PARKER — While his competitors went left, Tom Lehman went right down the middle on the extra hole Sunday to win the Senior PGA Championship at Colorado Golf Club.
After Fred Couple’s back-to-back eagles and David Frost’s and Lehman’s steady play forced a three-man playoff, Couples and Frost went left off the No. 18 tee box, opening the way for Lehman to secure his first senior major championship.
On the playoff hole, Frost went into the fairway bunker just behind the lip. He then pulled his second shot way left of the green. After clearing out a slew of pine cones, his third shot was from a small bush and had to go under a tree but went across the green.
Couples also went left on his drive, and had to take an unplayable lie penalty stroke next to the bunker. Hitting three to the green, he was short and then finished with a double-bogey.
Lehman struggled early after making birdie on No. 1 to get to 7-under. But he bogeyed three of the next four holes and looked to be fading. But he made birdie on No. 7 to get back on track. He picked up birdies on Nos. 15 and 16.
Frost, who set the course record Saturday with a 7-under 65, started the day tied for ninth, but played the front nine in 3-under to get to 5-under, but a bogey on No. 12 slowed his charge and he was tied for second at 4-under. However, three consecutive birdies starting on No. 15 put him back in the hunt.
Third-round leader Joe Don Blake ran his score to 7-under with an eagle on No. 7, hitting his second shot to within five feet of the hole on the downwind par-5. But he gave back both strokes on the next hole, hitting left on his drive, which wasn’t found. He put a nice approach shot to the back left pin, but then missed his bogey putt.
Then four bogeys on the back took him out of contention.
