Debutant Allen wins Senior PGA
BY Bruce Young | Champions Tour | 2009 Senior PGA Championship | Round Four | 25 May 2009
If Michael Allen was a baseball player he would be batting 100. Allen has one start for one victory on the Champions Tour and a major championship at that.
Winless for nearly twenty years on the PGA Tour, the 50 year old Allen today won Senior PGA Championship against a star studded field at the Canterbury Golf Club in Beachwood, just outside of Cleveland, Ohio and in doing so all but cemented his career on the Champions Tour.
Allen, who played well enough in his 50th year to retain his PGA Tour card, received a special invite from the American PGA to play the event and took full advantage. This is a victory that essentially provides a license to print money on the Champions Tour in fact he printed a fair amount this week with the winner’s cheque of US$360,000.
Allen holed a birdie putt at the demanding final hole after a magnificent drive and sand wedge to ten feet to edge out another ’whipper snapper’ amongst the 50 and over brigade Larry Mize by two shots. Mize turned 50 last September and despite not winning has made a steady start to his Champions Tour career.
Mize looked the winner after an outward nine of 30 had him at 5 under and one ahead of Mize. The tables were turned over the back nine however, birdies at the 15th and 18th ensuring the title would go to Allen.
Bruce Fleisher finished alone in third position while Tom Watson was fourth.
Greg Norman did best of the Australasians finishing 49th while Wayne Grady faded after a good start the event to finish 59th.
