Padraig Harrington kept his hopes of winning the PGA Tour Champions Charles Schwab Cup alive when he claimed his third win of the season in the Simmons Bank Championship in Arkansas.
After carding rounds of 67 and 65 to share the 36-hole lead with New Zealander Steven Alker on 12-under, the 53-year-old Irishman birdied the last for a five-under 67 and a two-shot win over South Korea’s YE Yang on 17-under-par.
It was Harrington’s ninth win in 48 starts on the PGA Tour Champions and crucial for his hopes of winning the season-long points race at the Charles Schwab Cup Championship, which is being held in Phoenix from November 7-10.
The three-time major winner went into the penultimate event in Little Rock ranked 11th in the standings needing a win to give himself a chance of winning the points race and he pulled it off by making six birdies on the final day.
The Dubliner won $365,000 to take his season’s earnings on the PGA Tour Champions this season to $1.63m.
The win catapults him to fourth place on the points list behind Ernie Els, Alker, and Stephen Ames, which means his destiny is now in his own hands.
“It’s not going to get any easier to win the Schwab Cup as there’s younger players joining the tour every year, so I’ll certainly be anxious to take my chance this year,” said Harrington, who still competes on the main tours and is currently 301st in the world ranking.
Harrington, who last win on the main tours came at the Portugal Masters in 2016, is clearly relishing the chance to win titles again and compete against his own age-group. He said: “You’re coming out here, you’re playing with your peers, you’re playing in front of great crowds, it gets exciting, you’ve got a great chance to get yourself in contention.
“The whole of being in contention and trying to hit the shots under pressure, it’s like you’re back as a young lad, it’s like you’re back in the good old days. It is very much out here on the Champions Tour, you’re reliving the past glories, you’re hitting those shots. What other sport gives you that opportunity to feel like a star again?”
For all the scores from the Simmons Bank Championship, click here.
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