Bernhard Langer celebrates his dramatic 30-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole to win the Charles Schwab Cup Championship at Phoenix Country Club. (Photo by Ben Jared/PGA TOUR via Getty Images)
PHOENIX – Before the final golf pairing teed off on the 18th hole Sunday, a three-way tie for first place set the tone for the final day of the Charles Schwab Cup Championship. Bernhard Langer, Richard Green and Steven Alker were all vying for the victory at the Phoenix Country Club – but only one walked away as the champion
Langer, recovering from an Achilles injury at 67 years old, rolled in a dramatic 30-foot birdie putt on the final hole for a one-shot victory over Green and Alker to close out the PGA Tour Champions season.
Although Langer won the day, Alker came away with the season-long Charles Schwab Cup points race, firing a 5-under-par 66 to pass Ernie Els and win his second Cup win in three years. He missed a 10-foot putt on the final hole that would have forced a playoff with Langer for the tournament title.
Following his winning putt, Langer spiked his white visor to the ground in celebration.
“All hell broke loose emotionally,” Langer said. “It was pretty wild.”
A two-time Masters champion, Langer tore his Achilles playing pickleball earlier this year. Langer used a golf cart to get around the entire day and said after the tournament that the injury isn’t bothering him much.
“The Achilles doesn’t really bother me unless I have uneven lies,” Langer said. “I can’t walk very far and I can’t run. I’m not really in a lot of pain.”
Meanwhile, Alker bested Els by just under 300,000 points when all was said and done for the season-long points race, becoming the seventh player to earn multiple Charles Schwab Cups.
Alker had an opportunity to win both trophies Sunday after Langer bogeyed four holes on the back nine. After he birdied holes 14 and 15, Alker crept closer to a double celebration, but the incredible final putt from Langer and a slightly missed chip on hole 18 from Alker sealed the deal
Alker acknowledged the grind of the season-long race, and how much golf went into his second cup win.
“To have number two is pretty special,” said Alker, who owns a home in Fountain Hills and considered this tournament a “home game.”
Steven Alker carries the Charles Schwab Cup trophy, his second season-long title in three years, after narrowly missing the championship win. (Photo by Ben Jared/PGA TOUR via Getty Images)
“It’s extra special, I have friends and family here. Sleeping in your own bed, it kind of feels like there’s a little bit of extra pressure. There was extra bonuses there if I did win.”
The New Zealander admitted that he typically isn’t one to scoreboard-watch, but he felt as though he needed to know where he stood entering the 18th hole to decide his approach.
“Need to know,” Alker said. “That determines whether I go for the green or not and what I do.
“The first time I asked my caddie was ‘what has Ernie Els done today?’ and that was working off the 17th tee.”
Winning the Charles Schwab Cup Championship felt “phenomenal” for Langer, considering his recovery from a serious injury at an older age and the competition he faced.
“To do it on this course I needed to putt well, and I putted really well,” Langer said. “I’ve tried here a number of times and haven’t really come close.”
Following his 47th career Champions Tour victory, Langer has now won at least once in all of his seasons on the Champions tour. Even at an old age, and recovering from a major injury, the German still has the drive to keep giving it his all.
“Winning never gets old,” Langer said. “People say, ‘Why am I still playing?’ Well, this is why. I enjoy the adrenaline, I enjoy being in the hunt. I still feel like I can win.”