A 50+ minute podcast with Maverick McNealy talking about his golf career

Enjoy this excellent 50+ minute podcast with Maverick McNearly produced by No Laying Up

Stanford standout, and fresh off his rookie campaign on the Web.com Tour, Maverick McNealy joins to talk about his golf career. From walking on at Stanford, to winning the Haskins Award, and tying Tiger Woods’ and Patrick Rodgers’ Stanford record for wins, to the drama surrounding his decision to turn pro, what he struggled with in 2018, what he learned, and a ton of interesting perspective from a very thoughtful youngster. Hard to believe that Maverick is 22 after listening to this one. Thanks a ton to Mav for the time.

Here's a link to the podcast --- https://nolayingup.com/2018/11/11/nlu-podcast-episode-177-maverick-mcnealy/

Coach Wally Goodwin named to the 2018 Stanford Hall of Fame class joining 8 others

July 2018

STANFORD, Calif. – Eight former student-athletes and one head coach represent the 2018 Stanford Athletics Hall of Fame class.
 
This year's group includes: men's golf coach Wally Goodwin, Kurt Grote from men's swimming, Gabe Jennings from men's track and field, Sara Lowe from synchronized swimming, Erica McLain from women's track and field, Josh Stein from men's gymnastics, Candice Wiggins from women's basketball, Kailee Wong from football, and Felicia Zimmerman from fencing.
 
In addition, long-time groundskeeper Sam McDonald will receive special recognition.
 
The class will be recognized at Stanford's football game against USC on Sept. 8.
 
Wally Goodwin 1987-2000, Men's Golf Coach
 
Goodwin helped revive a struggling program and returned it to national prominence by recruiting Tiger Woods, Christian Cevaer, Notah Begay III, Casey Martin, Joel Kribel, Steve Burdick, William Yanagisawa and current head coach Conrad Ray. Goodwin led the Cardinal to the 1994 NCAA title, its first since 1953, by edging Texas on its home course. Stanford finished second in 1995, losing in a playoff to Oklahoma State. A two-time national Coach of the Year (1992, 1994) and two-time Pac-10 Coach of the Year, Goodwin guided the Cardinal to a pair of conference championships and produced seven All-Americans. Prior to arriving at Stanford, he spent six years as the head golf coach at Northwestern. Following his retirement from Stanford in 2000, Goodwin returned to coaching and started a Division I program at Northern Colorado (2003-07). In 2014, Stanford renamed the annual Stanford Intercollegiate to The Goodwin in his honor. Goodwin and his wife Nancy live in Idaho and have two sons and four grandchildren.


Here's a link to the full 2018 Stanford Hall of Fame Class
Here's a link to video interview of Coach Wally Goodwin

Remembering the great Sandy Tatum

Sandy Tatum at Stanford | A Love Affair With Golf

Stanford legend, Frank (Sandy) Tatum passed away on June 23, 2017 at the age of 96.  Here's a tribute by Tom Watson shared by the USGA on Mr. Tatum's passing.

Dodge Kemmer '09 pro golf adventures in Asia

Stanford golf alum (2009) Dodge Kemmer  shares his globe trotting pro golf adventures on the Asian tours in this report sent to Coach Ray on August 20th:

As far as off-seasons go, this one has been unusually warm.  After playing 11 events from January thru April, the schedule is pretty sparse until September.  I have been able to play a few; two Asian Tour events (Yeangder TPC in Taipei and King's Cup in Pattaya, Thailand) and two ADTs (Tiafong Open in Taiwan, and the Aboitiz Open in Manila).  However, the last few months are shaping up very well. Starting the first week of September, I will play somewhere around 10 more events to conclude the year.  

First up is the Japan Golf Tour qualifying stage 2 (I'm exempt thru stage 1 by virtue of my Asian Tour card) north of Tokyo Sept 5-9. Next I fly to Germany for first stage of European Tour qschool Sept 13-16.  Then there are at least 3 and hopefully 4 Asian Tour events, possibly beginning in Japan (Osaka) the following week at the Asia-Pacific Diamond Cup, and continuing with events in Korea, Indonesia, and Macau, to take us through mid-October. (I'll write with more leaderboard links as we get closer!)

