SAM TORRANCE JT 5th IN US SENIORS OPEN
AS BRAD BRYANT SIGNS OFF WITH 68 TO WIN
BY THREE AT WHISTLING STRAITS

FROM THE USGA'S SENIOR OPEN WEBSITE

Brad Bryant's name was low, but at least on the main scoring standard overlooking the 18th green when U.S. Senior Open final-round play commenced.
In Bryant's mind, his "very best round," as he said on Saturday, just might allow him to leapfrog the five names ahead of him. The most daunting was eight-time major champion Tom Watson, whose 54-hole lead was three strokes on the field and five on Bryant.
Sunday, Bryant didn't need his very best to win his first U.S. Senior Open.
Though his four-under 68 around The Straits Course at Whistling Straits was the day's low round, those around him wilted in the parching heat and whipping winds just off Lake Michigan.
Bryant finished at six-under 282, three strokes ahead of Ben Crenshaw (285), four ahead of Loren Roberts (286) and five ahead of Watson (287)
Sam Torrance was joint fifth on one-over 289 after a closing round of 76.
DREAMS COME TRUE
"Gosh, dreams do come true," said the 52-year-old Bryant, who won a $470,000 first-place check. "Thirty-five years ago standing on a practice putting green I dreamed about hitting that putt and winning the U.S. Open as a kid.
"All you kids out there putting and thinking sometime it might be for the U.S. Open, today it was, and miracles happen.
Until early into Watson's inward nine, this was his championship to lose - and he did.
With an 18-foot birdie putt at the 361-yard, par-4 10th, Watson improved to nine under for the championship, three shots ahead of Bryant, who was making par three holes ahead, and four ahead of fellow competitor Roberts, who bogeyed the 10th.
"When I got to nine under, I said ‘Let's play the back nine like I played it yesterday [in 2-under 34]."
Watson would, however, play the next four holes in four over, his fourth legitimate bid to win his first U.S. Senior Open being whisked away with the wind. When Bryant rolled in a birdie putt at the 16th, he owned a one-shot lead over both Watson and Roberts and never trailed thereafter.
"I just didn't have it on the back nine. I just put the ball in trouble way too many times to have a chance to win this golf tournament," said Watson, who hit only one fairway and two greens in regulation on his inward nine of 43.
"I had it in my grasp," added Watson. "I had the reins. I lost the reins after 13."
Bryant said he was unaware of what was transpiring behind him as Watson finished with a 76, Roberts a 74, John Ross a 79, Sam Torrance a 76 and Vincente Fernandez a 77.
RETIRED FOR FIVE YEARS
"I know that when I made birdie at nine and got to four under, I felt like I had a chance to win, because my goal for the day was 66," said Bryant, who unofficially retired from the PGA Tour for five years before joining the Champions Tour in 2005. "I felt like if I shot 66, I would be in a playoff. And the conditions just deteriorated on the back nine. It got really nasty out there."
So much so that even Crenshaw, who began the day off the scoring standard at one under for the championship and tied for 12th, vaulted to his best finish in his six-year Champions Tour career. Crenshaw closed with a two-under 70.
"I really only looked at the leaderboard one time and I saw that Tom Watson was nine under, and I was way far back at that time," Crenshaw said. "So I didn't give it much thought. Because my hands were still full playing the course."
Bryant, known as Dr. Dirt for his many years of grinding to improve his game, closed with an even-par 36 on the final nine. And when caddie Tony Smith told Bryant he held a three-stroke lead while standing in the middle of the 18th fairway, Bryant was nearly in a state of shock.
"I'm a journeyman that happened to have a really great week here," he said. "I can't tell you what it means to me. To have my name on the trophy is something more special than I can tell any of you at the moment."

FINAL TOTALS
Par 288 (4 x 72). Players from US unless stated.

282 Brad Bryant 71 72 71 68
285 Ben Crenshaw 72 67 76 70
286 Loren Roberts 70 69 73 74
287 Tom Watson 70 66 73 78
289 Sam Torrance (Sco) 73 69 71 76, Denis Watson 74 73 67 75, D A Weibring 72 68 74 75, Tom Purtzer 73 67 74 75, Joe Ozaki (Jpn) 72 69 73 75, Jay Haas 73 71 73 72
290 Jim Woodward 67 73 75 75, Mark O'Meara 72 70 74 74, Vicente Fernandez (Arg) 69 70 74 77, Larry Nelson 75 71 74 70, Lonnie Nielsen 68 71 77 74
291 Bruce Vaughan 68 73 74 76, Craig Stadler 72 73 71 75
292 Mark McNulty (Irl) 73 71 73 75, John Ross 72 71 70 79, Bob Gilder 74 74 70 74, John Jacobs (Eng) 75 69 76 72
293 Ron Streck 74 69 76 74, Jim Thorpe 72 74 74 73, Des Smyth (Irl) 70 69 78 76, Tom Kite 72 72 76 73, Donnie Hammond 72 70 80 71, Eduardo Romero (Arg) 66 77 71 79
David Eger 73 74 69 77
294 Keith Fergus 72 69 77 76, Wayne Levi 76 72 72 74, Bobby Wadkins 73 73 74 74
295 Kirk Hanefeld 71 74 74 76
296 Bruce Lietzke 71 71 74 80, Gil Morgan 69 73 80 74, Peter Jacobsen 73 73 73 77, Danny Green 75 72 72 77, Scott Simpson 71 74 78 73, Jeff Coston 70 70 79 77, George Zahringer 75 72 80 69
297 Ron Vlosich 69 71 78 79
298 Bruce Fleisher 72 73 77 76, Brady Exber 73 73 78 74, Fuzzy Zoeller 73 74 75 76, Jerry Pate 72 72 75 79
299 Pete Oakley 72 74 75 78, Curtis Strange 72 71 79 77
300 Michael Goddes 74 73 73 80, David Thore 71 76 79 74, Mark James (Eng) 71 73 82 74
301 Martin West 75 73 78 75, Jim Ahern 71 71 82 77
302 Michael Reid 73 74 78 77, Jon Chaffee 72 73 78 79, Jon Fiedler 69 75 79 79
303 Mike McCullough 72 75 75 81, Mike Smith 74 72 77 80, Danny Edwards 73 75 74 81
306 R.W. Eaks 72 74 76 84, Masahiro Kuramoto (Jpn) 78 68 78 82
307 Christopher Dachisen 75 73 80 79
308 James Blair 72 76 81 79
309 Jim Knoll 76 72 77