Confidence vaults Purtzer to the top

Bryce Alderton

When he woke up Sunday morning, Tom Purtzer realized something.

Despite shooting an even-par 71 in the second round of the Toshiba

Senior Classic after shooting the round of his career a day earlier,

he was still in the lead.

He just decided to go with it.

Purtzer did and with a little prayer, regained his confidence to

shoot a final-round 67 Sunday to edge Morris Hatalsky by a stroke at

Newport Beach Country Club.

With the win, Purtzer (15-under-par 198) became the first player

since Bob Murphy in 1997 to win the tournament with a round greater

than 70.

Purtzer shot a tournament-record 60 in Friday’s first round and

held on for his second PGA Champions Tour victory.

“I felt bad yesterday because I had a great opportunity to put

myself ahead of the rest of the field,” Purtzer said. “I let a whole

bunch of guys back into the tournament. I wasn’t upset, just down on

myself a bit. My final thought was I was still tied for the

tournament lead and felt I could play and hit some good shots.”

Purtzer followed through on those thoughts to produce several key

shots Sunday.

He hit a 7 iron from the left rough onto the green on the 437-yard

par-four 16th and sank a 30-foot birdie putt.

He saved par on the par-four 14th when he threaded a pitching

wedge around a tree to within two feet of the hole and made the

subsequent par putt.

Purtzer had eight one putts and finished with 27 Sunday compared

to 34 Saturday. He carded 25 putts in his record-setting first round.

“I trusted [my putter],” Purtzer said. “My prayer was, ‘Thy will

be done.’ Morris told me that after the third hole. It is more a

matter of trusting things.”

It also helped being paired with Hatalsky and fourth-place

finisher Keith Fergus (12-under 201), Purtzer said.

“That is the best deal on the Champions Tour,” Purtzer said. “You

are not trying to beat each other’s brains in. Most guys are pulling

for other guys. We are all trying to win, but there is more

camaraderie than there is on the [PGA] Tour.”

By contrast, Hatalsky wasn’t confident with his swing throughout

the back nine, which he said caused several wayward iron shots.

“I made loose swings, tight swings and didn’t release the club,

and it cost me with bogeys on [Nos. 14 and 16],” Hatalsky said. “In

order to put pressure on someone who is leading, you have got to

stick the ball next to the pin.”

Purtzer, who has five PGA Tour wins to his credit, led the field

of 78 in greens in regulation, hitting 45 of 54 (83.3%) for three

rounds.

Purtzer’s first Champions Tour victory came at the 2003 SBC

Classic at Valencia Country Club, but the circumstances were a bit

different.

“At SBC, I was trying to get second by myself,” said Purtzer, who

eagled the final hole after heading into 18 two strokes behind Gil

Morgan. “It was a lot more fun to play the back nine [Sunday]. But

you are never sure until that last putt goes in. We’ve all seen

horror stories of how things could go and you hope you are not one of

them.”

Purtzer came to the par-five 18th tee with a two-shot lead over

Hatalsky, but his drive found the left rough and he punched out and

finished with a two-putt par. John Jacobs, a five-time Champions Tour

winner, finished third, two strokes behind Purtzer.

Both are long hitters, but Jacobs managed pars both par fives on

the back nine, while Purtzer birdied 15.

“It was nerve-wracking [on the 18th tee],” Purtzer said. “I didn’t

think [Jacobs] had birdied because I didn’t hear a roar.

“We all know you need to hit in every fairway as the day goes

along. There are tricky tee shots on holes. You can’t get up and bomb

away,” he said.

Purtzer averaged 290 yards off the tee and hit eight of 14

fairways to become the fourth tournament winner in the last five

years to claim the title after leading or sharing the second-round

lead.

“Each time you have success, it backs up the feeling you have of

yourself inside,” Purtzer said. “Until you have some success and the

results you want to see, it is just smoke.” Purtzer has four top-10

finishes in six Champions Tour events this season and becomes the

seventh different winner this year.

“I feel better each week and it is the first time I have felt that

way,” said Purtzer, who lives in Green Valley, Ariz., and has eight

children.

He maintained that attitude even when the heat was on.

“It is not often you shoot 71 and are still tied for the lead

after two rounds,” Purtzer said. “I trusted my swing.”

* BRYCE ALDERTON covers sports. He can be reached at (949)

574-4222 or by e-mail at [email protected].