Third Championship win keeps Harrington in season title hunt – Golf News
Padraig Harrington kept his hopes of winning the PGA Tour Champions Charles Schwab Cup alive when he picked up his third win of the season at the Simmons Bank Championship in Arkansas.
After carding 67 and 65 to share the 36-hole lead with New Zealand’s Steven Alker at 12 under, the 53-year-old Irishman shot a final birdie five-under 67 and a two-shot victory in the YE of South Korea. Yang at 17-under-par.
It was Harrington’s ninth win in 48 starts on the PGA Tour Champions and is crucial to his hopes of winning the season-long points race at the Charles Schwab Cup Championship, which will be held in Phoenix from Nov. 7-10.
The three-time major winner went into the semifinals at Little Rock ranked 11th in the standings needing a win to give himself a chance to win the points race and pulled it off with six birdies on the final day.
The Dubliner won $365,000 to take his season earnings on the PGA Tour Champions this season to $1.63m.
The win dropped him to fourth in the points standings behind Ernie Els, Alker, and Stephen Ames, meaning his fate is now in his own hands.
“It’s not going to be easy to win the Schwab Cup as there are younger players joining the tour every year, so I’ll be looking forward to taking the opportunity this year,” said Harrington, who still competes on the big tour and is currently 301St at the world level.
Harrington, whose last win on the tour came at the Portugal Masters in 2016, is clearly relishing the opportunity to win titles and compete in his age group. He said: “You come out here, you play with your peers, you play in front of crowds, it’s exciting.
“Being in contention and trying to score goals under pressure, it’s like you’re back when you were young, it’s like you’re back in the good days. There’s so much here on the Champions Tour, you’re reminiscing about past glories, hitting those shots. What other sport gives you that chance to feel like a star again?”
For all Simmons Bank Championship scores, click here.
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