Thomson Wins by One After Watching 4-Shot Lead Vanish in Stretch

With five holes remaining Sunday at MountainGate Country Club in the $250,000 Carta Blanca Seniors Tournament, Peter Thomson held a four-stroke lead.

Before he could start counting his money, Thomson lost sole possession of the lead.

The 55-year-old Australian had to sink a five-foot par putt on the last hole to break a tie with fast-closing Don January and win the tournament with an 11-under-par 205.

Thomson had predicted before the tournament started that it would take 12 under par to win.

He was right at 12-under through 49 holes in the 54-hole tournament. But, in the next four holes he lost four shots. January, who had been having putting troubles all day, made birdies on 14, 16 and 17 and Thomson three-putted 15.

January sank a 15-foot downhill putt on the 17th to pull even with Thomson. It was just about the only putt of any distance he sank all day.

As they teed off on the 381-yard 18th, they were even. So were their drives on the hole that goes sharply uphill to a green guarded by traps on both sides.

Both hit 6-iron second shots into the trap on the left. January, though, had a tougher shot. He had a downhill lie back in the trap, Thomson had a normal sand shot, the kind the pros usually get up and down. January’s shot landed to the left of the pin and rolled some 11 feet beyond. Thomson’s landed five feet short.

January missed to the right. Thomson studied his closely, then knocked it into the cup to win first prize of $37,500. The putt was worth $13,500 to Thomson, who swept the Southern California seniors’ tournaments. Two weeks ago he won the Vintage at Palm Springs.

It took Thomson, who came out of retirement to try his hand with the seniors, 39 tournaments and more than two years, to win his first event. He has now won four of the last eight he has entered and is two for three this season.

He said this was golf’s fun tour, but after blowing his big lead, he admitted he wasn’t having a lot of fun the final hour.

“No matter how many times you tell yourself that you mustn’t become cautious when you’re leading, it doesn’t do any good,” Thomson said. “You could even be hypnotized and it works the same way. The leader gets cautious and the challenger becomes aggressive. This was a prime example.

“The most strain is on the leader. Just ask January. He led in Florida and lost.

“I felt pretty good only when I saw what a tough sand shot Don had. His was so tough, it figured he would have a tough putt for a par. I would really have been disappointed if I had not made my par from the lie I had.”

January was not available for comment, but actually, he was fortunate he was only one stroke behind. He earned $24,000 to become the fourth Senior to pass $2 million in earnings on the combined tours (Seniors and PGA).

On the fifth hole, a 496-yard par-5, January pulled his tee shot some 30 feet up the mountainside in high grass. For club members, that is out of bounds. For this tournament, it was playable if you could find the ball. January found his after a thorough search. He made a fine shot into the fairway, then followed with a magnificent wood shot to the green. He sank his putt for a birdie. Instead of a two-stroke penalty and at least a bogey, he maintained his position three shots behind Thomson, the leader.

Thomson, playing in the threesome with January and Jim Ferree, was outhit by both of them all day. On the first hole, which is a dogleg off a high hill and measures 340 yards, Ferree cut the corner. His shot landed just over a trap on the left side and just missed going into the hole for an ace on a par-4. Ferree, only 5-foot-9 and weighing 165, started the day five strokes back. He missed an eight-foot putt on the first hole for his eagle and finally faded to a 75 to finish at 214.

On the eighth hole, January outhit Thomson by 60 yards, but both wound up with birdies.

Gene Littler, a favorite with the crowd of 12,960 that attended the final round, missed his chance to win the tournament when he shot a 74 on the opening round. Littler finished with two 67s to wind up third at 208.

Thomson put together rounds of 70-64-71, whereas January was a model of consistency, shooting 69-68-69.

MountainGate, which will hold the event again next spring, proved tough for the seniors. Only eight golfers finished under par for the three days. In addition to the top three and Ferree, Billy Casper (211), Paul Harney and Art Silvestrone (both 212) and Miller Barber (214) broke par. Barber had a 67 Sunday, Casper a 70 and Harney had a 69. Silvestrone had a 71.

Charles Owens, who tied for the first-round lead, soared to a 76 on the final round to finish at 218, two over par. Owens, who had to qualify to get into the field, earned $4,550.