Darren Clarke and Pádraig Harrington both posted over-par rounds to mark disappointing ends to the Dominion Energy Charity Classic but a thrilling finish saw Justin Leonard walk away with the spoils.
Clarke, who began the day in T13, was eyeing another top-10 finish but a slow start saw him double bogey the par-3 fourth after his tee shot found the penalty area. Another bogey came for the 57-year-old shortly after at par-5 sixth, before the 2011 Open winner regrouped and closed out his front nine with two birdies to head into his final nine holes at one-over.
That momentum was quickly lost on the back nine, however, as Clarke bogeyed the 11th before a birdie on the 13th, followed by another sore bogey on the 14th. Clarke struggled on the par-5s in the final round, making another bogey on the par-5 16 but he will be glad to have gotten the better of the final par-5, the 18th, to finish with a birdie and post a two-over-par 74 and finish his weekends work in T25 at three-under.
It was a weekend to forget for Pádraig Harrington who was hopeful for a win on Thursday to see him climb up the Charles Schwab Cup rankings.
Starting his final round on the back nine, Harrington began with two quick bogeys on the par-4 10th and the par-4 13th, before his first and only birdie of the day at the par-5 16th as he took the turn at one-over-par.
Like Clarke, Harrington had a tough time with the par-3 fourth hole, as he tee shot also found the penalty area to see him card a double bogey. Harrington closed out his round at three-over-par, taking him to one-over for the week and tied for 46th. Harrington now drops down one place in the rankings to sixth, as time is of the essence with only two events left to play.
A dramatic end at the top of the leaderboard saw a finish that the Champions Tour haven’t seen since 2018, as USA’s Justin Leonard made eagle at the last to win by one stroke at 12-under, just pipping Thomas Bjørn and Ernie Els who finished T2 at 11-under.
Els, who led after 36 holes, now finds himself third in the Charles Schwab Cup standings.
Sweden’s Freddie Jacobson finished solo fourth at 10-under, as World Golf Hall of Fame Members Retief Goosen and Bernhard Langer both log top-five finishes alongside USA’s Tag Ridings at nine-under.
The Champions Tour now heads to Arkansas, for the Simmons Bank Championship in Little Rock where the top 54 will compete on Oct 24th.
Leaderboard.
