RECENTLY

Kenny Perry finished T33 at last week’s HP Byron Nelson Championship. It was Perry’s first PGA TOUR start since last year’s Greenbrier Classic in July where he finished T46. Duffy Waldorf finished T48 and Vijay Singh, who has yet to tee it up on the Champions Tour, made the 36-hole cut but missed the 54-hole cut.

COMING UP

Bobby Wadkins will be making his 1,000^th career start (combined PGA TOUR/Champions Tour) when he tees off at this week’s Senior PGA Championship. He has 713 starts on the PGA TOUR and 286 more on the Champions Tour to his credit.

Bob Gilder will be playing in the 59^th consecutive major championship on the Champions Tour when he begins the Senior PGA Championship, the longest streak in Champions Tour annals.

This year’s field at the Senior PGA Championship includes players from 34 states and 17 countries.

Current Champions Tour Rules Officials Joe Terry and Gene Smith were Co-Vice Chairmen of the National PGA Rules Committee during the 1992 PGA Championship at Bellerive and will return to the host venue for the Senior PGA Championship this week as members of that same committee.

The PGA of America issued a special invitation to Jerry Tucker to compete in the Senior PGA Championship. Tucker, 62, was the head professional at Bellerive CC for a decade, 1987-97, before moving to Florida to prepare for the Champions Tour when he turned 50. He was an assistant at Bellerive from 1978-81. Although he never earned exempt status on the Champions Tour, it will be Tucker’s ninth Senior PGA. He’s also played twice each in the U.S. Senior Open, Senior British Open, PGA Championship and U.S. Open. Tucker’s brother, Mike, is the current PGA Head Professional at Bellerive.

Current Champions Tour stars Tom Lehman, David Frost and Corey Pavin will compete this week on the PGA TOUR at the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial where the trio are past champions. Lehman won the title in 1995, Pavin in 1996 and Frost in 1997.

CHARLES SCHWAB CUP

Double points are available for all five of the major championships on the Champions Tour, beginning with this week’s Senior PGA Championship. Last year, Roger Chapman earned 756 Charles Schwab Cup points for his victory at the Senior PGA Championship. All 30 players in the field at the season-ending Charles Schwab Cup Championship also earn double Charles Schwab Cup points.

NUMBERS

11 – The number of players who have won both the PGA Championship and the Senior PGA Championship in their careers. The group includes Raymond Floyd, Lee Trevino, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Don January, Julius Boros, Sam Snead, Chandler Harper, Paul Runyan, Gene Sarazen and Jock Hutchinson. Floyd, Trevino, Nicklaus, January and Player all did so as members of the Champions Tour.

ON THIS DATE

5/20/84 – Peter Jacobsen birdies the first extra hole to defeat good friend Payne Stewart to win the Colonial National Invitation.

5/22/94 – Tom Lehman posts four consecutive rounds of 67 to roll to a five-stroke victory over Greg Norman at the memorial Tournament near Columbus, OH. It was his first PGA Tour win.

DID YOU KNOW?

Bellerive CC hosts the Senior PGA Championship this week and was also slated to host the 2001 World Golf Championships-American Express Championship, but officials canceled the tournament because of the 9-11 attacks. Bellerive also hosted the inaugural U.S. Mid-Amateur, in 1981 (won by Jim Holtgrieve), and will serve as the site of the 100^th PGA Championship in 2018.

QUOTES TO NOTE

“The greatest reward in life is to be remembered.” – Ken Venturi, who passed away less than two weeks after being inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame.

“I suddenly thought, ‘He wants to play and couldn’t, and I could play and didn’t want to.’ I thought that was pretty selfish.” – Roger Chapman comments in a recent interview about the sad perspective he gained following the tragic death of Payne Stewart in an airplane accident.

 TWEET OF THE WEEK

Allianz Championship ‏@AllianzChamp “If you look at @ChampionsTour & the PGA tour, there should be no competition for marketability we should kick their butt. ” @RoccoMediate

NAPLES, FL (APRIL 15, 2013) – Adam Scott outlasted Angel Cabrera in a playoff Sunday to win the 2013 Masters. Scott became Australia’s first Masters Champion after defeating Cabrera on the second hole of the sudden death playoff and while it was a memorable finish for Scott, David Toms (T13) and Michael Thompson (T25) turned in noteworthy performances as both carded a 67 on the final day which now makes two Ultimate Golf Experience Books available for $67 for the rest of the season.

