Mike Weir ready to take on Champions Tour as 50th birthday approaches
As far as Mike Weir is concerned, 50 is the new 20.
The Canadian golfing legend will reach his half-century mark on Tuesday and qualify to join the PGA Tour Champions, the senior circuit for professional men’s golf. Although the date of the next tournament is still up in the air thanks to restrictions because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Weir is ready for a new beginning in his career.
“The interesting thing about professional golf is that you look forward to your 50th birthday instead of dreading it,” said Weir. “I’ve been looking forward to this for quite a while.”
Weir, from Brights Grove, Ont., had eight wins on the top-tier PGA Tour including at the prestigious Masters in 2003, making him the only Canadian man to win one of golf’s majors.
His last win, however, was 2007’s Fry’s Electronics Open, and Weir has been targetting a move to players closer to his age for some time.
“Just because you turn 50 and you’ve had success on the PGA Tour that doesn’t mean it’s going to translate to the Champions Tour,” said Weir. “You have to really put the work in and be ready to go and that’s what I’ve really tried to concentrate on here for quite a while now, especially the last year I’ve really dialled in a lot of stuff with my game.”
Although Weir is eager to transition to the senior circuit, he still wants to make some occasional PGA Tour appearances.
He has a lifetime exemption for the Masters thanks to his 2003 win, and a sponsor’s exemption for the RBC Canadian Open will likely always be available to him.
But the Canadian Open has been cancelled this summer because of the restrictions put in place during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Similarly, Weir has committed to playing in the Champions Tour’s Shaw Charity Classic in Calgary at the end of August, but the city has cancelled all of its event permits up to Aug. 31.
“The next couple of weeks we’re focusing on working with our municipal and provincial government partners, Shaw Communications and of course the PGA Tour to outline what our options might be,” said Sean Van Kesteren, the executive director of the event. “We can’t say with certainty that the 2020 Shaw Charity Classic is going to happen or not, but we will update the community as soon as we can.”
Weir continues to play golf regularly at courses near his home in Utah, where clubs haven’t been closed by the pandemic. Although he still has a strong work ethic, Weir has learned to listen to his body and take some time off when aches and pains catch up with him, as they did last week.
“I just took a week off and I didn’t swing it, or hit a putt, or take a chip,” said Weir, who was suffering from some lower back pain. “I did a lot of stretching and yoga, just taking my dog on a hike, and just trying to keep moving but it’s not that explosive golf movement.”
Canadian Golf Hall of Famer Stephen Ames adapting on the Champions Tour
Stephen Ames is learning how to adapt on the Champions Tour.
The Canadian Golf Hall of Fame member finished second at last weekend’s Morocco Champions, rocketing to fourth on the Charles Schwab Cup standings after his first tournament of the season. In his fifth year on the senior circuit, Ames says he’s learned the importance of being adaptable.
“I think it’s the fact that our bodies change as we progress as human beings,” Ames said from Florida. “At a younger age, we’re a little more supple, so we’ve got a lot more flexibility and as you get older things change in that respect.
“Some of us sometimes go through playing golf with pain. So they make they make adjustments in their swing for that pain that they’ve had.”
American Brett Quigley won the Morocco Champions at 15-under 201, a shot better than Ames.
The 55-year-old Ames says that taking more than two months off between the 2019 and 2020 seasons was beneficial for his game. He also started working with Montreal-based golf coach Shauheen Nakhjavani, exchanging videos by email.
“If you want to continue being competitive, especially at this age, you have to be in the gym and working out and doing all those things. So that’s what I’m doing,” Ames said. “I’m just sticking to that same routine. I love the guys that are out here but they don’t go to the gym and it shows because they don’t hit it as far.
“They’ve got a bigger midsection, all those kind of things. So the adjustments in the swing change because your body has changed.”
Ames joined the Champions Tour in 2015 and won the 2017 Mistubishi Electric Classic. His career high Schwab Cup rank is 13th, but this season he hopes to stay in the top 10 all year.
“I’d like to win a couple times and would love for one to be a major. That’d be nice,” Ames said. “It’s a long year. Certain courses are for certain horses. That golf course last week was nice. There are certain courses and certain events that I do really enjoy playing and there’s some that I have to learn to adjust to, obviously.”