In the previous four events I had moments of brilliance and moments that made me want to bang my head into the nearest tree.  At the Yeangder TPC, I calculated that if I had putted my season average from 4- to 8- feet (67.7%), on admittedly tricky greens, I would have won by 2. As it was, I made a mere 28.6%, and finished in tied-26th, 6 shots behind (71-71-70-70= -6).  I doubt if many or any guys putted well, but I only needed my average! 

The next week at the ADT was notable only for Typhoon Nepartak that blanket the island during round 2.  By some bizarre circumstance, our hotel experienced very little rain and even less wind the entire day, while the rest of the island was getting drenched and blown every which way. I missed the cut and got to go home early (only 1 day though- thanks Nepartak...)

After a couple weeks off, I headed to Thailand for the European Tour co-sanctioned Kings Cup.  The course was short and fun, but after my start of -3 thru 12, I never got anything going. Despite making the cut on the number, the weekend was even more of a struggle, and I finished in tied-70th, skyrocketing me to 272nd place on the Race to Dubai (of 273!).

And most recently, I got to play an event at Wack Wack Country Club in the heart of Metro Manila; easily in my top 5 favorite courses, and my favorite in Asia.  I finished tied-13, and flew back that day. Biggest experience of note was my uber taxi ride from the airport, which was $4.00 for a 50-minute journey.  Of course it was only about 5 miles, and that was considered light traffic!

As I mentioned, next up is Japan, and I leave September 3rd, right after watching The Cardinal put the beatdown of the century on K-state!  :)

Thanks again for all your support and enjoy the last few weeks of summer

Dodge

Stanford Men's Golf Alum, Eri Crum Makes Headlines in Speed Golf

Golf.com recently published an article on Stanford Men's Golf alum and world speed golf champion, Eri Crum.  Eri was a teammate of Tiger and recently began playing speed golf, where he has thrived.  Read the article here.

Patrick Rodgers wins 1st on the Web.com Tour in Colombia. Andrew Yun finishes tied for 3rd.

Photo by Matthew Stockman & Web.com Tour

February 8, 2015 --- article below by Web.com Tour | Tournament Leaderboard

BOGOTA, Colombia – Rookie Patrick Rodgers of Indiana rolled in an eight-foot birdie putt on the second playoff hole to defeat Steve Marino and win the weather-delayed Colombia Championship presented by Claro.

Rodgers, who broke Tiger Woods’ all-time scoring record during three All-American seasons at Stanford, closed regulation play with an all-world birdie at the par-5 18th after hitting his tee shot into a hazard.

“I must have been amped up because that shot doesn’t normally go that far,” said Rodgers. “I had a really awkward stance in there and had to get the ball up quickly and still keep it under the trees.”

Rodgers chipped out sideways and then wedged his third shot to within three feet. He canned the birdie putt for a 6-under 65 that gave him the clubhouse lead at 17-under 269. Marino, the 54-hole leader, made a short birdie putt of his own on the final hole of regulation to force the playoff.

Following a pair of two-putt pars on the first extra hole, Rodgers stuffed a 7-iron from 198 yards inside of 10 feet to put the pressure on Marino, who wound up missing another lengthy birdie putt.

“This is huge,” said Rodgers, who earned the win in only his seventh Tour start. “I’ve already had so many ups and downs in my pro career. To be out here and win so early is a dream come true. I’m really excited for the rest of the season.”

Rodgers collected a check for $144,000 and moved to No. 1 on the Web.com Tour money list two weeks into the season.

The four-day schedule was turned into a game of catch-up thanks to a series of afternoon storms that forced several suspensions of play.

The field of 77 had to finish the third round early Sunday morning and barely had enough time to exhale before heading back out in the same threesomes for the fourth round.

“I didn’t even know if we’d get in 72 holes and that’s a huge credit to the entire tournament staff,” said the 22-year-old winner. “I loved this course from the start. It’s such a great test of golf.”

Rodgers finished off a 5-under 66 early Sunday to close out the third round but trailed Marino by four as he headed back to the first tee.

“I knew that it would be a birdie fest with the greens being soft,” he said. “I just tried to go out with the pedal to the metal and make as many as I could.”

