DES MOINES, Iowa 鈥� Calgary's Stephen Ames won the Principal Charity Classic on Sunday for his second PGA Tour Champions title, taking advantage of Tim Herron's final-round collapse.
Seven strokes behind Herron entering the round, Ames shot a 5-under 67 for a one-stroke victory over fellow Canadian Mike Weir.聽
鈥淓verybody else kind of faltered coming in, unfortunately for those, but fortunate for me,鈥� Ames said. 鈥淚 had a second Atlanta and I had three other top-10s on top of that, so things were starting to shape up. It鈥檚 just a matter of putting things together and obviously getting fortunate, which is what happened this week for me.鈥�
A four-time winner on the PGA Tour, Ames won the 2017 Mitsubishi Electric Classic for his first senior title. The 57-year-old naturalized Canadian citizen from Trinidad finished at 12-under 204 at Wakonda Club.
鈥淚t鈥檚 the kind of golf course that has to grow on you,鈥� said Ames. 鈥淵ou definitely have to play it a few times to understand the nuances of it, the bounces, where to hit it when it鈥檚 running: I think this week the superintendent did a fantastic job getting the golf course in the best shape I鈥檝e seen it for the years that I鈥檝e played it.鈥�
Weir, from Bright's Grove, Ont., closed with a 69.
Herron bogeyed three of the final five holes in a 76 that left him tied for third at 10 under. He missed a chance for his first senior victory after winning four times on the PGA Tour.
鈥淗opefully, I guess you learn from it even at age 51,鈥� Heron said. 鈥淚t was a little rough. Worked on some swing changes and I think my old swing kind of came back a little bit. I was guiding it a little bit, but it was pretty windy today and just didn鈥檛 get any momentum going.鈥�
Willie Wood (68) and Doug Barron (71) matched Herron at 10 under.
The Associated Press