“It was another thrilling finish to the Masters this year, especially seeing guys like Bernhard Langer and Fred Couples play so well which is great for the Champions Tour and The ACE Group Classic,” said Tournament Director Lesley Baker. “Masters week is always exciting and having guys on the Champions Tour in the mix is extra special for our fans.”

With the purchase of an Ultimate Golf Experience Book, fans will receive discounted golf rounds at 30 of the best golf courses in Southwest Florida. This year, 22 of the 30 clubs are offering an unlimited number of discounted rounds to golf book purchasers. A list of Course Offerings can be found here: http://theacegroupclassic.com/ultimate-golf-experience-books/

The offer will be available by phone at (239) 593-3900, online or the Naples PGA TOUR Superstore.

SHARE: Lowest Round on Sunday @Masters was 67! Two Ultimate Golf Experience Books Now Available for $67 for rest of the season: http://bit.ly/115sFDS

NAPLES, FL (MARCH 12, 2013) Bernhard Langer won his second ACE Group Classic title in three years with a thrilling wire-to-wire finish against one of the strongest tournament fields to date which featured 28 of the Top 30 players and six World Golf Hall of Famers. With another classic finish in the record books, tournament officials have announced Ultimate Golf Experience Books are now available for $48.

“The Naples community is such a special and welcoming place, we’re very thankful to be here,” said Tournament Director Lesley Baker. “The feedback from the players and the Champions Tour is that Naples is one of the favorite stops of the entire year and I think that’s because this community knows and appreciates great golf. The support the event receives is incredible and because of that we’re able to help our many charities, including this year’s host organization, The First Tee of Naples/Collier.”

Beginning today, fans can purchase an Ultimate Golf Experience Book at a discounted price of $48. With the purchase of an Ultimate Golf Experience Book, fans will receive discounted golf rounds at 30 of the best golf courses in Southwest Florida. This year, 22 of the 30 clubs are offering an unlimited number of discounted rounds to golf book purchasers. A list of Course Offerings can be found here: http://theacegroupclassic.com/ultimate-golf-experience-books/

The offer is available by phone at (239) 593-3900, online at www.acegroupclassic.com  or in the Naples PGA TOUR Superstore.

Bernhard Langer (62-70-72= -12) captured his second ACE Group Classic title with a wire-to-wire victory, the first at the tournament since 1999. Langer shot par on the day to hold off Jay Don Blake to earn his 17th career victory on the Champions Tour.

SHARE: Thank you Naples for another great @ACEGroupClassic! $48 Golf Books are now available, get yours here: http://bit.ly/TqTr4d

Langer came close to setting a tournament record during the first round, carding eight birdies and an eagle on his way to shooting a 10-under par 62. He held a three-stroke lead over Bob Tway. With a 2-under, bogey-free round on Saturday, he maintained a three-shot lead over Chien Soon Lu and Tom Pernice, Jr. However, Sunday proved to be quite dramatic.

After birdieing two of the first three holes, Langer double-bogeyed on the par-4 fourth hole, as Blake surged ahead and made up ground with three consecutive birdies. The leaderboard stayed tight between Langer and Blake throughout the day, with the two battling back and forth until the final hole. Langer took a one-stroke lead after Blake bogeyed on the 16th hole, and Blake missed a tying 20-foot birdie putt on 18. Langer clinched his victory by sinking a one-foot putt following a lengthy lag from around 50 feet, ending with a par on 18 to earn his second ACE Group Classic title in three years.

“I didn’t enjoy being caught by the other guys. At one stage I think it was three of us at 11-under,” Langer said. “The good thing is I never fell behind, I was leading the whole time. I was either leading by myself or co-leader, so that was a good thing. And in the end I was still in the driver’s seat and just had to close it off.”

Langer closed out a less than stellar round by his own admission after altering his putting grip around hole 12 or 13, reverting back to the grip he used during his first years with a long putter. After taking more putts today (32) than he had on Friday (25) and Saturday (30), Langer relied on solid iron play to remain in contention.

“Overall my shot-making was good, it’s just my putter got a little iffy there in the middle of the round,” Langer said.

Despite significant rainfall leading into the weekend, course conditions remained ideal. “The course took the rain very well. It was a little wet obviously after the Thursday, Friday we had, but it drained fantastic. The greens staff did an awesome job,” Langer said.

