NAPLES, Fla. – Ken Tanigawa had six back-nine birdies in a 5-under 66 for a share of the Chubb Classic lead Saturday with Glen Day and Stephen Ames.

Tanigawa rebounded from bogeys on Nos. 8 and 9 with birdies on Nos. 10-12, 14, 15 and 17 at The Classics at Lely Resort.

“I never felt all that comfortable early on and it kind of showed,” Tanigawa said. “I kind of hung in there, then I made those two bogeys on 8 and 9, which was easy to do. I made a nice putt on 10 to make a birdie and just tried to stay patient and plug away. I started hitting better shots and making some putts and got some momentum my way.”

He won the PURE Insurance Championship in September at Pebble Beach for his lone PGA Tour Champions title.

Day birdied the final two holes for a 66.

“I made a double on th–e front nine,” Day said. “Other than that, everything was real solid. You’re going to get a lot of birdie opportunities out here, so you’ve got to stay patient.”

Ames, tied for the first-round lead with Sandy Lyle after a then-course record 63, had a 68 to keep a share of the top spot at 11-under 131.

“I’m quite happy to be in the position I’m in,” Ames said. “Tomorrow’s another day.”

Kevin Sutherland broke the day-old course record with a 62, birdieing six of his first eight holes in a round that started on No. 10.

Canadian @StephenAmesPGA is your co-leader heading into Sunday at the @ChubbClassic ?????? pic.twitter.com/gn6Unmdbng

— Golf Canada (@GolfCanada) February 17, 2019

“I hit it better than I did yesterday and got in a rhythm early and I putted well,” Sutherland said. “I made all the putts I needed to make and made a couple that probably were a gift.”

Sutherland was a stroke back with Bernhard Langer (64), Colin Montgomerie (63), Woody Austin (65), Tom Byrum (65), Dan Olsen (67) and Kent Jones (67).

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.

Tour newcomer Retief Goosen (65) and Steve Stricker (66) topped the group at 9 under.

“I’ve been giving myself some opportunities around here the first couple of days and just not getting it in there, not knocking ’em in,” Stricker said. “I’ll hit good putts, a lot of misreads. I’ll hit a few bad putts. I’m just struggling on getting it in the hole.”

Lyle followed his opening 63 with a 71 to drop into a tie for 15th at 8 under. Jay Haas also was 8 under, shooting a 70 a day after the 65-year-old player bettered his age with a 64.

CALGARY—Standing high atop the city’s skyline at the Calgary Tower, the Shaw Charity Classic announced it has shattered its own fundraising record for a sixth straight year on the PGA TOUR Champions with a $12,357,863 donation that will be shared amongst 182 youth-based charities in Alberta.

Smashing its target of hitting the $10 million mark for 2018, the sizeable donation now brings the award-winning tournament’s fundraising totals to more than $34 million since its inception on the senior professional golf circuit in 2013.

“This donation is nothing short of remarkable. Year-after-year our tournament has broken records for charitable giving on the PGA TOUR Champions, and we have done it again in 2018,” said Jim Riddell, who will continue to build on his father, Clay’s legacy, ensuring the Shaw Charity Classic continues to have a positive impact on Alberta youth.

“Achieving these substantial fundraising goals is simply not possible without the shared passion we have with our incredible corporate partners for watching the greatest names in golf come to Calgary, and a commitment to helping the children in our province. I know we will continue to have a tremendous impact on the lives of Alberta youth through the continued support of this program.”

To support the growth of the Shaw Charity Classic’s fundraising efforts, the tournament’s title sponsor, Shaw Communications, also signed on this year as the title sponsor for the Shaw Birdies for Kids presented by AltaLink program. Shaw kicked off this year’s fundraising by donating $1 million to the charitable giving program, which will benefit over 180 charities across Alberta.

“The Shaw Charity Classic has given us a meaningful opportunity to connect to the city we love and support the people and organizations who work to make our communities a better place, every day,” said Brad Shaw, CEO, Shaw Communications. “Through the support and dedication of the partners, fans and volunteers who help to ensure the success of the tournament, this year’s event will have a significant impact on the lives of hundreds-of-thousands of kids and youth from across our province.”

