Couples wins again on Champions Tour

Fred Couples made it two successive wins on the Champions Tour after a six-under par 65 handed the former Ryder Cup player and captain a four-stroke victory in the Toshiba Classic.

In only his third start on the tour, Couples finished on 18-under par for a comfortable success at the Newport Beach Country Club to add to his ACE Group Classic he won two weeks previously. Couples also narrowly missed out in the season-opener when he finished second behind 2009 British Open runner up and eight-time former major winner Tom Watson. Couples also finished in a tie for 14th place in the PGA Tour’s Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale last weekend.

Ronnie Black carded a round of 65 to finish in second place, while Tom Lehman and Chien Soon Lu both scored 69s to tie for third place at 12 under. Tom Watson (62) and Loren Roberts (68) followed at 11 under par.

Couples hasn’t had a score higher than 68 and is 56-under par over the 162 Champions Tour holes he has played to date. HIs win saw him earn $255,000 to take his tour earnings to $691,000.

Tom Watson matched his best round on the Champions Tour and also tied Hale Irwin’s 1998 mark for the best final round in the event. Watson’s round included an eagle and three birdies in his first four holes. Watson dropped a stroke on the 9th but then birdied five of the last nine holes. He settled for a birdie on the par-5 18th after missing a 20-foot eagle putt.