The win in Naples moves Langer into 15th place on the all-time Champions Tour wins list. He became the sixth player in the history of the tournament to win the event twice, along with Lee Trevino (1990-91), Mike Hill (1993-94), Hale Irwin (1997, 2002), Gil Morgan (1998, 2011) and Loren Roberts (2006, 2009). He also is the first player with a wire-to-wire victory on the Champions Tour since Olin Browne did so at the 2011 U.S. Senior Open.

Second-Round Leaderboard
Bernhard Langer        62-70—132  (-12)
Chien Soon Lu        67-68—135   (-9)
Tom Pernice, Jr.         66-69—135   (-9)
Mark O’Meara        67-69—136   (-8)
Jay Don Blake         66-71—137   (-7)
John Huston        66-71—137   (-7)
Mark Wiebe        67-70—137   (-7)

Bernhard Langer’s bogey-free 70 in blustery conditions was good enough to maintain a three-stroke lead over Chien Soon Lu and Tom Pernice, Jr. after 36 holes at the ACE Group Classic. After making eight birdies and an eagle on Friday, Langer birdied his opening hole in Round 2 and then did not make his other birdie until he holed an eight-foot putt at the par-4 14^th. Lu started with a double-bogey after a wayward drive but then reeled off seven birdies over his next 10 holes to close to within one stroke of Langer. Lu finished his round with a bogey after his second shot found the water right of the 18^thgreen.  Pernice made a pair of birdies over his final six holes to tie Lu for second place after two rounds.

Bernhard Langer’s 70 snapped his string of rounds in the 60s at eight straight dating back to the final round of last year’s season-ending Charles Schwab Cup Championship. However, his score of 2-under 70 was his 10th consecutive sub-par round in Naples.

For the second straight year, the 36-hole leader at the ACE Group Classic enjoys a three-stroke cushion. A year ago, Kenny Perry set a tournament record of 18-under 126 and was three in front of Larry Mize. When Bernhard Langer won at The Quarry two years ago, he enjoyed a four-stroke lead after two rounds.

Bernhard Langer goes for his 17^thcareer victory on the Champions Tour tomorrow and attempts to become just the sixth player to win the ACE Group Classic twice – Lee Trevino (1990-91), Mike Hill (1993-94), Hale Irwin (1997, 2002), Gil Morgan (1998, 2001), Loren Roberts (2006, 2009). He’s won two other Champions Tour events multiple times. Last year, Langer claimed a second 3M Championship (2009, 2012) and he’s also won a pair of Insperity Championships (2007, 2008).

Bernhard Langer is also trying to become just the third player to win in wire-to-wire fashion – Lee Trevino (1990) and Allen Doyle (1999). He’s also shooting to win at least one event on the Champions Tour for a seventh straight year.

Bernhard Langer is the only player in the field who has not made a bogey in the tournament and he’s made just two bogeys over his last 105 holes. Over that stretch, Langer has made an eagle and 36 birdies.

Bernhard Langer has been a co-leader or leader going into Sunday at 10 events that were either 54 or 72 holes on the Champions Tour and he’s won eight times from that position. The last time he was in this position on the Champions Tour was at the ACE Group Classic in 2011 when he enjoyed a four-stroke advantage after two rounds.

A player has come from behind to win the ACE Group Classic 12 times, including six of the last 11 years. 13 of the previous 25 events in Naples have been decided by either a playoff or just one stroke.

The winner of The ACE Group Classic has come out of the final grouping in each of the last 12 years. The last time it didn’t happen in Naples was 2000 when Lanny Wadkins fired a final-round 64 to rally from three strokes back to force a playoff that he eventually won.

Tomorrow’s winner will earn 240 Charles Schwab Cup points. Bernhard Langer, the tournament leader, would move into the 2013 Schwab Cup lead should he go on to win tomorrow. John Cook, the current Schwab Cup leader, carded a 68 today and moved up 21 spots into a T11. Points are only awarded at each event for top-10 finishes and at the conclusion of the season, the player earning the most Schwab Cup points will receive a $1 million payout.

Two-time ACE Group Classic champion Loren Roberts saw his streak of par/better rounds in Naples snapped at 22 straight after he posted a 4-over 76 today.

Rookies Rocco Mediate and Gene Sauers posted the low rounds of the day, carding 5-under 67s. Mediate, the winner last week at the Allianz Championship, vaulted 35 spots into a T11 with his round while Sauers jumped 24 places into a T8 thanks to birdies on four of his final five holes.

