Sunday, May 27, 2012

ROGER CHAPMAN LEADS US SENIOR PGA CHAMPIONSHIP BY FIVE STROKES

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Roger Chapman in action yesterday (Montana Pritchard/The PGA of America)

FROM THE US CHAMPIONS TOUR WEBSITE
Benton Harbour, Michigan
Kenya-born Englishman Roger Chapman, 53, began the US Senior PGA Championship third round tied with John Cook, but ended it with a five-shot lead, thanks to a 7-under 64. Cook settled for a 69 to drop into second as Chapman tied the tournament 54-hole scoring record at 199

SCOTWATCH: SANDY LYLE IS LYING T12 ON 211

Chapman finished the day at 14 under par. John Cook began the round tied with Chapman for the lead, but couldn't keep pace with the Englishman and settled for a 69 to drop into second place at Harbor Shores.
Chapman's 54-hole score of 199 tied the tournament record set by Sam Snead in 1973, although Snead was 17 under when he set the mark.
Steve Pate had a 67 to join 66-year-old Hale Irwin at 7 under. Irwin made a triple bogey on the par-3 fourth, but played well on the back nine and shot 69.
Chapman beat Padraig Harrington in a play-off to win a European Tour event in Brazil in 2000, and that's pretty much the highlight of his resume. He has never won on the Champions Tour, though he plays mostly on the European Senior Tour. He made the cut in all 11 of his Champions Tour starts last year, but didn't have a top-10 finish.
He'll have one more challenge this weekend the final round Sunday, when the temperature is expected to reach 90 degrees.
The 53-year-old Chapman came to Harbor Shores after tying for 16th a couple weekends ago at the Mallorca Open -- the European Senior Tour's lone event so far this season.
Chapman began to pull away from the field on the front nine Saturday. While Irwin was making a six on No. 4, Chapman rolled in his second birdie of the day to move to 9 under.
On the par-5 fifth, Chapman's second shot went into the rough to the left of the fairway. He calmly pitched out onto the green, giving himself a birdie putt pin high from about 25 feet, which he made.
Even his lone bogey was impressive in its own way. On the par-4 seventh, Chapman's drive went through the fairway, and he needed two hacks to get the ball out of some tall grass. But he was then able to pitch to within about 10 feet, and he made the putt to prevent further damage.
After making the turn at 9 under, Chapman birdied Nos. 10, 11 and 12 on his way to a 30 on the back nine. His iron play was superb, giving him birdie putts of 3 feet on No. 11 and about a foot on the par-4 14th. He made another 3-foot birdie putt on No. 16, then parred the last two holes.
Irwin shot a 66 on Friday to put himself in contention, and he would've had a similar round Saturday if not for trouble at No. 4. His tee shot missed to the left, where the green is protected by a wetland area. After going back to the drop zone, Irwin pitched onto the green, but then he three-putted from roughly the same distance as Chapman's birdie putt.
Play was delayed about three hours at the start of the third round on a wet morning.

WHAT ROGER HAS TO SAY ABOUT IT ...

By T.J. Auclair, PGA.com Interactive Producer

BENTON HARBOR, Mich. – England’s Roger Chapman has been playing golf since he was 10 years old. He turned pro in 1981 at the age of 21.
Forty-three years after he began playing and 32 years after he turned pro, the 53-year-old Chapman estimates that Saturday’s third round of the 73rd Senior PGA Championship presented by KitchenAid at Harbor Shores was “one of those days where I think it's the best iron play I've ever played in my career.”
That would explain the course-record-tying 7-under 64 that put Chapman at 14-under 199 through 54 holes, good for a commanding five-shot lead over John Cook with 18 holes left to play. Steve Pate and Hale Irwin are seven shots behind Chapman at 7 under.
“Funny enough I was having a bit of lunch with David Frost this morning and we said, aren't we so lucky?” said Chapman, whose 199 total ties the legendary Sam Snead for the best 54-hole mark in tournament history. “We’re 50 years old and more and still doing the sport that we have done for so long. I started when I was 10. I turned pro when I was 21. And to still go at 53, I’m absolutely delighted. We're very lucky.”
Interestingly, Chapman spent 18 months as a rules official on the European Tour after his full-time playing days in 2006.
“When I quit the main European Tour in about '06, I was asked whether I would be interested in being a rules official,” he said. “At the time I said no, I wanted to maybe try and do some company days and et cetera. But they were sort of few and far between. So the Tour asked me again and I did 18 months as a rules official, which was enjoyable. I really enjoyed the course set-up doing the tees and pins every day. The worst bit was sitting in the buggy for about 13 hours.”
Needless to say, he’s happy to be playing instead of officiating.Chapman has been on fire all week – he shot 68-67 in the first two rounds – but Saturday was extra special. He distanced himself from the pack, which was incredibly impressive for a guy who only has one other tournament appearance under his belt in 2012.
That appearance was on the European Senior Tour two weeks ago, where Chapman finished 16th in the Mallorca Open. The way things are going at Harbor Shores this week, even he is surprised by his play.
“I've been working hard at home and everything felt good at home, so two weeks ago when we played it was almost a case of sort of dusting off the cobwebs and getting some stroke play in and trying to focus on what you were doing,” he said. “And I played reasonable finished 16th, I think. So sort of dusted off the cobwebs. And coming out here I had no real expectations. But I knew that I was playing OK and everything, the first three rounds have gone really well for me.”
Chapman made birdies early and often in the third round, beginning at the par-3 second, where he holed a 10-foot putt, the first of three birdies in four holes. He made a bogey at the par-4 seventh after finding trouble in the rough when his tee shot crept just through the fairway, but he got it back quickly at No. 10, the start of a special, back-nine 5-under-par 30.
At the 11th hole, Chapman set up a short birdie with a wedge-shot approach to three feet. He dropped a 10-footer for birdie at No. 12, stuffed a 6-iron to a foot at No. 14 and grabbed his last birdie of the day at No. 16, tapping in a three-footer after a spectacular 8-iron approach.
While Chapman’s lead will certainly be difficult for any other player to overcome, this isn’t a lock just yet.In 16 full seasons as a member of the European Tour, Chapman won just once at the 2000 Brazil Rio De Janeiro 500 Years Open. He defeated Padraig Harrington in a playoff there.
He was close a bunch of other times, but has nothing more to show for his efforts.
“I think I had six seconds on the European Tour,” Chapman said. “I lost a couple of playoffs and I had tournaments that were taken away from me. I was in the clubhouse and then the guy behind I think in Morocco finished birdie-eagle-par to beat me by one. I should have won more than I did, I think I've … it's something like 16, 15 or 16 times I finished second around the world. So yeah, three times in second on the Senior Tour, the European Senior Tour. So always a bridesmaid at the moment.”
Chapman’s in great position to change all that on Sunday.

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posted by Colin | See story on its own page | Sunday, May 27, 2012

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