The next Champions Tour event is the Chubb Classic at Lely Resort in Naples, Fla., starting Feb. 14. Ames tied for sixth at the event last year, two shots behind winner Miguel Angel Jimenez.
Stephen Ames settles for runner-up finish at Morocco Champions
MARRAKECH, Morocco – Brett Quigley won the Morocco Champions in his second PGA Tour Champions start, saving par on the final two holes Saturday to hold off Calgary’s Stephen Ames by a stroke.
The 50-year-old Quigley won a PGA Tour-sanctioned event for the first time since taking the 2001 Arkansas Classic for his second victory on what is now the Korn Ferry Tour.
“It’s been so long since I won a tournament,” Quigley said. “Just incredible. It’s weird, I had a peace all week, I was pretty comfortable all week. I wouldn’t say I was nervous until the last hole here on my second putt, but just felt comfortable and just felt comfortable here in Marrakesh.”
Quigley got into the field for the senior tour’s first African event as one of the top 10 available players from the PGA Tour’s career money list. He had five runner-up finishes in 408 starts on the PGA Tour, earning more than $11 million.
Three strokes behind Ames entering the day, Quigley shot his second straight 6-under 66 to finish at 15-under 201 at Samanah Golf Club. Ames, the leader after each of the first two days, had a 70.
Ames birdied the par-5 16th and par-3 17th to pull within one, with Quigley saving par on 17 with a 5-footer. Ames got up-and-down for par from off the right side of the green on the par-4 18th, making a 7-foot putt, and Quigley ran in a 6-footer for the victory.
“I was able to get myself back into the hunt, make it a little bit more exciting coming down at the end there and I think that’s good for me inside,” Ames said. “I didn’t give up, I kept trying, I grinded the round out. I still got 70 out of it even though I had four bogeys today. At the end of the day I didn’t win, but I finished second. It’s a good start to the year for me. I’m very happy.”
Quigley, the nephew of 11-time PGA Tour Champions winner Dana Quigley, tied for 64th in Calgary, Alberta, in September in his first senior tournament. The Rhode Island player made a PGA Tour start last year and played seven Korn Ferry Tour events.
“I think it helped not having been playing too much the last few years,” Quigley said. “I had a lot of years off. I had a leg problem, I had three fractured vertebrae, so I’ve been home for almost seven years raising girls. I think a different perspective.”
Quigley saved par on the par-4 13th with a 20-footer to maintain a one-stroke lead over Ames, then made a 40-footer for birdie from the front of the green on the par-3 14th, with the ball banging into flag stick and falling in. Ames bogeyed the hole to give Quigley a three-stroke lead. Both players bogeyed the par-4 15th.
Quigley played a six-hole stretch on the front nine in 5 under – making an eagle on the par-5 fifth and three birdies – and also birdied the par-4 11th.
“Got off to a good start. Then it’s funny,” Quigley said, “I missed a short one on eight for birdie and then I started thinking about score, thinking about the tournament, just kind of got a little bit in my own way. Somehow hit some good shots coming in and made some big putts.”
Doug Barron (68) and Scott Parel (69) tied for third at 11 under. Bernhard Langer (71), Woody Austin (66) and Jose Maria Olazabal (71) were 10 under.
Stephen Ames shoots 69 for 3 shot lead in Morocco Champions
MARRAKECH, Morocco – Calgary’s Stephen Ames shot a 3-under 69 on Friday to take a three-stroke lead into the final round of the PGA Tour Champions’ Morocco Champions.
Ames had a 12-under 132 total at Samanah Golf Club in the senior tour’s first event in Africa.. He matched the course record with a 63 on Thursday for a four-stroke lead.
“Not a bad day. I played nice today,” Ames said. “Wasn’t as much wind as yesterday on the back nine, but I think overall the pins were tucked a little bit more, obviously. But overall I think the golf course played very fair and the setup of the golf course by the officials was nicely done.”
The 55-year-old naturalized Canadian citizen from Trinidad won the season-opening Mitsubishi Electric in 2017 for his lone senior title. He won four times on the PGA Tour.
“Anytime you have a chance to win against the field that we have here this week, yeah, it’s a nice opportunity,” Ames said. “I’m going to take it as it comes, learn from it and hopefully everything comes out the way I expect it to be.”