With the tournament’s charitable spirit rooted in the generous leadership of Shaw Communications and AltaLink, the record donation in 2018 will have a positive impact on more than 500,000 youth representing over 180 charities in the areas of sports, arts, health, development and counselling. The program welcomed donations from more than 3,127 Canadians in all corners of the country.

“Every year I am amazed at how the Birdies for Kids participating charities come together with donors across our country to improve the lives of hundreds of thousands of kids, and this year is no different,” said Scott Thon, President and CEO of AltaLink. “Being the presenting sponsor of the Birdies for Kids program is incredibly rewarding, and the good the program does in our community made it easy for us to sign on for another three years earlier this year.”

After partnering with children representing nine of the tournament’s official charities to unveil the 2018 donation, the Shaw Charity Classic announced Jim Riddell as its new tournament chairman. Riddell will build on his father, Clay Riddell’s, vision for bringing the PGA TOUR Champions to his home club at Calgary’s Canyon Meadows. Clay, the driving force behind making the Shaw Charity Classic a reality, passed away in September at the age of 81.

“My father’s vision for bringing professional golf to Calgary was clear – to help the children in our community live a healthier and happier life,” said Jim Riddell. “Working with the patron group, the event team, our corporate partners, and the PGA TOUR, we will continue to expand the unparalleled legacy he has established with this tournament by helping as many kids as we can throughout Alberta.

“I know he would be smiling tonight in celebration of what we achieved together this year. Tomorrow, he would be challenging us to raise the bar and do even better in 2019. Giving back to Alberta through a premier sporting event that benefits the next generation of Albertans is as important to me as it was to my father.”

The 2019 Shaw Charity Classic returns to Canyon Meadows Golf and Country Club, Aug. 28 – Sept. 1.

PHOENIX – Bernhard Langer celebrated his fifth Charles Schwab Cup with his wife and friends, a glass of red wine in his hand.

He might consider sending the best bottle to Vijay Singh.

Both walked away winners Sunday when Singh produced the best round of his PGA Tour Champions career, a 10-under 61 that turned a six-shot deficit into a four-shot victory in the Charles Schwab Cup Championship and allowed Langer to claim another $1 million bonus for the season title.

“At age 61 to do it is quite an achievement,” Langer said, holding a glass of red wine on the balcony at Phoenix Country Club. “Maybe there’s another in me.”

It was the fourth time in the last five years that Langer won the Schwab Cup.

This one was out of his hands when he could only manage a tie for 13th in the tournament. That paved the way for Scott McCarron, who had a one-shot lead going into the final round and needed to win the tournament to capture his first Schwab Cup. McCarron faltered from the start, however, opening with a three-putt par and hitting a tee shot out-of-bounds for double bogey two holes later.

Singh blew by McCarron and everyone else at Phoenix Country Club, winning by four shots over Tim Petrovic.

Needing a big finish to try to catch the surprising leader, McCarron hit over the green into a corporate grandstand behind the 17th hole and made another double bogey. He closed with a 72 and tied for third.

“There’s not really much to say today about the round. It wasn’t very good,” McCarron said. “I couldn’t quite get it going, but I was still hanging in there. I had a good opportunity at 10, just missed it. And I hit a poor tee shot on 11, which cost me a bogey. By then, I looked up and Vijay’s at 21 or whatever he was at that point and it was like almost over.”

Singh holed putts from everywhere and lost track of his score until it was time to sign his card. His 61 was his lowest score by two shots on the 50-and-older circuit.

“I really didn’t think I had any chance,” Singh said.

Singh said he saw a leaderboard around the 13th hole that showed him tied for the lead, and he poured it on. He punched a wedge under the trees to 30 feet and holed the birdie putt on the 16th, rolled in a 25-foot birdie putt on the 17th and was on his way.

Singh finished at 22-under 262 to win by four shots over Petrovic, who started the final round one shot behind McCarron and closed with a 70.

The 55-year-old Fijian won for the third time this year and finished at No. 4 in the Schwab Cup.

“The way they were scoring all week, I thought if I got to 20 (under), I might finish top 5,” Singh said. “I birdied the first two, hit it close at 4. I just kept going. I didn’t think about much. I didn’t even know what we were shooting.”

Singh missed only one green in regulation.