Five birdies in his first 10 holes pushed put Rodgers into contention for the first time all week.

“I had to keep being patient and try to make birdie on every hole,” he said. “I think this course suits my game well. It allows me to put the ball in play and take advantage of my wedge game.”

Sunday’s closing round waited out another suspension in play but more than half the field finished, the tournament was locked in for 72 holes.

“It was a unique experience to be called off the course with three holes to go in the most intense moment of my career,” said Rodgers. “To have all that time to think about it and then to come out and birdie two of the last three is something I’m very proud of.”

Rodgers former Stanford teammate Andrew Yun (65) finished tied for third along with Chase Wright (69), two shots back while Tyler McCumber (69) of Jacksonville, Fla., was solo fifth, four off the pace.

Cameron Wilson, Andrew Yun, David Chung and Patrick Rodgers advance to Final Stage of Web.com Qualifying

Web.com Complete Qualifying Results

Congrats to four Cardinal alums, Cameron Wilson, Andrew Yun, David Chung and Patrick Rodgers, all who have qualified for the Final Stage of Qualifying School for the Web.com tour --- Final Stage qualifying will be held Dec. 11-16 in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida at two PGA National golf courses.

Patrick Rodgers qualified for Final Stage Q-School based on his earnings on the PGA Tour events played in 2014.

Cameron, Andrew and David advanced to the Final Stage by successfully advancing through the first and second stages of qualifying:

First Stage Qualifying:

Cameron Wilson - Pinehurst, NC on the Pinewood CC Oct 21-24, 2014

70-72-70-70 T4th (32 and ties advanced)

Andrew Yun - Maricopa, AZ on the Southern Dunes GC Oct. 7-10, 2014

71-72-65-72 280 5th (31 and ties advanced)

David Chung - David was exempt into the second stage as he played on the PGA Latin America Tour this year and finished 24th on the money list.  This which made him exempt into the second stage of Web.com Tour qualifying. David won just over $25,000 in 13 events with six top-10 finishes on the Latin America Tour.

Second Stage Qualifying:

Cameron Wilson - Brooksville, FL, Nov 11-14, 2014

69-68-67-75 279 T8 (19 and ties advanced)

Andrew Yun - Kingwood, TX, Nov 11-14, 2014

74-70-77-68 289 T4th (18 and ties advanced)

David Chung - Plantation, FL, Nov 18-21, 2014

68-71-71-74 284 T11th (18 and ties advanced)

Now it's on to Final Stage qualifying held Dec. 11-16 in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida at two PGA National golf courses.

Talking with Tatum --- Hall-of-Famer going strong at 94

Read complete article about Hall-of-Famer Sandy Tatum on gostanford.com

View video interviews and Hall-of-Fame background

Talking With Tatum

Courtesy: Mark Soltau
Release: 07/17/2014

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STANFORD, Calif. - Frank “Sandy” Tatum has had a remarkable life and shows few signs of slowing down.

He earned an engineering degree from Stanford in 1942, was a Rhodes Scholar and received his BCL in engineering from Oxford in 1949, where he was the first American to play on the golf team, and graduated from Stanford Law School in 1950.

Last week, Tatum, a retired law partner with Cooley LLC, where he has worked for 64 years, celebrated his 94th birthday by playing golf. He still drives to his Palo Alto office daily to advise clients.

“I have a serious reservation to charging anybody anything for what I do,” he joked this week.

Tatum was a standout golfer at Stanford and qualifies as one of its oldest-living former student-athletes. He helped the school win back-to-back NCAA Championships in 1941 and 1942, winning the individual title in the latter. He calls it his “proudest accomplishment.”

“I played No. 3 on the team and loved it with a passion,” said Tatum, a member of the Stanford Athletics and Bay Area Sports halls of fame. “From somewhere, I got visited and I played better than I knew how. I can remember vividly having finished the final round and having won the event and finally getting to a telephone to call my father, who was my inspiration in so many ways. I barely was able to say, ‘Dad, I won.’ And neither of us could speak for a substantial period of time. To this day, I resonate about it.”

Tatum remained Stanford’s only NCAA individual golf champion until 1996, when Tiger Woods joined the club. This year, left-hander Cameron Wilson became the third member.

