Clarke T13, McGinley T30 as Weir wins maiden PGA Tour Champions title
Mike Weir. Picture: PGA Tour Champions
Mike Weir earned his first PGA Tour Champions victory at the Insperity Invitational by two strokes over John Daly, Tim Petrovic and David Toms on 10-under par.
Tied with Weir on the 18th hole, Daly’s approach shot came up short in the water, leading to a double-bogey six and a closing 69.
“I caught a gust on 18,” Daly said. “I hit a 9-iron from about 155 and I hit a 9-iron from 141 there and I caught a gust and just got a bad break, but I can't hit the ball any better. I'm excited about next week.”
Weir made five birdies and eagled the par-5 13th hole en route to a final-round 68 as he finished on 10-under par to capture his first seniors win by two shots having started the final round in third place, one stroke behind the leaders.
“It feels great,” Weir said. “I've had a couple close calls and I was making it hard on myself. I hit so many great shots here coming down the stretch there on 16, 17 close. I had a couple really nice looks and didn't get one of those in; otherwise, I would have made myself a little easier time here on 18. But it feels great. Yeah, I don't know what to say. It feels like all the hard work I put in in these last few years is paying off. It feels great.”
The win comes in Weir’s 14th start as a rookie on PGA TOUR Champions after finishing runner-up twice (2020 Dominion Energy Charity Classic and 2021 Cologuard Classic).
It’s Weir’s first victory since the 2007 Fry’s Electronics Open (now called the Safeway Open), breaking a winless streak of 236 starts (195 PGA TOUR, 19 Korn Ferry Tour, 13 PGA TOUR Champions, 9 European Tour). It is his first win in 13 years, 6 months and 11 days.
Darren Clarke made five birdies in a three-under 69 to tie for 13th on three-under, earning $38,250 while Paul McGinley finished tied 30th on one-under after rounds of 74 and 69, picking up $15,216.
it was McGinley’s first appearance on the PGA Tour Champions since the 2019 Senior Open championship and his first tournament appearance since he missed the cut in the European Tour’s Celtic Classic at Celtic Manor in August last year.
The Dubliner will travel back to Florida this week and help the Great Britain and Ireland Walker Cup side with their preparations for this weekend’s match at Seminole.