Defending champion Kenny Perry struggled with a 73 on Saturday and finds himself in a T17 after 36 holes. On Tuesday next week in Nashville, Perry will undergo left knee surgery for a torn meniscus and will be out of action for approximately six weeks. He hopes to return to action on the Champions Tour at the inaugural Greater Gwinnett Championship near Atlanta in mid-April.

In his second round on the Champions Tour after missing more than a year with hand and wrist problems, Scott Hoch shot a bogey-free 68 and jumped up 38 places into a T17. It was the biggest move by a player in the field and Hoch’s first bogey-free round since he shot 70 without a blemish in the first round of the 2011 Songdo IBD Championship in South Korea.

With gusting winds of up to 25 mph, today’s field scoring average was 73.300 compared to 71.087 on Friday. There were only 10 scores in the 60s on Saturday compared to 24 sub-70 rounds yesterday. Overall, there were just three eagles made today, all on the 6^th hole, and 219 birdies compared to seven eagles and 303 total birdies yesterday. Steve Jones made the only birdie at the par-3 12^th hole and it ranked as the second most difficult (3.350) hole. The par-4 7^th hole ranked as the most difficult (4.413). Through two rounds, Chien Soon Lu leads the field with 12 total birdies.

Champions Tour pros, caddies, volunteers, spectators and staff  accepted a friendly challenge to track the miles walked during the week of The ACE Group Classic. Tomorrow, the NCH Healthcare System Foundation will receive a $10,000 donation from The ACE Group Classic as a result.  On Saturday, better weather brought out the Naples community in full force and the spectators seized the My Miles Fore NCH lead after logging 39.74 total miles with their pedometers. The Champions Tour players, represented today by Larry Mize (6.38 mi) and Tom Pernice Jr. (4.83), recorded 11.2 miles between themselves moving the overall player’s total to over 80 miles walked since the competition began on Tuesday. Full results are available on www.ACEGroupClassic.com.

Tee #10

Ryan Fitzwater, who holed a putt on Friday to qualify, was the Saturday Shootout winner, and while he didn’t walk away with the $50,000, he still won free Subway for a year.

George Taylor, Dick Fitchie, Nate Nelson, Joe Mazella and Tom Noble were all runners-up, each earning a $100 Subway gift card.

Click here to view all the daily winners.

The TwinEagles Club (Talon)
February 15-17, 2013
Naples, FL
Purse: $1,600,000
Par/Yards: 36-36—72/7,193
Charles Schwab Cup points: 240

Weather: After more than two inches fell on the course on Thursday, a light rain fell for most of the round on Friday. Preferred lies were used for the opening round of the event. High temperatures were in the upper-60s with virtually no wind during the day.

First-Round Leaderboard

Bernhard Langer      33-29—62   (-10)
Bob Tway                    30-35—65   (-7)
Jay Don Blake            33-33—66   (-6)
John Huston               32-34—66   (-6)
Tom Pernice, Jr.        31-35—66   (-6)

For the second straight year, 10-under-par 62 is the leading score after the first round of the ACE Group Classic and for the second straight week, Bernhard Langer’s name is at the top of the Friday leaderboard. Langer, a co-leader after the first round of the Allianz Championship in Boca Raton last week, matched his career-best round on the Champions Tour today and equaled Larry Mize’s score at TwinEagles in 2011. Langer carded eight birdies and an eagle on the day to take a three-stroke lead over Bob Tway. He started his day with four straight pars, but he played his next 12 holes in 10-under before making routine pars on the final two holes. Gary Koch also posted 10-under 62 in the first round of the 2004 event at TwinEagles.

In addition to his 62 today, Bernhard Langer shot 62 in the opening round of the 2007 Administaff Small Business Classic and went on to win that event in Houston. He closed with 62 last year at the 3M Championship and bested David Peoples for the victory at the TPC Twin Cities in Minnesota.

Bernhard Langer’s 62 today was his eighth straight score in the 60s on the Champions Tour dating back to the final round of last year’s season-ending Charles Schwab Cup Championship. Langer’s round today was also his ninth consecutive sub-par round in Naples and beat his previous career-best score in Naples by two strokes (64/Rd. 1/2011).

Bernhard Langer’s three-stroke advantage after the first round is the biggest margin since Dale Douglass led by a record four strokes after Friday play in 1991. It’s also the biggest first-round lead on the Champions Tour since Mark Calcavecchia was three ahead after the first round of the AT&T Championship in San Antonio last fall.

