Ken Tanigawa, of the United States, reacts to a birdie putt on seventeenth green on his way to winning the PGA Tour Champions golf event in Calgary, Alta., Sunday, Aug. 18, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh
CALGARY – A day after tying the course record at Canyon Meadows Golf and Country Club, Ken Tanigawa had eight birdies during a round of 6-under 64 to win the 2024 Rogers Charity Classic on Sunday.
It was Tanigawa’s third career PGA Tour Champions victory, but his first since winning the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship in June 2019.
The 56-year-old American golfer, who was born in Japan but currently resides in Scottsdale, Ariz., had already finished his round when he found out his final score of 17-under 193 was good enough to win after second-place finisher Richard Green.
Green wasn’t able to make an eagle on the last hole, a par-5, to tie him.
Tied at 16 under with Green through 16 holes, Tanigawa birdied thepar-4, 17th hole. Playing in the last group, Green bogeyed the hole and then only managed to par No. 18 to finish alone in second place at 15 under.
Darren Clarke and Jason Caron finished in a tie for third at 14 under, while Mario Tiziani was alone in fifth at 13 under.
Canadian Golf Hall of Famers Stephen Ames and Mike Weir both shot rounds of 3-under 67 on Sunday.
Ames, a former Calgary resident, finished as the top Canadian at 10 under in a six-way tie for 10th place.
“It wasn’t the greatest ball striking, but I got it around,” Ames said. “I was able to capitalize on holes that I hit some good shots on and made birdies with it.
“Overall it was a bit up and down, but I think it was good that I was handling the bad shots and moving forward and not worrying about too much.”
Currently sitting second in the season-long Charles Schwab Cup moneybehind Ernie Els, who also finished at 10 under in Calgary, Ames received a nice ovation from the crowd when he walked up to the 18th green before tapping in his par putt.
“Every time I come back here I get that, so it’s wonderful,” Ames said. “No matter where I finish, you get that reward, which is nice. I think all our Canadian fellows get that.”
Weir finished the tournament in an eight-way tie for 20th at 8 under.
“Overall, I felt like I played pretty good so hopefully that will be momentum (for) next week,” said Weir, who will tee it up at The Ally Challenge in Grand Blanc, Mich., from next Thursday to Sunday.
“It’s phenomenal here at this event. This is one of the premium events on the PGA Tour Champions. The fan support is incredible for myself, Stephen and all the other Canadians, so it’s a great place to play.”
Alan McLean of London, Ont., carded an even-par round of 70 on Sunday to finish one shot back of Weir in a tie for 28th spot.
Gordon Burns of Ajax, Ont., carded a 2-under round of 68 on Sunday to finish the event in a tie for 73rd at 4 over, while Calgary’s Steve Blake shot 79 and finished well back of the leaders at 22 over.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 18, 2024.
Note to readers: This is a corrected story. A previous version erroneously stated that Ken Tanigawa was representing Japan. Tanigawa was in fact born in Japan, but is American.
