PHOENIX — It was a big day for Padraig Harrington, who backed up his Saturday 62 with a Sunday 65 to win the 2022 Charles Schwab Cup Championship. Along the way, he broke a 10-year mark held by Tom Lehman and tied a record of 32 years that Jack Nicklaus had.
Harrington won the tournament by seven shots over Alex Cejka and eight over Cup series champion Steven Alker.
Harrington’s 27-under total tied the mark set by Nicklaus at the 1990 Bridgestone Senior Players Championship. His total of 257 breaks Tom Lehman’s mark of 258, set at the 2012 Charles Schwab Cup Championship held that year in Desert Mountain Club (Cochise) in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Harrington entered the final round with a five shot lead, but the margin of victory was not a factor in the points race. He only had one outside shot at the title all season because he needed to win and also for Steven Alker to finish outside the top five.
Alker, steady all week with scores of 65-64-68-68, finished third solo, more than enough to clinch his first championship.
Harrington’s Sunday excelled with a long putt from the green on the par-3 15th hole. A big smile crossed his face after his ball found the cup, brought to him by Alker, and that brought him to 26-under. A subsequent birdie on the par-3 16th hole brought him to 27-under. He then parried the final hole.
Harrington had one of only three eagles made all week (first hole Saturday) and had only two bogeys in 72 holes. His first full season on the Champions circuit also included a Major at the US Senior Open and more than $3 million in earnings.
Alker now has a second and a third in two appearances in the final. Overall, he has five wins and 27 top-10 finishes in his first 33 tour starts.
Cejka rode an eagle-birdie-birdie to slide into second place. His eagle on the par-5 opening hole was only the third eagle on the entire course; Thongchai Jaidee won the 18th on Friday. Cejka shot 63-65 over the weekend.
the story continues
Miguel Ángel Jiménez, Lee Janzen and Stephen Ames tied for fourth at 16-under. Retief Goosen was solo seventh at 15-under.
Seven days after winning his 44th PGA Tour title, Bernhard Langer finished tied for 17th at 7-under. His 45th win will have to wait until at least January, when he kicks off the 2023 season at the Mitsubishi Electric Championship in Hualalai, Hawaii.
a look at money
For winning the tournament, Harrington won the $440,000 first-place prize. That brings his season total to $3,293,255.
Alker’s second place is worth $250,000bringing its 2022 total to $3,584.25. Alker’s career earnings on the senior circuit are now $4,730,632.
But wait, there’s more. Alker will also collect a $1 million bonus for winning the Schwab Cup series title. That will be paid as a lump sum deposit into a Schwab brokerage account.
First place: $1,000,000
Second: $500,000
Third: $300,000
Fourth: $200,000
Fifth: $100,000
The story originally appeared on GolfWeek
Source: news.google.com