A superb last round of eight under par 64 sees Padraig come up one shot shy as he finishes tied second for the second time this season on the Champions Tour. He got off to a steady start with three opening pars and picked up shots at three of the next five holes before dropping a shot at the 9th to be out in two under par. But the fireworks really started on the back nine as he birdied the next five holes to haul himself into contention. Two pars followed before he picked up another shot on the par four 17th which tied the lead. Playing the reachable par five 18th. he hit his second shot into the back bunker and failed to get up and down but it was a gutsy performance as he signed for a 64. Steve Flesch won the event on eleven under par after also making a birdie on the 17th to take the lead. It was a very encouraging performance from Padraig as he plays in his first senior Major next week and then plays in the PGA Championship!
Padraig adds a second round of one over par 73 to lie in tied 13th place on two under par heading into Sundays final round at the Mitsubishi Electric Classic. A slow start had him out in one over par as he mixed two bogeys with a lone birdie on the par five 6th hole. He again found it hard to find any birdies coming home, recording seven pars and one birdie offset by a dropped shot on the tough par four 14th hole. Eight under par leads the tournament.
Padraig opens his account with a solid round of three under par 69. Seven under par leads. Starting on the back nine, he got off to a nice start and was a couple under par after four holes. He dropped a shot at the par four 15th hole where he found trouble off the tee but bounced back well with two closing birdies in his last three holes to be out in 33 shots. Turning for home, he started back with five straight pars before making a nice birdie on the par five 6th hole which he reached in two and two putted. His final dropped shot came at his next hole, the par four 7th where he again found rough off the tee. All in all a solid days play which has him in tied 8th place. He tees off late Saturday at 12.35pm local time.
Padraig plays this week on the Champions Tour at the Mitsubishi Electric Classic. It is being played at TPC Sugerloaf which is renowned as a tough test. The event is being played over two courses, both designed by Greg Norman. A strong field plays this week and your defending champion is Dicky Pride who won back in 2020.
Tee Times – Padraig plays with Mark Walker and David Frost at 7am Friday and 12.35pm on Saturday.