Three birdies over 4 holes ??@StephenAmesPGA is staying ?? pic.twitter.com/NjFYsdV8HR
— Golf Canada (@GolfCanada) January 31, 2020
Hall of Famers Bernhard Langer and Jose Maria Olazabal were tied for second with Brett Quigley. Langer and Olazabal each shot 68, with Olazabal making a hole-in-one with a 3-iron on the 208-yard 17th hole.
“The breeze was hurting a little bit, so I decided to hit a 3-iron with a little fade,” Olazabal said. “When I struck it, it looked good. When the ball bounced on the green the first time, it was pretty much online with the flag. I kept on looking at the ball and the ball looked like it was rolling straight towards the hole. At one time the ball disappeared and that was it.”
Quigley, making his second Champions start, had a 66.
Defending Charles Schwab Cup champion Scott McCarron shot 65 to get to 8 under. He birdied three of his last five holes.
“I putted probably the worst I’ve putted in about a year yesterday and figured it out a little bit last night on the putting green,” McCarron said. “I putted nicely today, kept the ball in play, and 7 under’s a pretty good score.”
Colin Mongomerie, Rod Pampling and Scott Parel also were 8 under. Montgomerie had a 69, and Pampling and Parel shot 68.
Stephen Ames takes PGA Tour Champions lead in Morocco
MARRAKECH, Morocco – Stephen Ames shot a 9-under 63 on Thursday to take a four-stroke lead over a Hall of Fame quartet in the Morocco Champions, the first PGA Tour Champions event in Africa.
Making his season debut, Ames matched the Samanah Golf Club record set by Daniel Brooks in the 2009 Samanah Masters. The 55-year-old naturalized Canadian citizen from Trinidad played the four par-5 holes in 5 under, making an eagle on No. 5 and birdies on Nos. 9, 12 and 18.
“Today was a great day,” Ames said. “I hit the ball very nicely and capitalized with my putting. … The main thing I worked on all week was putting and I putted extremely well today.”
Canada’s @StephenAmesPGA is FEELING it! ?
He shot 9 under today to lead by 4 ?? pic.twitter.com/zV2xWNXYQR
— Golf Canada (@GolfCanada) January 30, 2020
Ames has one senior victory after winning four times on the PGA Tour.
Bernhard Langer, Colin Montgomerie, Jose Maria Olazabal and Retief Goosen shot 67 in sunny conditions with an afternoon high of 77 degrees.
Kevin Sutherland was at 68 with Tom Pernice Jr., Ken Tanigawa, Scott Parel and Rod Pampling.
Miguel Angel Jimenez, coming off a playoff victory two weeks ago in the season-opening Mitsubishi Electric in Hawaii, shot 70.
Canadians raise over $14M at 2019 Champions Tour event
CALGARY—Canadians made a major mark on the 2019 edition of the Shaw Charity Classic by chipping in to raise a record $14,071,188 for 200 youth-based charities across Alberta.
The seventh-straight record-setting donation for any event on the PGA TOUR Champions now brings the award-winning tournament’s fundraising totals to more than $48 million since it first teed off in Calgary in 2013.
“It is an absolute thrill for me to look back on another record-setting year and realize this spectacular tournament continues to have a tremendous impact on our youth, which was the core goal in bringing the event to Calgary,” said Jim Riddell, who was determined to build on his late father Clay’s legacy of ensuring the Shaw Charity Classic continues to have a positive impact on Alberta youth when he took over as Tournament Chairman last fall.
“I firmly believe it takes an entire community to build a successful international event of this magnitude, so this accomplishment should be celebrated by everyone – from the more than 1,400 volunteers, to our generous corporate community, friends in the media, and all of the great citizens of this amazing city who came down to Canyon Meadows this summer. Each of you have made Calgary one of the top stops on the PGA TOUR Champions, and for that, I thank you.”
With the tournament’s charitable spirit rooted in the generous leadership of its corporate partners of the Shaw Birdies for Kids presented by AltaLink program, the record donation in 2019 will have a positive impact on thousands of youth representing 200 charities that includes the areas of sports, arts, health, development and counselling.
“The Shaw Charity Classic has become a powerful example of what can be accomplished when family, charity, and community rally together for a common cause,” said Brad Shaw, CEO, Shaw Communications. “Over the past seven years, we have seen the Calgary community support this tournament in ways we never could have imagined, and we are exceptionally grateful for their continued enthusiasm and generosity as we continue to grow the Shaw Charity Classic to help more kids and their families.”
