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GOLF: PGA TOUR: Notes: Haas accomplishes rare feat on Champions Tour

/noticias.info/ Jay Haas became the fourth player and the first since Tom Watson in 2003 to claim both the Arnold Palmer Award as the Champions Tour’s leading money winner as well as the Charles Schwab Cup. The other dual winners were Allen Doyle (2001), Hale Irwin (2002) and Watson.

• Jay Haas’ 20-point margin of victory over Loren Roberts in the year-long Charles Schwab Cup race made it the closest race in the six-year history of the competition. The closest previous race was in 2004 when Hale Irwin nipped Craig Stadler by 39 points.

• Loren Roberts set a new Champions Tour record when he became the first player to win his first three starts of the season.

• Hale Irwin saw two record streaks come to an end this year when he failed to win a tournament for the first time in his career, a stretch of 11 seasons, and he also failed to reach the $1 million mark in season earnings ($808,144), ending that streak at 10.

• Gil Morgan tied Irwin’s streak for consecutive $1-million seasons at 10 when he reached that figure by earning $11,890 at the U.S. Senior Open in July. Morgan has surpassed the $1-million mark every year since 1997, his first full season on Tour.

• Gil Morgan’s final two rounds of 63-62 -- 125 (19-under-par) at the MasterCard Championship at Hualalai, set a new Champions Tour record in relation to par.

• Loren Roberts tied the all-time Champions Tour numerical record and set a new mark in relation to par when he shot a 25-under-par 191 to win the MasterCard Championship at Hualalai.

• In 2006, 13 of 28 tournaments were won by the leader/co-leader going into the final round. In 2005, the numbers were 11 of 28, and in 2004 they were 14 of 30.

• Loren Roberts matched Hale Irwin’s mark when he reached the $1- million plateau in his eighth start in 2006. Roberts went over the $1-million mark when he was T3 at The Boeing Championship at Sandestin. Irwin had set the record in 1998 at the Bruno’s Memorial Classic when he finished second.

• Tom Kite earned a rare distinction last year when he made two eagles on par 4s in the opening round of the season-ending Charles Schwab Cup Championship. Kite made birdies on Nos. 9 and 11, and it marked the first time that had happened in a Champions Tour event since Larry Ziegler did so in the final round of the 1999 Nationwide Championship near Atlanta. Kite then added a third eagle on a par 4 in the next round when he made one at No. 11.

• Bruce Summerhays ended the year with a streak of playing in 147 straight events for which he’s been eligible. That is the longest current streak on the Champions Tour.

• Consistency was Loren Roberts’ calling card in 2006. In 21 appearances on the Champions Tour, Roberts failed to finish in the top 10 on just three occasions. He was T14 at the JELD-WEN Tradition, T16 at the Administaff Small Business Classic and T57 at the Greater Kansas City Golf Classic. Of his 67 rounds, 52 were under par (78 percent) and 40 were in the 60s (60 percent). Roberts finished the year with a 2006 Champions Tour-best streak of 14 sub-par rounds, which he’ll carry over to 2007.

• Dana Quigley, Allen Doyle and Bob Gilder all successfully defended titles in 2006. Quigley won at the Greater Kansas City Golf Classic, the third win of his career in the Kansas City area. Doyle prevailed at the U.S. Senior Open, making him the third player in history to defend at the event. Gary Player (1987-88) and Miller Barber (1984-85) also earned that distinction. Gilder won the final Constellation Energy Classic near Baltimore for his ninth career win.

• Jay Haas and Loren Roberts led the Champions Tour in victories in 2006 with four, and each won a major championship in a playoff. Haas won the Senior PGA Championship over Brad Bryant in May, while Roberts defeated Eduardo Romero in a playoff to capture the Senior British Open in July.

• The Champions Tour welcomed eight first-time winners in 2006. Posting their first victories were the following players: Jerry Pate (Outback Steakhouse Pro-Am), Brad Bryant (Toshiba Classic), John Harris (Commerce Bank Championship), David Edwards (3M Championship), Eduardo Romero (JELD-WEN Tradition), Scott Simpson (Wal-Mart First Tee Open at Pebble Beach), Andy Bean (Greater Hickory Classic at Rock Barn) and Fred Funk (AT&T Championship).

• The five wire-to-wire winners in 2006 were the most in one season since 1999 when there were eight. This year’s winners were Loren Roberts (Turtle Bay Championship), Jay Haas (Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf), Bobby Wadkins (The Boeing Championship at Sandestin), Andy Bean (Greater Hickory Classic at Rock Barn) and Fred Funk (AT&T Championship.)

