Janzen Secures Champions Tour Maiden


Two-time U.S. Open champion Lee Janzen closed with a 5-under 67 to finish tied in regulation with Bart Bryant, then edged Bryant with a par on the first playoff hole to win the $1.6 million ACE Group Classic at TwinEagles Golf Club in Naples, Fla.

The victory - worth $240,000 - by the 50-year-old Janzen, winner of the 1993 and '98 U.S. Opens along with six other titles on the PGA Tour, was his first in eight starts on the Champions Tour.

Bryant roared into contention off a 10-under 62 that included eight birdies and an eagle on the par-4 first hole. Bryant could have won the tournament outright with a birdie on the par-4 closer, but settled for par after missing his birdie try, ending up tied in regulation with Janzen at 16-under 200.

On the first extra hole, again the 18th, Bryant found the pond guarding the green with his approach. Janzen hit the green in two and two-putted from 25 feet for the par and the victory.

The long-awaited victory was personally touching for the 50-year-old Janzen, who visited the winner's circle for the first time since his second U.S. Open title in 1998 at the Olympic Club in San Francisco.

"A lot of it just has to do with joy. It's been a long time," he said. "It's hard to put into words. It's emotional, it's what the game does to you. Everything is heightened and amplified and extreme, all of your emotions."

Two strokes back was Mexico's Esteban Toledo (66), while three behind was Scott Dunlap, who closed with a 67.

The leader through the first two rounds, Colin Montgomery, struggled on Sunday, posting three birdies and a like number of bogeys to drop into solo fifth at 204. Kevin Sutherland had a 66 to finish sixth at 205.

Marco Dawson (67) and Olin Browne (7) tied for seventh at 207, with Michael Allen (69) another stroke back.

Defending champion Kirk Triplett recorded rounds of 72 and 74 over the weekend to end up tied for 29th at 2-under 214. Bernhard Langer, the runaway winner of the 2014 Charles Schwab Cup, withdrew before the start of the final round. The 57-year-old German pulled out to return home to Boca Raton to be with his daughter Christina, who had back surgery five weeks ago.

For all the scores, visit http://www.pgatour.com/champions/tournaments/ace-group-classic/leaderboard.html.