Langer capped off another remarkable year for a 61-year-old German with an ageless game. He only won twice, his fewest since 2015, but was runner-up six times.

“It doesn’t get old,” he said.

Langer was among only six players who had a mathematical chance to win the Schwab Cup. McCarron was the only one who had a chance to win Sunday, and he wound up second in the Schwab Cup, worth a $500,000 bonus.

Wes Short had a 69 and tied for third with McCarron.

“To look at the start of the year, if you would have said, ‘Hey, with nine holes to go, you had a chance to win the Schwab Cup,’ I’d say, let’s go, let’s take it,” McCarron said. “Unfortunately, I’m a little disappointed in the way I performed today.”

After setting the course record on Saturday with a 61, Canadian Stephen Ames slipped three spots into a tie for 5th with a final-round 72 (+1).

PHOENIX – Scott McCarron moved into position to win the PGA Tour Champions’ season points race, birdieing the final two holes Saturday for a one-stroke lead in the Charles Schwab Cup Championship.

McCarron shot a 5-under 66 on another warm and sunny day at Phoenix Country Club. To win the Charles Schwab Cup and a $1 million annuity, McCarron needs to the tournament Sunday and have Bernhard Langer – tied for 19th at 7 under – tie for fourth or worse.

“All I’m trying to do is put myself in position to win this golf tournament,” McCarron said. “Whatever happens with the Schwab Cup, I really can’t control that. That’s up to some other guys.”

The 53-year-old McCarron, fifth in the points standings entering the finale, has eight victories on the 50-and-over tour, winning twice this year. He won three times on the PGA Tour.

“The one thing I’m doing a really good job is I’m not letting the bad shots bother me too much at all this week, which is great,” McCarron said. “Sometimes I’ll let them bother me a little bit.”

Langer had a 66 after shooting two 70s.

“Obviously, I’m out of the running for winning,” Langer said. “So, I’m just trying to sneak up as far as I can and then it’s all up to the other guys, how they finish.”

McCarron had an 18-under 195 total.

Stephen Ames and Tim Petrovic were tied for second.

?COURSE RECORD ?@StephenAmesPGA ??? pic.twitter.com/fuO7wuOHkI

— Golf Canada (@GolfCanada) November 10, 2018

Ames had a 61. He birdied four of the first five holes and closed birdie-par-birdie-eagle.

“I did it with the putter, which is nice because I had a struggle with it this year,” Ames said. “But overall it was fun. I had to look at my score, my scorecard, to actually realize that I needed eagle on the last hole to go to 10 under. So standing over the putt on the 18th, it was a lot more pressure.”

With an eagle on 18, Canada’s @StephenAmesPGA finishes with a 61 to set the course record and take the lead at @SchwabCupFinale ?? pic.twitter.com/jKQha4NE58

— Golf Canada (@GolfCanada) November 10, 2018

Petrovic shot 66.

Second-round leader Paul Goydos had a 69 to drop two strokes back.

“Today was kind of that round as to why I’m not in the running to win the Schwab Cup,” Goydos said.

Season title contender David Toms (65) was at 12 under with Vijay Singh (67), Wes Short Jr. (65), Glen Day (65) and Marco Dawson (67).

Langer and No. 2 Scott Parel (tied for 21st at 6 under after a 68) would take the Cup with a tournament victory, while McCarron, Toms, Miguel Angel Jimenez and Jerry Kelly need a win and help from other players. Kelly (68) was tied for 11th at 10 under, and Jimenez (69) was 32nd in the 35-man field at even par.

PHOENIX – Paul Goydos birdied the par-5 18th for a 6-under 65 and a one-stroke lead in the PGA Tour Champions’ season-ending Charles Schwab Cup Championship.

Tied for the first-round lead with Tim Petrovic after a 63, Goydos had six birdies in the bogey-free round in warm, sunny conditions at Phoenix Country Club.

“I was very, in a sense, for lack of a better word, simple,” Goydos said. “I hit a lot of fairways, hit a lot of greens and I made six putts for birdie. A couple of them short and a couple of nice mid-range ones. I think what I take out of it is I didn’t put a lot of pressure on myself.”

