A sudden-death playoff at the Dominion Energy Charity Classic on Sunday produced the first PGA Tour Champions winner. The tournament also saw four golfers advance to the next round.
Richard Green and Harrison Fraser were tied for a playoff at 11 under after 54 holes at Virginia Country Club in the first of three Charles Schwab Cup playoffs.
Green has three wins as a professional on the DP World Tour. Fraser’s only win was at the 2011 Callaway Golf Pebble Beach Invitational. The event featured golfers from the PGA Tour, LPGA, Champions, and the then-Nationwide Tour.
Green, a left-hander from Australia, hit rounds of 67-69-69 and was the first to arrive at the clubhouse. Then he played the waiting game. Fraser finished 65-71-69, missing an eagle try on the par-5 18th hole that could have been a complete victory. He followed with a birdie putt from about 3 feet, forcing more golf.
In the playoff, Fraser made a 10-foot birdie on the 18th hole and celebrated by pumping his fist.
Fraser placed 33rd, moving him up to 13th in the points race out of 72 players who advanced to the postseason. Green was 24th, moving up 10 places to 14th. However, both golfers have fallen far too far behind to win the season title. Dominion skipper Steve Stricker holds a commanding lead in points, and only Steven Alker, Bernhard Langer and Stephen Ames have a mathematical chance of catching him and winning the season title. , David Thoms, and Ernie Els.
Els had the best finish of his group on Sunday, finishing tied for seventh. Ames tied for 20th, Alker and Langer tied for 25th, and Toms tied for 35th.
Who goes in and who goes out?
Only the top 54 will advance to the TimberTech Championship two weeks later.
Shane Birch (56-50), John Huston (55-52), Rocco Mediate (59-53) and Charlie Wie (57-54) won, but Matt Gogel (51-55) The season has ended. David Brancheau (52-57), Woody Austin (54-58), Kirk Triplett (53-59).
Other notable players who didn’t move up: Fred Couples, who was 63rd in points, chose to skip Dominion but fell back to 64th. David Duvall, who bounced back in the final game of the regular season to claim the 71st spot, moved up to 66th, but it wasn’t enough to advance. Jim Furyk, who started this week in the final 72nd place, shot a 76 in the first round but withdrew due to injury.
What’s next?
The circuit will have a week off before the 54-hole TimberTech Championship, which will be held Nov. 3-5 at the Old Course at Broken Sound Club in Boca Raton, Florida.
From there, the top 36 will advance to the 72-hole, uncut season finale Charles Schwab Cup Championship, to be held Nov. 9-12 at Phoenix Country Club.