“It’s pretty hard for me to describe how it affects me,” said Tatum. “The history involves so many remarkable golfers, such as Lawson Little and several others. Then I was joined by Tiger Woods, and that gave it seriously effective impact. This delightful young guy (Wilson) who has real potential joined us, and that added another feature for me in a very important way.”

Tatum grew up in Los Angeles, and began playing golf at age six. He often caddied for his father, a solid 4-handicapper, at Bel Air Country Club.

“He’d take me out there on Sundays with his group and give me a couple balls and a couple sawed-off hickory shafted clubs and told me to stay out of people’s way and when I got tired to go sit in the car,” Tatum said. “I was in and out of that car maybe a dozen times before he finally came out after his game. I thought it was a swell way to spend a Sunday.”  See more --- Read complete article about Hall-of-Famer Sandy Tatum on gostanford.com

5 former Stanford players are still hoping to make the PGA Tour in 2013

The PGA Tour's Qualifying process has been underway for more than a month and there are now 5 former Stanford golfers still alive with a chance to earn a PGA Tour card for 2013.  A total of 10 Stanford alums began the process.  All the results thus far can be found at the PGA Tours website -- http://www.pgatour.com/qschool/.

The ten players who started the process were Zack Miller, Joseph Bramlett, Alex Aragon, Andrew Yun, David Chung, Steve Ziegler, Jordan Cox, Dodge Kemmer, Sihwan Kim and Joel Kribel.  The results of each players's qualifying efforts thus far can be found below.

All began a difficult process to try to advance to the Final Stage of the PGA Qualifying tournament to be held Nov 28-Dec 3 at the PGA West Nicklaus Course in La Quinta, CA.  At the Final Stage of qualifying, players will be competing for 25 PGA Tour cards with most of the remaining players in the Final Stage field earning some status on the important Web.com tour, the primary stepping stone to PGA Tour play.  Background info on all the Stanford players can be found at http://stanfordmensgolf.com/alumni_list_public.htm.  

 The five who still are competing for PGA Tour and Web.com Tour privileges are Zack Miller, Joseph Bramlett, Alex Aragon, Andrew Yun and Sihwan Kim.

Zack Miller, a 2007 graduate and 2-time All-American, played on this year's PGA Tour and is currently 198th on the money list with $137,112 in winnings.  As a current PGA Tour member, Zack will be exempt until the Final Stage of qualifying at PGA West Nov. 28-Dec 3.

Joseph Bramlett, a 2010 graduate and former 2nd team All-American, competed on the Web.com tour in 2012 after playing on the PGA Tour in 2011.  Joseph just missed earning his PGA Tour card this season, awarded to the top 25 money winners, as he finished 28th on the money list earning $177,973, only about $4,000 behind the cut-off to earn a Tour card.  Because of his high finish, Joseph is exempt until the Final Stage of qualifying at PGA West.

Alex Aragon, a 2001 graduate, also competed on the Web.com tour in 2012 after earning his tour card as Joseph did in 2011.  Alex also missed earning his PGA Tour card this season as he finished 33rd on the money list earning $161.544, about $20,000 behind the cut-off to earn a Tour card.  Because of his high finish, Alex is also exempt until the Final Stage of qualifying at PGA West.

Andrew Yun, a rising senior at Stanford and 2-time All-American, has not played with the team this fall in order to try to qualify and thus far he has had great success.  His process began as Andrew finished 2nd in one of the many newly created pre-qualifying tournaments around the country when he shot 67-72-66 at the PGA West Greg Norman Course in September 19-21 (the low 39 and ties moved on).  Next up for Andrew was first stage qualifying at Oak Valley CC in Beaumont, CA Oct 24-27 where again he finished 2nd with rounds of 69-68-72-70 (low 18 and ties advanced).  Next up will be 2nd stage qualifying in mid-November at one of 6 sites around the country, most likely at Bear Creek CC in Murrieta, CA.

Sihwan Kim, a 2011 graduate and former 1st team All-American, tied for 1st in first stage qualifying at Grasslands CC in Lakeland, Florida, with rounds of 64-65-68-71.  As with Andrew, Sihwan will move to one of the 2nd stage qualifying sites, likely in Florida, in mid-November.

