Rod Pampling – file photo
Queensland’s Rod Pampling has added a PGA Tour Champions victory to his three PGA Tour titles with a final round of 66 at the Boeing Classic in Snoqualmie south of Seattle in Washington State.
Pampling’s one shot victory over Tim Herron, Billy Mayfair and Jim Furyk earned the 51 year old US$315,000 and completes a run of events where he has recorded three top tens in his last four events.
Pampling’s earnings for the combined 2020/2021 season are now close to US$1.5 million and he has moved to 11th place in the standings on the PGA Tour Champions for the season.
Immediately after his victory and before his closest challengers were finished, Pampling was asked how he felt about the day and his prospects of winning.
“It was good. I hit everything good, felt in control most of the time. You know, it’s golf, sometimes it works out. And hopefully no one else will do any other birdies and I’ll at least have a chance still in a playoff.”
He needn’t have worried as although several tried no one was able to catch him and he would add this title to the International, the Arnold Palmer Invitational and the Shriners Hospitals for Children titles he won on the PGA Tour.
Pampling made the best possible start to his final round as he set out after the leader Woody Austin with an eagle birdie start. On a low scoring day, he maintained the momentum until the turn and although he would bogey the 10th and 16th holes he added three other birdies and had done enough to hold off late challenges from several players.
New Zealand’s Steve Alker, playing in his very first PGA Tour Champions event after turning 50 last month, made an excellent debut when finishing 7th to earn US$64,000. Alker’s final 9 of 32 swept him into a top ten finish to get his Champions Tour career underway provided of course he can earn his playing rights there over the next few months.
Of the other Australians in the field David McKenzie was 26th, Robert Allenby 56th, John Senden 61st and Stephen Leaney 67th.
