A “Blast from the Past,” Craig Stadler won the Encompass Championship on the Champions Tour at the North Shore Country Club in Chicago.
He shot a three-under par 33 on the front nine in the final round on Sunday and struggled home with a two-over par 38 on the back side. His final round, 71 got him to 13-under par for the tournament and was good enough to best Fred Couples by one shot for the win.
Stadler turned 60 years old earlier this month and his last win came in the 2004 SAS Championship on the Champions Tour when he was a mere lad of 51.
He had a very successful professional career with 13 PGA Tour victories including the 1982 Masters. He played in 648 PGA Tour events, made 465 cuts and earned over $10 million. The majority of his wins came from 1980 to 1996, prior to the Tiger Woods era of glitz, glamour and bigger purses.
He has added another nine wins in 203 starts and $8 million in earnings on the Champions Tour.
Stads also had a cameo appearance in Hollywood. He played himself, “The Walrus” in the Kevin Kostner movie “Tin Cup.”
He has always been a fan favorite with his bushy mustache, rumpled appearance and less than perfect physique. He also never tried to hide his displeasure on the golf course and fans could always tell if he had hit a poor shot.
Fred Couples was close but could not catch Stadler. This was Couples’ seventh runner-up finish on the Champions Tour. He has played in 44 events, finished inside the top-25 in 40 of his senior circuit starts and in the top-10 31 times.
If Couples can stay healthy, he may threaten to challenge for the Charles Schwab Cup and the $1 million bonus that goes along with it.
Tom Pernice Jr., Kenny Perry, Mark O’Meara, Bernhard Langer, Tom Lehman, David Frost and Jeff Sluman all finished tied for third at 11-under par for the week.
The Encompass Championship featured a pro-am format and the professionals were paired with amateur partners for the first two rounds.
The next stop for the old guys is the Constellation Senior Players Championship from the Fox Chapel Golf Club in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.