righthand grip during Saturday’s second round and then made another adjustment after a back-and-forth text conversation with his proud father.
“He said, ‘Great round,’ and I said, ‘Well, if I had you putting for me, we’d be winning this thing by five,’” McCarron said. “He started thinking about putting, he went out and hit some putts before dinner and he says, ‘You know what? I moved the ball up in my stance a little bit, and I started putting it pretty well.’
“For whatever reason, I came to the golf course with that in mind. ‘Maybe I’ve been trying to put the ball too far back, let’s put it up just a bit and see how that feels.’ I got on the practice green and put the ball up in my stance a little bit and started hitting putts and started rolling it really well.
“I didn’t want to tell my caddie that I was going to put the ball up in my stance and also changing my grip, because he’ll think I’m nuts. But it worked really well (Sunday), I hit some great putts.” Except on No. 14, of course. He didn’t need his putter there, and that turned out to be the difference.
CHIP SHOTS
Canada’s Rod Spittle retired from the PGA Tour Champions circuit after Sunday’s final round in Calgary. The 63-year-old from St.
Catharines, Ont., fired a 1-under 69 in his last lap and received a standing ovation on No. 18, with playing partners Darren Clarke and Gibby Gilbert III slowing down so he’d be alone in the spotlight on the stroll toward the green. After he drained a par putt, Billy Mayfair was waiting with a retirement gift — a bag of potato chips. “(Clarke) was teasing me on the first couple holes — you know, ‘What are you going to do? Where are you going?’ ” Spittle said with a grin. “I said, ‘I’m going home to sit on the couch and watch you play Champions Tour golf for the next 10 years.’ I think that’s OK, without a doubt.” At T-17, Spittle was the top Canadian on the leaderboard at Canyon Meadows … Fresh off a victory last week in Seattle, Scott Parel provided Sunday ’s low round with a superb spin of 8-under 62. That’s one shy of the course record at Canyon Meadows. Fred Couples and Miguel Angel Jimenez share that mark at 9-under 61 … The stars combined for 92 birdies and six eagles this week on the Par5 finisher, racking up $123,000 for Shaw’s Birdies for Charity. During the trophy presentation, Brad Shaw — the CEO for the title sponsor — announced they would round that number up to $150,000.