Michigan Golf Scene

     A funny thing happened to Bernhard Langer's coronation as US Senior Open Champion after the third round. With  one round to go in the tournament, Langer had a four shot lead and no less than Fred Couples and Fred Funk said Bernhard is too good to lose this tournament.

Roger Chapman did not get the message.

With rounds of 68-68-68 and 66 he proved that a golf tournament  is never over until the last foe is vanquished. With that Chapman made a clean sweep of the two major Senior Tour championships held in Michigan winning the Senior Tour Championship in Benton Harbor in May and now the US Senior Open at Indianwood. He joins Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and Hale Irwin to win the two tournaments in the same year, While the a fore mentioned are perhaps candidates for the Senior edition for the Mount Rushmore of Senior golf, his career honor was winning on the European Tour in the remote area of Brazil back in 2000.

Winning  a European Tour event in Brazil is like winning a PGA Tour event in Siberia but right now it really does not matter. "It's a true honor," Chapman said.

Chapman follows through to a Win

Bernhard Langer (72), Fred Funk (67), Tom Lehman (68) and Corey Pavin (68) finished tied for second at 8-under 272 at the Champions Tour's fourth of five majors. Corey Pavin was classy on Thursday after looking at a two-stroke penalty for his ball moving a dimple before he hit it. In most sports that is no big deal. In golf those two strokes cost him a share of a potential playoff.

Unfortunately, USGA golf is an unpredictable event in a championship and Indianwood Country Club proved to be a tough elixir for the golfers.  First round leader Tom Kite posted scores no better than 74-69 and sank to a finish of a tie for 12th. Journeyman Lance Ten Broeck was a former PGA Tour player now caddying and posted weekend scores of 72-71 after having the first round lead. Both good scores but Saturday's moving Day saw Langer's 64 give him a four shot lead. The turning point for him happened at the beginning of the round.

Langer pushed his second tee shot to the right under a line of trees on the 396-yard, par-4 second hole. After walking more than 100 yards to examine the path of his approach shot, he hit a low shot that landed against the lip of a greenside bunker. Langer tried to play what he called a "special shot," and ended up sailing it over the green to set up a double bogey.

"I knew there was a lot of golf left and I was still in the lead," he said. "If I shoot under par from that point on, I'll still be in good shape, but I couldn't make a putt."

The wind also proved to play havoc and with the Scottish style links looking to play havoc with anyone not on the fairway and having to hit into the tough undulating greens, Chapman saw an opening.

Chapman chose to use his driver at the 462-yard, par-4 18th and got a break when his tee shot was stopped by fans standing along the left ropes. That gave him with a decent lie in the rough that he took advantage of with an approach that set him up for a two-putt par that sealed the victory and proved what he did in May at Harbor Shores was no fluke.

"I wanted to prove to myself and to other people that Benton Harbor wasn't a one-off event," he said. "That was in the back of my mind."

Now Chapman joins Gary Player (1987) Jack Nicklaus (1991) and Hale Irwin (1998) as players who have won both the U.s. Senior Open and the Senior PGA titles in the same year. Chapman receives $500,000 for winning the U.S. Senior Open after getting a check for $378,000 for the Senior PGA victory.

"I guess when you read about him, you always hear journeyman or something like that," Pavin said. "But he's always been a very solid player. "Sometimes, people bloom a little later."

Chapman resume spells journeyman but with this win it's quite clear he's on a journey and it's a heck of a ride.

33rd U.S. SENIOR OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP ®
Final Results
Prize Position Contestant Nationality Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 Round 4 Total
$500,000 1 Roger Chapman England 68 68 68 66 270
177,739 T2 = Fred Funk USA 67 71 67 67 272
Tom Lehman USA 70 66 68 68 272
Corey Pavin USA 67 69 68 68 272
Bernhard Langer Germany 66 70 64 72 272
87,348 T6 = John Cook USA 69 72 67 66 274
John Huston USA 69 67 68 70 274
76,614 8 Mark Wiebe USA 69 68 70 68 275
65,046 T9 = Peter Senior Australia 71 72 66 68 277
Lance Ten Broeck USA 66 68 72 71 277
Jay Haas USA 69 68 68 72 277
53,463  T12 = Tom Kite USA 65 70 74 69 278
Mark Calcavecchia USA 68 70 69 71 278
Fred Couples USA 72 68 65 73 278
46,213 T15 = Dick Mast USA 68 68 69 74 279
Tom Pernice Jr. USA 67 71 66 75 279
38,142 T17 = Jong-Duck Kim Korea 73 71 70 66 280
Damon Green USA 68 72 72 68 280
Peter Fowler Australia 70 74 66 70 280
Peter Jacobsen USA 70 70 68 72 280
Steve Lowery USA 70 68 69 73 280
27,497 T22 = Jay Don Blake USA 73 65 75 68 281
Joel Edwards USA 72 71 70 68 281
Kiyoshi Murota Japan 71 70 71 69 281
Tom Watson USA 70 72 70 69 281
Gary Hallberg USA 70 74 68 69 281
Kirk Triplett USA 69 69 72 71 281
19,491 T28 = Robert Thompson USA 70 72 71 69 282
Brad Bryant USA 70 68 74 70 282
Jeff Sluman USA 67 71 73 71 282
Chien-Soon Lu Chinese Taipei 69 68 73 72 282
Rod Spittle Canada 70 69 71 72 282
17,017 T33 = Jim Rutledge Canada 72 72 73 66 283
Barry Lane England 70 74 73 66 283
Michael Allen USA 74 70 68 71 283
14,084 T36 = Tom Byrum USA 70 74 72 68 284
Loren Roberts USA 71 69 74 70 284
Tommy Armour III USA 69 69 75 71 284
David Eger USA 69 70 74 71 284
Olin Browne USA 69 74 70 71 284
(a) Denotes no money earned by amateur
33rd U.S. SENIOR OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP ®
Final Results
Prize Position Contestant Nationality Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 Round 4 Total
Dan Forsman USA 69 71 72 72 284
Joey Sindelar USA 70 72 68 74 284
Mike Goodes USA 71 73 66 74 284
11,165 T44 = Steve Jones USA 69 72 71 73 285
Brad Faxon USA 69 71 71 74 285
Rick Lewallen USA 70 68 72 75 285
9,308 T47 = Mikael Hogberg Sweden 67 75 73 71 286
Andrew Oldcorn Scotland 70 69 75 72 286
Jerry Pate USA 69 75 68 74 286
Andrew Magee USA 74 70 67 75 286
8,180 T51 = Ted Schulz USA 70 73 72 73 288
Bob Tway USA 72 71 72 73 288
7,774 T53 = Andy Bean USA 70 73 73 73 289
(a) Doug Hanzel USA 71 72 71 75 289
Fulton Allem South Africa 68 75 70 76 289
7,490 56 T.C. Chen Chinese Taipei 71 72 71 76 290
7,163 T57 = Jim Chancey USA 73 69 78 71 291
Gary Wolstenholme England 70 70 73 78 291
Fuzzy Zoeller USA 70 74 69 78 291
6,827 T60 = (a) Sean Knapp USA 70 72 76 74 292
Mark Brooks USA 72 71 74 75 292
Mike Reid USA 71 72 72 77 292
6,659 63 Larry Mize USA 71 72 75 75 293
6,547 64 Bob Gilder USA 72 72 74 77 295
6,436 65 Dave Eichelberger USA 70 74 78 78 300