Fred Couples won his second straight Champions Tour title, shooting
a 6-under 65 for a four-stroke victory Sunday in the Toshiba
Classic.
Couples, making his third start on the 50-and-over tour, had
an 18-under 195 total on the Newport Beach Country Club course. He
won the ACE Group Classic on Feb. 14 in Florida and finished second
behind Tom Watson in the season-opening event in Hawaii. Last week,
Couples tied for 14th in the PGA Tour's Phoenix Open.
"In a good way I am full of confidence in my game," said
Couples, who opened with rounds of 66 and 64. "I talked to Jay Haas
a long time ago and when you are 50 you are the youngest guy out
here and if you are a good player like I think I am, I thought I
would have some opportunities to win out here."
Couples earned $255,000 to push his tour-leading total to
$691,000.
Ronnie Black (65) finished second. Tom Lehman (69) and Chien
Soon Lu (69) tied for third at 12 under, and Watson (62) and Loren
Roberts (68) followed at 11 under.
Couples played the front nine in 1 under Sunday, then had a
5-under 31 on the final nine holes -- making an eagle, four birdies
and a bogey.
"I was a little off," Couples said. "I made some good swings.
I started coming on on the back nine."
The 60-year-old Watson matched his best round on the
Champions Tour and also tied Hale Irwin's 1998 mark for the best
final round in the event.
Watson had an eagle and three birdies on the first four
holes, dropped a stroke with a bogey on No. 9, then birdied five of
the last nine holes. He settled for a birdie on the par-5 18th
after missing a 20-foot eagle putt.
"The putter was the star," Watson said. "I kind of had an
attitude going out there on the first three holes of both nines, I
hadn't made any birdies. Those are short par 4s, I ought to be
making some birdies there."
Watson pulled within two strokes of Couples, but ran out of
holes.
"I was thinking Freddie hanging onto 13 under," Watson said.
"If I get to 12 and the weather coming in you never know what's
going to happen."
Couples hit a wedge into No. 12 that stopped a foot from the
hole, then made a 3-footer for another birdie on 13.
But Couples made a mistake on the par-3 14th when he missed
the green and was unable to get up and down for par. Black made an
eagle on No. 15, to cut the lead to two again, but wasn't able to
get any closer.
"I was struggling with my swing as well as my putting," Black
said. "If I had been a little sharper I think I could have come
after (Couples) a little better."
Couples reached the par-5 15th hole in two and made a 12-foot
eagle putt to extend his lead to four. He birdied the following
hole and even birdied the 18th after his second shot hit the side
of the grandstand to the right of the green. He hit a wedge to 20
feet and rolled in the birdie putt.
"The shot I hit at 18 was basically an up and down," Couples
said. "I got on the green and I've been putting really well this
whole year,"
In nine Champions Tour rounds, Couples hasn't had a score
higher than 68 and is 56-under par over 162 holes.