Tom Pernice, Jr., a T2 last week at the Allianz Championship, made five straight birdies (Nos. 2-6), equaling the best birdie streak thus far on the 2013 Champions Tour en route to a 6-under 66. He shot 66 in the first round last week in Boca Raton and went on to finish T2, two strokes back of Rocco Mediate at the Allianz Championship. Because of his fully-exempt status on the 2012 PGA TOUR, Pernice only made 10 starts on the Champions Tour last year and none before late March at the Mississippi Gulf Resort Classic (T3).

Bob Tway’s run of an eagle and four straight birdies on the front nine (Nos. 3-7) matched the best birdie-eagle streak this year and led to a 7-under 65, his best round on the Champions Tour since he posted a 65 on Saturday at last year’s 3M Championship. It was Tway’s best starting round in a Champions Tour event since he opened with 63 on Friday at the 2011 Greater Hickory Classic at Rock Barn.

Eight of the previous 25 ACE Group Classic tournaments have been won by first-round leaders/co-leaders. Bernhard Langer was the last player to do it in 2011 at The Quarry. He was tied for the first-round lead that year with Russ Cochran and went on to win the ACE event by four strokes over Fred Funk. In his Champions Tour career, Langer has been a first-round leader/co-leader 12 times and gone on to win five from this position, most recently at the 2011 ACE Group Classic.

Defending champion Kenny Perry opened with 4-under 68 (T10) while Gil Morgan, a two-time winner of the ACE Group Classic (1998/2001), recorded a 68 as well, his best opening round at this event since 2007 and his 19^th career round in the 60s in Naples.

Scott Hoch made his first start on the Champions Tour since the 2011 AT&T Championship and birdied the first hole, leading to a score of 1-over 73.

Loren Roberts has still never had a score above par in Naples and his 4-under 68 today extended his streak to 22 straight scores. It was Roberts 14^th round in the 60s. Roberts won the ACE Group Classic in 2006 and 2009.

Rocco Mediate, last week’s winner in Boca Raton, struggled in his first career start in Naples, shooting even-par 72 (T46)…Current Charles Schwab Cup leader John Cook shot 1-under 71 (T32).

With lift, clean and place conditions in effect as well as soft greens and no wind, there were 24 rounds in the 60s and 45 scores under par. Last year at TwinEagles on Friday there were 27 scores in the 60s and 47 rounds under par. Today’s field scoring average was 71.087 compared to 70.962 after the first round last year.  There were seven eagles and 303 birdies made in the first round this year compared to 183 birdies and 11 eagles by the field in Round 1 last year.

Andy Bean withdrew from the tournament while playing his 12^th hole today due to a hip injury.

In addition to Bernhard Langer, Chien Soon Lu, Fred Funk, Mark O’Meara, Roger Chapman and Jeff Freeman all had bogey-free rounds.

For the latest information and updates on the Champions Tour visit www.pgatourmedia.com

Scores available at www.pgatour.com or on the Associated Press wire
Follow the Champions Tour on Twitter at http://twitter.com/ChampionsTour
and Facebook (www.Facebook.com/ChampionsTour)

Tee #10

Click here to print the second round pairings.

1st Place: 54 (Won on scorecard playoff 3 on 18)
Professional: Gene Sauers
Amateurs: Mark Wilhelm, Matt Carroll, Matt Deveraux, Alex Rosmarin

2nd Place: 54
Professional: Mark Brooks
Amateurs: Doug Bertz, Rod Patterson, Russell Hensel, Dick Dickson

3rd Place: 55
Professional: Steve Pate
Amateurs: Michael Coleman, John Henry Ward, Mike Schaffter, Louis Addison

Closest to the Pin (Hole #2): Dan Sullivan
Longest Drive (Men’s): Dan Sullivan
Longest Drive (Women’s): Lori Volwiler

1:00 p.m. Shotgun

1st Place: 60
Professional: Bart Bryant
Amateurs: Rick Cecil, Robbie Gergley, Steve Peine, Jeff Matthews

2nd Place: 61 (won in a scorecard playoff based on common holes played)
Professional: Jeff Sluman
Amateurs: Jim Goodnight, Matt Massei, Larry Conner, Jim Davis

3rd Place: 61
Professional: Russ Cochran
Amateurs: Michael Heller, Michael Forman, Thomas Gravina, Patrick O’Connor

Afternoon pro-am proxy awards will be donated to The First Tee of Naples/Collier.