Gene Sauers Claims US Senior Open In Dramatic Fashion
By Adam McGee
Gene Sauers claims his maiden Champions Tour win with US Senior Open victory at Scioto.
After days of battling the weather, Gene Sauers and Miguel Angel Jimenez battled each other for 18 holes on Monday, in a dramatic conclusion to the 2016 US Senior Open. In a back and forth contest it came down to the final putt, and eventually Sauers prevailed.
With the weather conditions once again causing havoc, the players were prevented from getting the tournament’s fourth and final round underway at 7.30am as had been originally scheduled.
It was 11.30am when the action did finally get underway, but it took little time from there for things to heat up on the leaderboard.
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Spain’s Miguel Angel Jimenez held the lead entering the final round, as the man with 27 professional wins in pro career to date went in search of his first major trophy.
Jimenez, who has finished inside the top-five in seven of his eight Champions Tour appearances this year, had about the worst start imaginable though. A double-bogey on the second saw Jimenez drop out of the lead, and having birdied two of his first three holes, Sauers seized the advantage.
A three-time winner on the PGA Tour, Sauers had his own rough patches throughout the day too though. Looking to exorcise any demons remaining from a playoff defeat to Colin Montgomerie at the 2014 US Senior Open, Sauers’ putter wasn’t always on its best behavior. Makeable birdie putts, continued to slip past until eventually he was once again the man chasing the lead.
When Sauers made bogey on the par four 15th hole, a birdie from his Spanish rival saw a two-shot swing cause the lead to change hands.
A bogey from Jimenez on 17 saw the duo head down the 72nd hole tied for the lead. With nerves clearly a factor, both men’s tee shots ended up in the rough to the left of the fairway.
Sauers’ approach came up just short of the green, creeping into the rough, while for Jimenez he would be playing his third from the green side bunker. When Sauers chipped up to five feet, the pressure was on Jimenez. The Spaniard played a nice bunker shot, but a particularly hard first bounce left him with close to 15 feet for par.
As Jimenez failed to make his putt, Sauers was able to hold his nerve and get his hands on his first senior win.
Having battled back from a whole host of health problems and just coming up short in the past, victory will have tasted sweet for Sauers.
As for Jimenez, it seems as if an eventual major victory is an inevitability. When asked about it after the conclusion of the third round, Jimenez was as colorful and pragmatic as ever.
"“Whatever happens, happens. I want to win my first major, of course. But the main thing is to focus on the game and enjoy myself.”Jimenez made a sweeping gesture to indicate his country-club surroundings. “Look at my office,” he said. “This is a great life. When I finish here, I will have a big, fat cigar, a glass of wine and dinner with my wife.”"
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When it does eventually happen Jimenez will be a popular winner, but for now, the moment belongs to Gene Sauers.