The 54-year-old Goydos won the 2016 event at Desert Mountain. He has five victories on the 50-and-over tour after winning twice on the PGA Tour.

“The weather’s supposed to be good, the scores are going to be good this weekend,” Goydos said. “Should be exciting.”

Scott McCarron, one of six players left in the season-long Charles Schwab Cup points race for a $1 million annuity, was a stroke back at 13 under after a 64. He birdied the final two holes.

“I drove the ball pretty well, hit a lot of fairways, gave myself a lot of opportunities, and then hit it close on 17 and 18,” McCarron said. “Always nice to be able to finish the round hitting it close.”

Petrovic was 12 under after a 67.

“Just a little shaky out of gate,” Petrovic said. “Just kind of chunked a chip on the first hole and three-putted on the second hole. That’s not the way you want to start. … I got myself back into it, for sure.”

Wes Short Jr. had a 63 to match Duffy Waldorf (65) at 9 under. Vijay Singh (67) and Marco Dawson (65) were 8 under, and Cup contender Jerry Kelly (67), Stephen Ames (67) and defending champion Kevin Sutherland (68) were another stroke back.

Points leader Bernhard Langer (70) and No. 2 Scott Parel (69) were tied for 20th at 2 under.

Langer and Parel would take the Cup with a tournament victory, while Miguel Angel Jimenez, Kelly, McCarron and David Toms need a win and help from other players. Langer has won the season-long competition four times, three straight from 2014-16.

Toms was 6 under after a 67, and Jimenez 2 over after a 75.

PHOENIX – Paul Goydos and Tim Petrovic shot 8-under 63 on Thursday to share the lead in the Charles Schwab Cup Championship, leaving points leader Bernhard Langer seven strokes back in the PGA Tour Champions’ season finale.

In sunny, 80-degree conditions at Phoenix Country Club, Langer parred the final nine holes for a 70. The 61-year-old German star opened with a chip-in eagle on the par-5 first, but had two front-nine bogeys.

Goydos also eagled the first and closed with a birdie on the par-5 18th. He won the 2016 event at Desert Mountain.

“The problem you have is the golf course is in perfect condition, the weather’s perfect. It’s going to be hard to keep the scores down,” Goydos said “Eight-under par’s going to finish 15th and 20th maybe, so you need to kind of keep going. And you don’t really kind of worry about too many things until – it’s a cliche – but the back nine on Sunday, you start making decisions.”

Petrovic eagled the 306-yard, par-4 fifth and rebounded from a bogey on the par-4 17th with a birdie on 18.

“A lot of greens, hit a lot of shots in what I call the ‘Petro range,”’ Petrovic said. “These greens are just rolling so good, you get it on line, it’s going to go in.”

Canadian Stephen Ames carded a 3-under-par 68 to share 12th place, five strokes off the lead.

Scott Parel, No. 2 in the standings after winning two weeks ago at Sherwood, made a double bogey on 18 for a 71.

Langer and Parel would take the Cup with a tournament victory, while Miguel Angel Jimenez, Jerry Kelly, Scott McCarron and David Toms would need a win and help from other players. Langer has won the season-long competition four times, three straight from 2014-16. He has two victories this year.

McCarron topped the six contenders for the $1 million annuity, closing with an eagle for a 65.

“I just missed a short putt on 17, so I really wanted to have a chance to make eagle on 18 and I just absolutely killed the driver down there,” McCarron said. “I don’t know how far it was, but I only had 181 yards to the front and just ripped a 6-iron. I wasn’t trying to hit it right of the hole location there, I was trying to hit it a little bit left of it. I pushed it just a tad, but I hit it really hard, so it was good and it came out great, just about 15 feet below the hole.”

Kelly had a 68, and Jimenez and Toms shot 69.

Glen Day shot 66, and defending champion Kevin Sutherland was at 67 with Vijay Singh, Joe Durant, Billy Mayfair, Lee Janzen, Kent Jones and Jeff Maggert.

CALGARY – Scott McCarron did it the hard way, but he successfully defended his Shaw Charity Classic title.

Although McCarron started the final round at Canyon Meadows Golf and Country Club on Sunday in fourth place, he had five birdies in his first 11 holes before thrilling fans with a hole in one on 14 to vault to the top of the leaderboard with a 7-under 63.

