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 Roberts
cruises to Senior Players win
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[October 08, 2007]
TIMONIUM, Md. (AP)
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Loren Roberts made four straight birdies during a sizzling front nine and cruised to victory in the Senior Players Championship, shooting a 3-under 67 Sunday to defeat Tom Watson by six strokes.
Roberts began the day with a three-shot lead and increased the advantage with five birdies in the first nine holes. Despite getting two bogeys on the back nine, he finished with a 72-hole total of 13-under 267 to claim the $390,000 winner's check.
[Caption: Loren Roberts raises the
trophy after winning the Senior Players Championship golf tournament
on Sunday in Timonium, Md. (AP Photo/Gail Burton)] click
on picture for larger image
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 Tied for the lead after the first 18 holes, Roberts moved atop the leaderboard late in the second round Friday and remained in front to the end. He and Watson were the only players in the field to have four sub-par rounds.
Roberts has won three major tournaments in 13 tries on the Champions Tour since joining in July 2005; only twice has he failed to finish in the top 10. It was his seventh win on the Champions Tour compared to eight on the PGA Tour over a span of more than 20 years.
Watson shot 68 and Fred Funk had a 71. Funk, who started in second place, finished tied for third with Scott Simpson (65).
A year ago, Roberts took a two-stroke lead into the final round of the Senior Players Championship and shot a 74 to finish in a tie for third. He made it apparent early in Sunday's round that there would be no collapse this time around.
Teeing off in the final threesome with Funk and Watson, Roberts had a par on No. 1 before pulling away. He began his run of four straight birdies with a short putt on the par-3 second hole, which Funk also birdied.
But Roberts upped his lead to four strokes with a 7-foot birdie putt on No. 3 after Funk came up short on his 15-foot putt for a birdie. Then came perhaps the most telling hole of the tournament, the par-5, 583-yard No. 4.
[to top of second column]
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Roberts hit his second shot into the left bunker off the green, then chipped within 8 feet. He drained the putt, emphasizing the shot with a fist-pump. Funk, meanwhile, barely missed a 30-foot eagle putt and had to settle for a birdie that kept him four shots back with 14 to play.
Watson, meanwhile, lost ground while making par on the first four holes. Although he made a 20-foot curling putt for birdie on No. 5, Roberts followed with a 6-footer for birdie to move five shots ahead of Funk, who parred the hole.
With a birdie on No. 9, Roberts made the turn at 30 with a seven-shot lead.
Funk shaved two strokes off the deficit with birdies on 10 and 12, but his slim chance of catching Roberts ended with a double-bogey on 13 and a bogey on 14.
The victory gave Roberts the lead in Charles Schwab Cup points, which could earn him a $1 million bonus at the end of the year. Jay Haas held the lead through last week.
The Senior Players Championship is sponsored by Constellation Energy.
[Associated Press;
by David Ginsburg]
Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This
material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or
redistributed.
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