• Gary Player bettered his age twice and also matched it once during the season. The 70-year-old Player shot an opening-round 69 at the Senior British Open and also shot an opening-round 69 at the Wal-Mart First Tee Open at Pebble Beach. Player also bettered his age in 2004 (shot 66 at age 68 at the Outback Steakhouse Pro-Am) and in 2005 (shot 68 at age 69 at the Bank of America Championship). He also shot a 70 in the first round of the AT&T Championship. In addition to Player’s exploits in 2006, three other players matched their age. Raymond Floyd shot a final-round 63 at the Boeing Championship at Sandestin, Bob Charles fired a 70 in the final round of the U.S. Senior Open and Lee Trevino posted a 66 in the second round of the AT&T Championship.

• Loren Roberts had the most rounds in the 60s in 2006, with 40, followed by Jay Haas, with 38. Gil Morgan led the way in sub-par rounds, with 57, followed by Roberts and Tom Jenkins, with 52.

• Joe Ozaki ran off eight consecutive birdies in the first round of the Ford Senior Players Championship to tie the Champions Tour’s best birdie streak all-time record. He was the fourth player to accomplish that feat, joining Dana Quigley (2005 Bruno’s Memorial Classic), Jim Colbert (2000 TD Waterhouse Championship) and Chi Chi Rodriguez (1987 Silver Pages Classic).

• Loren Roberts also led all players in top-10 finishes with 18, two more than Jay Haas.

• There will be three new events on the Champions Tour calendar in 2007. They include the Allianz Championship in Boca Raton, Fla, The Ginn Championship at Hammock Beach in Palm Coast, Fla. and the Dick’s Sporting Goods Open in Endicott, N.Y. The Old Course at Broken Sound Club will host the Allianz Championship from February 5-11, The Conservatory at Hammock Beach, a Tom Watson-designed course, will host The Ginn Championship at Hammock Beach from March 26-April 1 and the En-Joie Golf Club, home of the PGA TOUR’s B.C. Open from 1973-2005, will host the Dick’s Sporting Goods Open from July 9-15. The Allianz Group sponsored the Allianz Championship in West Des Moines, IA, from 2001-06 before moving its sponsorship to the new event in Florida. The Principal Financial Group has stepped in as the new sponsor of the former Iowa event. The Principal Charity Classic at the Glen Oaks Country Club in West Des Moines, Iowa is slated for June 4-10.

• For the second year in succession, 17 of 28 Champions Tour events were decided by either one stroke or in a playoff. In addition, the same three major championships were decided in playoff (Senior PGA Championship, Senior British Open and JELD-WEN Tradition).

• The oldest winner in 2006 was Dana Quigley at 59 years, 8 months, 10 days, while the youngest winner was David Edwards at 50 years, 3 months, 18 days.

• Brad Bryant and D.A. Weibring each played bogey-free tournaments last year. While Bryant claimed a win at the Regions Charity Classic, Weibring finished T3 at the MasterCard Championship at Hualalai.

• Hale Irwin and Gil Morgan extended streaks when they reached the season-ending Charles Schwab Cup Championship (top-30 money winners only eligible) for the 12th and 10th time, respectively. Those are the best current streaks on the Champions Tour.

• For the second straight year, Walter Hall made a hole-in-one at the U.S. Senior Open. He now has 17 in his career.

• For the second straight year, Bob Gilder was the only player to compete in all 28 events.

• Rocky Thompson reached a milestone in 2006 when he teed it up at the Wal-Mart First Tee Open at Pebble Beach. It was his 500th Champions Tour start, making him just the third player to reach that milestone. Miller Barber and Dale Douglass previously reached that figure.

• Three players ended long victory droughts in PGA TOUR co-sponsored events this year. Jerry Pate earned his first win since the 1982 PLAYERS Championship, Andy Bean his first since the 1986 EDS Byron Nelson Classic and David Edwards his first since the 1993 MCI Heritage.

• Loren Roberts had the lowest percentage of three-putts this year. He three-putted only 19 times in 1,206 holes (1.58%).

• Jay Haas played the Par-3 holes better than anyone else (18-under) while Loren Roberts was the best on Par 4s (55-under) and Bob Gilder the best on Par 5s (124-under).

• Scott Simpson was the top rookie earner with $1,340,676, just ahead of David Edwards who collected $1,191,086. notas_de_prensa_archivo