The Shaw Birdies for Kids presented by AltaLink program, which ramped up the tournament’s charitable giving arm when it was created in 2015, welcomed donations from Canadians in all corners of the country.
“In the five years since we helped launch the Shaw Birdies for Kids Presented by AltaLink program, we have been overwhelmed by the generosity of Albertans in supporting hundreds of children’s charities throughout our province,” said Scott Thon, AltaLink President & CEO. “The incredible growth of Birdies for Kids means that more kids are getting the assistance they need for a bright future. We know that supporting kids today leads to a great community and province tomorrow.”
The records didn’t stop with the financial side of the tournament in 2019. A star-studded field of PGA TOUR Champions players highlighted by six World Golf Hall of Fame members including: Bernhard Langer, Davis Love III, Retief Goosen, Colin Montgomerie, Mark O’Meara and Vijay Singh put on a stellar show in 2019. In the end, it was Wes Short Jr. who sported the winner’s white Smithbilt Cowboy Hat after holding off two-time defending champion, Scott McCarron. Short had luck on his side when his ball took a favourable bounce off a rock in the water hazard on the final hole to land on the green. Short went on to two-putt for his second PGA TOUR Champions title.
Another highlight in 2019 was the inaugural Super Saturday at the Shaw Charity Classic, presented by Freedom Mobile which featured a live concert experience with country music artist, Chad Brownlee, on the 10th fairway. The concert took centre stage following a nine-hole Celebrity Shootout where Brownlee battled with NHL and CFL greats, along with many of Canada’s Olympic best for $40,000 in charity prize money. Each participant received $1,000 for their charity of their choice in the Shaw Birdies for Kids presented by AltaLink initiative.
NHL Hall-of-Fame goaltender, Grant Fuhr, took the top prize in the golf exhibition, earning an additional $15,000 for Children’s Wish Foundation. Olympic alpine ski champion, Kerrin Lee-Gartner, locked up second place and $7,000 for Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame. Olympic curling champion, Ben Hebert, won $5,000 for KidSport Calgary thanks to his third-place finish.
The award-winning golf tournament will return to Calgary through to 2022.
Maggert wins tournament, McCarron wins Schwab Cup
PHOENIX – Jeff Maggert holed out from 123 yards for eagle on the third playoff hole Sunday to win the Charles Schwab Cup Championship and hand Scott McCarron the season points title on the PGA Tour Champions.
Two holes earlier, Retief Goosen missed a 4-foot birdie putt that would have given him the tournament and the Charles Schwab Cup.
Instead, the South African could only watch from the fairway as Maggert’s shot on the par-4 17th landed in front of the pin, bounced once and dropped for a stunning conclusion to the season. Maggert threw both hands up in the air to celebrate.
“I’ve seen it happen. I never, ever thought it would happen to me,” Maggert said about his game-winner.
No one was happier than McCarron, who has led the Charles Schwab Cup since April but did not contend in any of the three post-season events. McCarron tied for 27th in the final event at Phoenix Country Club, opening the door for others to claim the $1 million bonus.
Bernhard Langer got in the mix for another title with a hole-in-one on the eighth hole, only for his putter to go cold. Goosen, No. 5 in the standings, was poised to capture the cup when he birdied three of his last four holes for a 7-under 64 to finish at 21-under 263.
Maggert, who started the final round with a one-shot lead, pulled his drive into the trees on the par-5 18th and had to lay up. He hit wedge to 8 feet and made the birdie putt for a 66 to force the playoff.
Canadian Stephen Ames finished in sole possession of 12th place with a score of 13 under par.
PGA TOUR Champions announces 2020 schedule
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Florida – PGA TOUR Champions announced today the 2020 tournament schedule, featuring 27 events and culminating with the fifth annual Charles Schwab Cup Playoffs. The Tour will contest tournaments in four foreign countries and 18 states, with total prize money of nearly $59 million.
“We are excited to announce the 2020 PGA TOUR Champions schedule as we continue to focus on building a tremendous tournament product for our players, partners and fans,” said PGA TOUR Champions President Miller Brady. “Our Tour benefits greatly from the numerous legends who compete each week, as well as the ‘rookies’ who make their debuts, and 2020 will be an incredible year for both.”
