Singh wins season ender while Langer lifts Schwab Cup
Vijay Singh stole the show Sunday, tapping in for par on the 18th hole for a
10-under-par 61 in the last round of the Charles Schwab Cup Championship.
The round of the day gave Singh the PGA Tour Champions tournament victory at 22-under 262 and secured Bernhard Langer’s fourth Charles Schwab Cup victory in five years.
Langer, 61, entered the week at Phoenix Country Club ranked first in the Schwab Cup standings and on the favorable side of numerous points scenarios. A tie for 13th place proved good enough to secure the trophy that eluded him last year, the nature of which resulted in multiple cries for a format change in the season-long race.
The ageless wonder won seven times in 2017, including the first two Schwab Cup Playoff events, but the trophy automatically went to Kevin Sutherland after he won the Cup Championship.
Langer didn’t win at the same clip with just two victories in 2018, but 14
top-10 finishes helped push him to the top of the standings. Scott Parel, Miguel Angel Jimenez and Jerry Kelly were ranked 2-5, respectively, and could have captured the trophy with a victory in Phoenix. Scott McCarron led by one shot entering the final round but shot 1over 72 Sunday, falling to a tie for third.
Singh, 55, made 10 birdies in the bogey-free final round for his third senior victory in 2018, which included his first major win in the Constellation Senior Players Championship.
It’s the fifth career Schwab Cup title for Langer, who was already deep into a glass of red wine with family members and friends while the final pairings finished up on the course. He didn’t look like a man who plans on slowing down.
“I was trying to do the best I could, and I can’t control anybody else,” Langer said. “I’ll most certainly have another go at it (next year), but for the moment we’re just going to celebrate this win and at age 61, to do it, that’s quite an achievement.”
Westwood ends drought:
Lee Westwood saved his best for last to spoil Sergio Garcia’s South African party. The Englishman returned a closing 8-underpar 64 Sunday to win the $7.5 million Nedbank Golf Challenge in Sun City.
The Englishman began the round three shots behind Garcia, who had led from the opening round. However, the 45-year-old was practically flawless in the final round, producing an eagle and six birdies to post a 15-under 273 total to deny Garcia the title by three shots. Garcia finished second at 12 under after a final-round 70. Louis Oosthuizen was a shot further back on 11 under.
Westwood earned his 24th European Tour win and first since the 2014 Maybank Malaysian Championship.
“I’m a bit emotional, to be honest,” he said. “You’re never sure whether you’re going to be able to do it again.”