Winning Is No Mind Field for Purtzer

This time, Tom Purtzer didn’t even think about second place.

The last time Purtzer won a tournament, he was trying to finish second. But in the final round of the Toshiba Senior Classic Sunday at Newport Beach Country Club, winning was all he had in mind.

It proved just as effective. Purtzer made timely birdies at the 15th and 16th holes, fended off rallies by Morris Hatalsky and John Jacobs, shot four-under-par 67 and won with a three-day total of 15 under.

Hatalsky shot 68 in the final round, but made costly bogies at Nos. 14 and 16 and finished a shot behind. Jacobs, one of the tour’s longest hitters, failed to make birdies on the short par-fives in the home stretch and finished third at 13 under.

Last year at the SBC Classic, Purtzer trailed leader Gil Morgan by two on the final hole, but made an unlikely 58-foot putt for eagle and overtook Morgan, who made a bogey. This year, Purtzer opened the tournament with a first-round 60, led by three shots after the 16th hole Sunday and took a two-shot lead to the 18th hole.

“It was definitely a lot more fun playing 18 this year than last year,” Purtzer said. “Last year, I needed to make a birdie on that last hole to get second place by myself, that was kind of my mind-set there. Here I figured if I just got it in the fairway, I would be in pretty good shape.”

It was Purtzer’s second Champions Tour victory. He won $240,000 and moved into second place on the season money list with $499,802.

Purtzer’s solid iron play enabled him to lead the field with 45 of 54 greens in regulation and proved to be the key to victory.

Hatalsky led briefly after Purtzer hit into a bunker and made a bogey on No. 8, but a couple of bad shots down the stretch cost him. Tied for the lead through 13 holes Sunday, Hatalsky missed the green on No. 14 and made a bogey to fall a shot behind.

He missed the green again on No. 16 and made another bogey. Purtzer made a birdie there and opened a three-shot lead. Purtzer three-putted for bogey on the 17th and Hatalsky birdied the 18th, but by then it was too late.

“I just wasn’t swinging the way I needed to that last four or five holes and it cost me the golf tournament, really,” Hatalsky said. “But Tom deserved it, he played very solid golf. There was no way he was going to give it to me. It was a matter of you had to go out there and make some birdies and finish strong and I didn’t do that.”

Jacobs, playing a group ahead, got to within a stroke after a birdie on No. 14, but couldn’t capitalize on the finishing stretch the way he had in the first two rounds.

He closed with five consecutive birdies in the first round, had two birdies and an eagle on the last four holes in the second round but had four consecutive pars to finish Sunday. His second shot on the par-five 15th landed in a greenside bunker and when he didn’t get up and down, he felt like he was out of the tournament.

“I thought I’d win,” Jacobs said. “I woke up this morning and felt like I was going to win the tournament. I felt that way all the way until 15. When I got to 16, looked at the leader board and saw those guys had both birdied 15 and my heart sank a little bit.”

Despite his two-shot lead on the 18th tee, Purtzer wasn’t entirely comfortable. A year ago he came from behind to win in that same situation, so he did not take the victory for granted, especially on a par five.

“It’s still nerve-wracking, I don’t care how many shots your lead is,” he said. “You’re never sure until that last putt goes in. You’ve seen all kinds of horror stories and you just kind of hope you aren’t one of them.”

He hit his tee shot in the rough, but punched out to in front of the green, then chipped up and two-putted. The victory justified his decision to seek advice from swing coach Butch Harmon and also renewed his confidence.

“I feel like I’m going to do better each week now,” he said.