The 2020 season will mark the first year of PGA TOUR Champions eligibility for a number of the game’s biggest names. World Golf Hall of Fame member Ernie Els celebrated his 50th birthday on October 17, while 17-time PGA TOUR winner and 2010 FedExCup Champion Jim Furyk, 2003 Masters champion Mike Weir, 2011 PLAYERS Champion K.J. Choi and World Golf Hall of Fame member Phil Mickelson will all turn 50 in the next 12 months.
“I am looking forward to my first start on PGA TOUR Champions in January at the Mitsubishi Electric Championship in Hawaii,” said Els. “It will be great to reconnect with all of my friends I grew up competing with, and I know the camaraderie and competition will provide a lot of excitement for our fans.”
The 2020 season will begin with Els’ debut at the Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai the week of January 13-18 (Saturday finish), where Tom Lehman will be the defending champion.
PGA TOUR Champions will welcome two new events to the annual schedule next year, including the Morocco Champions (Jan. 27 – Feb. 1) at Samanah Golf Club in Marrakech, Morocco, as well as the Ascension Charity Classic (Sept. 28 – Oct. 4) at Norwood Hills Country Club in St. Louis.
The Shaw Charity Classic will be held in Calgary, Alta., from Aug. 24-30 at Canyon Meadows Golf & Country Club.
The Charles Schwab Cup Playoffs will once again provide an exciting end to the season. The Boca Raton Championship – which has been contested at The Old Course at Broken Sound Club in Boca Raton, Florida, since 2007 – moves from its traditional February date into the second Playoffs event slot.
The Boca Raton Championship will be preceded by the fifth annual Dominion Energy Charity Classic in Richmond, Virginia, with the Charles Schwab Cup Championship returning to Phoenix Country Club for a fourth year to finish out the Playoffs.
| DATE | CHARLES SCHWAB CUP PLAYOFFS | HOST COURSE | LOCATION |
| Oct. 12-18 | Dominion Energy Charity Classic | The Country Club of Virginia (James River) | Richmond, Va. |
| Oct. 26-1 | Boca Raton Championship | The Old Course at Broken Sound Club | Boca Raton, Fla. |
| Nov. 2-8 | Charles Schwab Cup Championship | Phoenix Country Club | Phoenix, Ariz. |
Since 2001, the Charles Schwab Cup has been awarded to the winner of a season-long, points-based competition. Bernhard Langer is a five-time winner of the Cup, while Jay Haas, Hale Irwin, Tom Lehman, Loren Roberts and Tom Watson have each won twice.
The schedule of five major championships starts in May with the Regions Tradition in Birmingham, Alabama, where 12-time PGA TOUR winner and 2017 Presidents Cup U.S. Team Captain Steve Stricker will be the defending champion at Greystone Golf & Country Club.
The KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship returns to Harbor Shores Golf Club in Michigan the week of May 19-24, while the U.S. Senior Open will make its first trip to historic Newport Country Club in Newport, Rhode Island, the week of June 22-28. Newport C.C., which was founded in 1893, hosted the first U.S. Open and U.S. Amateur in 1895, as well as the 1995 U.S. Amateur (won by Tiger Woods) and the 2006 U.S. Women’s Open.
The senior major season will conclude in July with the Bridgestone SENIOR PLAYERS Championship returning to Firestone Country Club’s South Course in Akron, Ohio, for a second straight year, and The Senior Open Championship presented by Rolex being contested at Sunningdale Golf Club in England for the third time in tournament history.
The Tour’s lone Challenge Season event will be the PNC Father Son Challenge, which will return to the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club in Orlando, Florida, the week of December 14-20.
PGA TOUR Champions tournament programming is available via TV linear partners in 170+ countries and territories across more than 270 million potential households, with 28 channels carrying long-form and/or highlights coverage, and live coverage distributed in 130+ countries and territories across 65 million potential households. Programming is also available via the OTT platform GOLFTV powered by PGA TOUR in every market outside of the US, excluding China and Korea, with live coverage distributed in 120+ countries and territories.
The complete 2020 schedule for PGA TOUR Champions can be found at PGATOUR.com.
Wes Short Jr. birdies final hole to win Shaw Charity Classic
CALGARY – Wes Short Jr. took full advantage of a fortunate bounce.
Short made a short birdie putt on the final hole to win the Shaw Charity Classic by one stroke on Sunday.