Dodge Kemmer, a 2009 graduate, played in a first stage qualifier in Lewisville, Texas, and missed qualifying by only 1 shot after rounds of 75-77-68-70.  Next year Dodge will likely pursue play in Asia or Europe as he did in 2012 with good success.

Steve Ziegler, a 2011 graduate and 2-time All-American, played in a first stage qualifier in Dayton, Nevada, and missed advancing by only 2 shots after rounds of 67-75-69-74.  Steve will likely pursue on one of the US mini-tours in 2013.

David Chung, a 2012 graduate and 2010 All-American, played in a first stage qualifier at Florence, South Carolina, and missed advancing by 4 shots after rounds of 68-70-71-72.  David will be pursuing his professional career in 2013 on a mini-tour in a location to be determined.

Joel Kribel, a 1999 graduate and 4-time All-American, played in a first stage qualifier at San Juan Oaks, California, and missed advancing by 6 shots after rounds of 74-70-67-73.  Joel, living in the Scottsdale area, will likely be pursuing his professional career in 2013 on a mini-tour in a location to be determined.

Jordan Cox, a 2010, played in a first stage qualifier at Madison, Mississippi, and missed advancing by 8 shots after rounds of 69-71-72-72.  Jordan will likely be pursuing his professional career in 2013 on a mini-tour in a location to be determined.

Donald Kennedy, member of the 1939 national championship team passes at 93

 

 A member of the 1939 Stanford national championship golf team, Donald P. Kennedy, passed away recently at the age of 93. Kennedy graduated from Stanford in 1940 and went on to a long and successful business career.  The following press release was from First American Financial, a major corporation that Kennedy built into a large company.  Here's a link to the history of Stanford golfers from 1930 to today where you will find info about his late 1930s teammates.  Here's a timeline with photos and comments from those who knew him provided by First American.

SANTA ANA, Calif., March 26, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- First American Financial Corporation (NYSE: FAF - News), a leading global provider of title insurance and settlement services for real estate transactions, today announced that its Chairman Emeritus Donald P. Kennedy passed away on March 24 at the age of 93.

During his career with First American, Kennedy helped to lead the company's extraordinary growth from a one-office firm in Santa Ana into a global FORTUNE® 500 company and helped introduce many of the technological innovations that transformed the title insurance industry. (Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120326/LA76912)

"It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Don Kennedy," said Dennis J. Gilmore, chief executive officer for First American. "Don was a true visionary and a man of tremendous integrity who was admired by all those who knew him. While we will greatly miss his wise counsel and quick wit, he leaves behind a legacy of creativity and innovation that will always remain with our company." When Kennedy began leading First American's expansion efforts in 1957, the company's revenues were less than $1.5 million. By 2006, they exceeded $8 billion. In a spin-off transaction completed in 2010, First American's data businesses became a separate company known as CoreLogic. First American and CoreLogic are now traded on the New York Stock Exchange.

 The grandson of First American's founder, C.E. Parker, Kennedy served First American for more than 60 years. He is credited with beginning the company's expansion efforts in 1957 with the acquisition of title companies outside the Santa Ana area. Kennedy's strategy of allowing the leadership of each First American office to operate as if it was its own company played a key role in driving this expansion and the company's profitability. First American continued to grow in later decades through international expansion and through the addition of other businesses whose products and services were involved in the real estate transaction process. In 1985, the company began developing and acquiring extensive databases of real property information, and offered products and services using this data. Parker S. Kennedy, First American's chairman and Donald Kennedy's son, stated, "When Dad started with First American, the company had one office in one county and now it has hundreds of offices throughout the world. He saw the opportunity for growth and worked tirelessly to create a great company. I couldn't have asked for a better dad and the company couldn't have had a better leader." Donald Kennedy, whose family roots in Orange County date to 1873, attended Santa Ana High School and graduated from Stanford University in 1940.