“It was just a perfect 9-iron for me (from 148 yards),” said McCarron, whose ace bounced once before going in. “As soon as I hit it, I knew it was going to be good, but I didn’t know how good. Someone told me that it hit once, one-hopped and went right in the hole. That was a huge momentum change right there.”

The 53-year-old golfer from Moorseville, N.C., finished with a birdie on the par 5, 18th hole to end the 54-hole tournament at 15-under 195 to take home the winner’s share of $352,500 U.S. It was the first time this season that a player was able to successfully defend his title, and the first time in six attempts that McCarron was able to accomplish the feat in his PGA Tour Champions career.

It was also McCarron’s fourth come-from-behind victory in his PGA Tour Champions career and second this season after rallying to win the American Family Insurance Championship in June.

“I feel very comfortable just a little behind or in the lead,” he said. “I’ve put myself in that position a lot and I’ve come through a lot. I’ve also failed a lot too. The more times I fail, the more times I learn.

“There’s so many tournaments where I feel like I gave it away, but you’ve got to go all 54 holes out here and to do that you’ve got to play some pretty good golf. You’ve got to control your emotions if you can. I was able to do that pretty well today.”

Second-round leader Joe Durant shot a disappointing round of 67 on Sunday to finish in a three-way tie for second spot with Kirk Triplett and Scott Parel.

“I didn’t feel great hitting it and I kept putting so much pressure on my putting, but eventually I got sloppy,” said Durant, who missed a short putt for par on the 17th hole.

“I didn’t take my time and missed it, lipped it out and made bogey – just a total mental meltdown. When you do stuff like that, you don’t deserve to win a golf tournament.”

Triplett and Durant could have pulled into a tie with McCarron on the final hole, but neither were able to sink lengthy putts.

“I hope Scott remembers Joe and I at Christmastime this year,” said Triplett, who started his round with birdies on his first four holes before cooling off and carding a round of 5-under 65.

“He earned it. He birdied the last hole, but we could have made him work harder.”

Parel had Sunday’s best round of 8-under 62. He just missed an eagle putt on 18 that would have tied the course record of 61 (held by Miguel Angel Jimenez and Fred Couples) and put him in a playoff with McCarron.

“To have a chance, I figure I needed to make that putt,” said Parel, who reeled off six birdies on his back 9. “I hit the ball great today. I’ve been in a good place for the last few weeks and made a few putts on the back nine.”

Jimenez, who finished one shot behind McCarron last year, shot 67 to end up alone in fifth place. Jimenez still sits atop the Charles Schwab Cup money list, while McCarron jumped from fifth spot to second.

“We have so many good players all in the top 10 that if they get hot here in the next few weeks, there’s going to be a lot of guys with a chance coming down to the Schwab Cup finals,” McCarron said.

In his final PGA Tour Champions event, Rod Spittle, of Niagara Falls, Ont., finished as the top Canadian in a six-way tie for 17th spot at 6 under after a round of 1-under 69.

“It’s been a lot of fun,” Spittle said. “I never thought that I could get my golf game back to this level. To come and compete with everybody for the last little while has just been an awful lot of fun.”

Vancouver’s Stephen Ames carded a round of 69 while Calgary’s Steve Blake had a 71 to finish well back of the leaders at 2 over and 8 over, respectively.

CALGARY – Joe Durant eagled the final hole at Canyon Meadows Golf and Country Club to move atop the Shaw Charity Classic leaderboard.

Durant also had six birdies and one bogey on Saturday during his round of 7-under 63 to take the outright lead at 11 under through two rounds of play at the PGA Tour Champions event.

Charles Schwab Cup standings leader Miguel Angel Jimenez shot 66 on Saturday and is just one shot behind Durant at 10 under heading into Sunday’s final round.

First-round co-leader Kirk Triplett is also in the mix at 9 under, while defending champion Scott McCarron is alone in fourth at 8 under.

Esteban Toledo followed up the 66 he shot on Friday with a 67 on Saturday to move into fifth spot at 7 under.

World Golf Hall of Famer Bernhard Langer is tied for sixth place at 6 under in a group that also includes Doug Garwood, Joey Sindelar and Scott Parel.