His second shot on the par 5, 18th hole at Canyon Meadows Golf and Country Club just cleared the water before bouncing off a rock and onto the green.
“I caught a little bit of a thin three wood and pushed it a little bit,” Short said. “I thought it might have been over, but it hit a rock and kicked up on the green. It was a really good break.”
After his eagle attempt came up short, he tapped in a three-foot putt for a final-round 4-under 66 and a a 13-under 267 total – just ahead of two-time defending champion Scott McCarron.
“It probably looked five, six feet and I was sure glad it went in,” Short said. “All the hard work you put into this stupid game comes to the top.”
Short’s final round included six birdies and two bogeys to give the 55-year-old golfer from Austin, Texas, just his second-ever PGA Tour Champions victory. His last one was also in Canada at the 2014 Quebec Championship.
“Maybe I need to move here,” he joked.
The start of the final round of the three-day event was delayed by 30 minutes due to thick fog and golfers also had to battle chilly conditions at Canyon Meadows Golf and Country Club until it warmed up in the afternoon.
McCarron rolled in a 39-foot putt for eagle on the 18th hole to card a round of 5-under 65, which pulled him into a tie for the lead with Short and Tom Gillis at 12 under.
“It was going a little faster than I wanted, kind of banged the stick and went in,” McCarron said. “Just to do that to have a chance was really cool, but I shouldn’t have put myself in that position to begin with.”
The Charles Schwab Cup points leader then watched as Short made his clutch birdie, while Gillis fell back into fourth at 10 under with a double bogey on the last hole.
“Wes obviously got a great break on 18, hit the rocks in the hazard and bounced on the green and birdied it to win the tournament,” said McCarron, who had bogeys on 16 and 17 before his eagle on the final hole. “Sometimes those things happen when you win. He got the good breaks and I made a few bad swings with poor timing, unfortunately.”
Second-round leader Steve Flesch shot 69 to fall back into third at 11 under.
“I wanted to play aggressively and I drove it great and I ironed it okay on the front, but I just didn’t make any putts today,” Flesch said.
Joe Durant, Billy Andrade and Tom Byrum finished in a tie for fifth at 9 under.
Canadian Golf Hall of Fame member and former Calgary resident Stephen Ames had a 69 to finish in a tie for 29th with six others at 3 under.
“Besides freezing, it was really good,” said Ames, who recently relocated from Vancouver to Turks and Caicos. “When you don’t play as often in the cold weather, I tend to struggle a little bit with it. That’s always been my nemesis is cold weather.”
Stephen Ames closes Chubb Classic with share of 6th
NAPLES, Fla. – Miguel Angel Jimenez won the Chubb Classic on Sunday for his seventh PGA Tour Champions title, beating Bernhard Langer and Olin Browne with a 5-foot par putt on the first hole of a playoff.
Jimenez closed with a 5-under 66 at The Classics at Lely Resort to match Langer and Browne at 13-under 200.
“I’m working hard and I practice and go to the gym, apart from smoking and drinking,” Jimenez said. “This is what I love to do. I love to play golf. To me, competing is my life. I go to any competition, I want to win. I working for that.”
Jimenez has won in each of his six seasons on the 50-and-over tour. The 55-year-old Spaniard won the major Regions Tradition and Senior British Open last season.
“It’s the beginning of the season,” Jimenez said. “We are on the third tournament of the season and all the season in front of us. This is gives you the energy and the confidence coming up.”
Langer shot 68, and Browne had a double bogey on the par-4 18th in regulation for a 66.
“I didn’t hit a very good tee shot in regulation and I had a lot of club in,” Browne said. “I was in between and I thought there was more wind, and frankly I hit a poor shot, but I ended up in a horrible situation.”
The 61-year-old Langer, the Oasis Championship winner last week near his home in Boca Raton, won the event in 2011, 2013 and 2016.
“Played some good golf, hung in there,” Langer said. “It wasn’t meant to be.”
Kevin Sutherland and Woody Austin each shot 69 to finish a shot out of the playoff.
Stephen Ames, tied for the second-round lead with Ken Tanigawa and Glen Day, had a 71 to tie for sixth at 11 under with Tom Lehman (65), Sandy Lyle (68), Retief Goosen (69) and Colin Montgomerie (70).
Tanigawa and Day each shot 72 to finish at 10 under. Steve Stricker (70) also was at 10 under.