After serving in the Navy during World War II, where he took part in the landings in Southern France, he graduated from the University of Southern California School of Law. Kennedy joined First American in 1948, when it was known as Orange County Title Company. After passing the bar exam in 1949, he served as the company's associate counsel for three years, then was appointed vice president of First American in 1951, executive vice president in 1958, president in 1963, and chairman of the board in 1993. He was named chairman emeritus in 2003, a title he maintained after retiring from the board of directors in 2008. Kennedy also served as vice chairman of First American's principal subsidiary, First American Title Insurance Company. He consistently went to his office at First American's Santa Ana campus until he was 90 years old. Kennedy has left an indelible mark not only on First American, but also on the title insurance industry, helping to usher in many of the advancements and practices that are commonplace today. Among his many professional affiliations, Kennedy served as president of both the California Land Title Association and the American Land Title Association, and chaired numerous committees in both organizations.

A lifelong philanthropist, Kennedy's extensive involvement in community affairs included support of dozens of organizations focused on Orange County and Santa Ana. A past chairman of the Orange County Business Committee for the Arts, Kennedy also served on the boards of South Coast Repertory and the Bowers Museum of Cultural Art, among others. When serving on the board at Bowers, he was instrumental in negotiating the museum's partnerships with the Smithsonian Institution and the British Museum. His support for the museum's north wing, which was named the Dorothy and Donald Kennedy Wing in 2007, tripled the size of its exhibit space.

He served on the board of trustees for Chapman University and was a member of Stanford University's Athletic Board, as well. Kennedy also provided key support for the creation of the Chapman University School of Law and was recognized in 1999 with the dedication of the Donald P. Kennedy Hall, a state-of-the-art teaching facility and home of the university's school of law. That same year he was named "Man of the Century" by Orange Coast Magazine. An avid life-long golfer, Kennedy scored his first hole-in-one in 1930 at the age of 12, and went on to score eight more over the next seven decades. Kennedy was a member of Stanford University's 1939 NCAA championship golf team and also was an active member of the Santa Ana Country Club for most of his life. When elected as the club's president in 1952, he was the youngest person to have served in that capacity.

Kennedy is survived by his wife of 65 years, Dorothy; his son, Parker S. Kennedy; two daughters, Elizabeth Myers and Amy Healey; six grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren. For more information on Kennedy's life, please visit www.firstam.com.

Tom Watson ('72) wins the Senior PGA Championship at age 61

PGA.com - Tom Watson chipping to hole 5.

Tom Watson ('72) became the second oldest player to win a major championship after his win in the Senior PGA Championship at age 61.  An excellent summary of the tournament, copied below, is available at the PGA website --- http://www.pga.com/seniorpga/2011/news/gamer-052911.cfm.  Video highlights of the championship can be found here --- http://www.pga.com/seniorpga/2011/multimedia/video/#.  Here is the video interview of the awards ceremony ---http://www.pga.com/seniorpga/2011/multimedia/video/#.

By T.J. Auclair, PGA.com Interactive Producer

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- The late Jock Hutchison was the oldest player to ever win a major championship when he claimed the 1947 Senior PGA Championship at age 62.

On Sunday, 61-year-old Tom Watson became the second oldest to accomplish the feat when he deftly poured in a 3-foot birdie putt on the first hole of a sudden-death playoff against David Eger at a scorching hot and steamy Valhalla Golf Club to win the 72nd Senior PGA Championship presented by KitchenAid.

Watson shot a 2-under 70 in the final round – to deadlock Eger at 10-under-par 278 – and was the only player in the field with all four rounds under par (70-70-68-70).  He earned $360,000 for the win and took home the Alfred S. Bourne Trophy.

"When you're walking up the 18th hole and you have a chance to win a tournament like this, you're nervous," Watson said. "You're nervous. But you've been there before. And I said, 'okay, I know that level of feeling in my gut and now let's go take care of business.'"

Eger, a four-time winner on the Champions Tour, recorded the best round of the day Sunday, a 5-under 67.

Starting the final frame four off the lead, Eger figured he had no chance and felt 12 or 13 under would be the number required to win or get in a playoff.

“I was very shocked,” he said. “I didn't look at a board on the front nine. And when I parred 12, I looked at the board and said, ‘whoa, you know, there it is.’ And I parred 13 and 14 and birdied 15 and looked at the board again and said, ‘oh, all right.’ 