Langer carded a round of 5-under 65, a day after opening up the tournament with a 69. The German golfer teed off nearly two hours ahead of first-round leaders Triplett and Jimenez.

“It was the coldest I’ve played golf in a long time,” he said about the morning temperature. “It was probably 49, 50 degrees (Fahrenheit) and a 12 mile-an-hour wind out of the north, so it felt a lot colder than that. Guys were bundled up. My caddie looked like he was going to go skiing. He had a face mask on like he’s doing an exhibition in the Antarctic or something like that.”

The 61-year-old Langer is looking to improve upon his showing at the Shaw Charity Classic two years ago when he finished in a tie for second behind Carlos Franco.

“I’m going to be behind, so I’m going to have to come out aggressive and hopefully go low,” he said of his mindset heading into the final round.

Rod Spittle, of Niagara Falls, Ont., carded a round of 1-under 69 and is in a group of five golfers who are tied for 10th spot at 5 under.

Vancouver’s Stephen Ames is well back in a tie for 61st spot at 3 over after shooting 72 on Saturday, while Calgary’s Steve Blake is even further back in a tie for 71st following a round of 7-over 77.

Calgary, Ont. – Canadian Rod Spittle is off to a solid start in his final PGA Tour Champions event.

Spittle shot 4-under 66 in the opening round of the 54-hole Shaw Charity Classic event on Friday, putting him in a tie for third place two shots behind co-leaders Miguel Angel Jimenez and Kirk Triplett.

After bogeying the 17th hole at Canyon Meadows Golf and Country Club, Spittle rolled in a 20-foot birdie putt on the par-5 18th and received a rousing ovation from the fans.

“We had a good spot, it was pretty level,” said the 63-year-old from Niagara Falls, Ont. “You just try to hit the best putt you can, of course, and yeah, it kind of found the bottom. So a really nice way to finish. It sets us up for a great weekend, there’s no doubt about it.”

Prior to the season, Spittle decided to retire after playing an 11-tournament schedule.

“I never really thought it was that big a deal,” he said. “It was just time for us to begin to kind of ride into the sunset and we picked our 11 tournaments and that’s all cool. Obviously we set it up to do it here at home, so that’s all great.”

Jimenez had an up-and-down round with an eagle, seven birdies and three bogeys. He had a chance for eagle on the final hole, but wound up making par.

“It’s a pity to make three putts on the last hole,” said Jimenez, who finished second behind Scott McCarron at last year’s Shaw Charity Classic. “I played very well apart from making three bogeys.”

Triplett had four birdies on his first four holes and three more on the back nine before bogeying the 17th to fall into a tie for the lead with Jimenez.

“The game seemed to be pretty easy for about 14 holes,” Triplett said. “I really struggled the last four holes.”

Esteban Toledo and Joe Durant also finished in a tie for third with Spittle at 4 under. McCarron is in a group of seven golfers at 3 under with Mike Goodes, Scott Parel, Jerry Kelly, Joey Sindelar, Brian Mogg and Gibby Gilbert III.

Calgary’s Steve Blake, who received a sponsor exemption to compete in his hometown event, carded an even-par round of 70 to finish in a tie for 37th place, while Vancouver’s Stephen Ames bogeyed the 18th hole to card a round of 1-over 71.

Canada’s Rod Spittle, 63, is playing in his last professional tournament this week at the Shaw Charity Classic in Calgary.

Spittle, who joined the PGA CHAMPIONS TOUR back in 2005, is playing in his 195th Champions Tour event.

A star on his Ohio State college team alongside PGA TOUR stars John Cook and Joey Sindelar, Spittle doubted his future in professional golf. He instead chose to sell insurance for 25 years.

After winning a couple of Canadian Amateur titles in 1977 and 1078 and keeping his game solid, he took the professional plunge when he turned 50. Since then, he won the 2010 AT&T Championship and had 23 top 10s on tour.

Players paid tribute to Spittle on Twitter in this farewell video put together by the PGA CHAMPIONS TOUR.

You’ll be missed, Rod!

Rod Spittle is retiring after the @ShawClassic. pic.twitter.com/HrEpDgqrsB

— PGA TOUR Champions (@ChampionsTour) August 29, 2018