"And I just wanted to stay in the moment and hit the shots one at a time, as the old saying goes, and there's nothing more true in golf than stay within the moment and hit one shot at a time," he added. "Don't get ahead of yourself.  Don't start memorizing a speech walking up the 18th hole, even with a two-stroke lead.”

Kiyoshi Murota finished alone in third, one shot out of the playoff, and Hale Irwin – who was bidding to become the oldest major champ of all time at 65 (he turns 66 on Friday) – finished in fourth at 8 under.

Murota shot an even-par 72 in the final round with an incredibly colorful scorecard that included six bogeys, six birdies and six pars.

“I played my Murota golf to the best of my ability,” he said. “However, my putting had left something to be desired. Putting on Sunday is extra hard.”

Irwin suffered a double bogey and bogey back-to-back at Nos. 6 and 7 to drop back to 7 under. Another bogey at 12 pretty much knocked him out of the tournament, but he did manage birdies on Nos. 14 and 17 to finish up with a 1-over 73.

Defending champion Tom Lehman tied for 22nd at even-par 288.

Up until this week, Watson had been in a bit of a slump. He had played just two individual Champions Tour events in the last two months, resulting in a tie for 56th and a tie for 32nd. While he was home practicing in Kansas City last week, he said nothing was clicking. Then, just before he arrived at Valhalla, he said he was able to flip a switch.

Suddenly, he was hitting the ball much better. Although he missed a short putt on No. 18 in regulation that could have avoided a playoff, Watson said he made a lot of key putts this week too. When the driver, the irons and the putter are all on, there's a winning formula.

Crucial putts in the final round dropped frequently on the back nine -- a 10-footer for birdie at No. 10 to get to 9 under; a 5-footer to save par at No. 13; and a 23-footer for birdie from the fringe on No. 15.  

At No. 18 in regulation, Watson’s second shot sailed over the green, leaving a difficult chip from the rough that he executed beautifully, but wasn't able to connect on the par putt. Looking back, that miscue helped him when it was time for the playoff.

"No. 18 gave me a little bit of understanding about how not to play the hole in the playoff," he said. "Don't go over. Being in the bunker was the right place to be. And my second shot in the playoff hole, frankly, I was just trying to hit the ball as high as I could and if it got lucky and hit the front edge of the green and stayed on, fine.  But if it went in the bunker, it is just where I wanted to be. 

"It ended up in the bunker in a perfect lie, an uphill, slightly uphill bunker shot, and hard sand, and I made a good bunker shot out there and didn't take very much time on the putt just one practice stroke and said, let's get this over with. And I made a pretty decent stroke and the ball went in and that was the tournament."

Eger found the left rough off the tee in the playoff, was forced to lay up and then just barely missed his birdie try from about 10 feet.

"I'm pleased," Eger said. "I went out there and played a good solid round of golf, I did make a bogey late in the round which kind of leaves a bad taste in my mouth, but then I came back and birdied 17, I just failed to birdie 18 both times I played it. So that's it."

The win was the 14th of Watson’s Champion’s Tour career, his sixth senior major and second Senior PGA Championship (2001). The 10 years between Senior PGA Championship victories ties Watson with Hutchison for longest span between victories in Championship history.

This latest victory was the first for Watson since he won the season-opening Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai in 2010.

“I'm thinking to myself I'm saying, ‘how do I do this?’” Watson said about being able to win into his 60s. “And I guess that I just ... every day I say about my mom and dad, ‘thank you, mom and dad, for giving me the genes to be able to play injury free. And the talent that you put into me.’ 

"My dad put a lot of passion into me as far as the game and work ethic. And my mom, she could give you that look. And I just, I look at this, it makes you want to go out and play more.”

In his days on the PGA Tour, Watson racked up an amazing 39 wins, including eight majors – five Open Championships, two Masters Tournaments and one U.S. Open. Despite his tireless efforts, the best Watson could muster in his attempt to complete the career grand slam with a PGA Championship win was a second-place showing in 1978.

While it wasn’t the same as winning the PGA Championship, Watson felt he at least picked up a morsel of vindication with his 2001 Senior PGA Championship triumph.

Now, he has two of those.

“I would have liked to have won the real PGA Championship, but this is a great substitute for it, sure,” he said.