BERNHARD LANGER

Tiger Woods is back in action this week with a little help from his 12-year-old son.

Athletes with Special Olympics Washington got the chance to skate around the Kraken Community Iceplex on Sunday.

PHOENIX — (AP) — Phil Mickelson birdied three of the final holes Sunday to win the season-ending Charles Schwab Cup Championship, and Bernhard Langer held on to win his sixth PGA Tour Champions season points title. He joined Jack Nicklaus as the only player to win four of his first six PGA Tour Champions starts. Furyk needed to win the tournament or tie for third and have Langer end up worse than eighth to win his first PGA Tour Champions series title. Langer played all 39 PGA Tour Champions events in the wraparound 2020-21 season, putting him in position to win another Schwab Cup despite finishing 17th Sunday. Alker had a dream finish to his first PGA Tour Champions season.

Phil Mickelson birdied three of the final holes Sunday to win the season-ending Charles Schwab Cup Championship, and Bernhard Langer held on to win his sixth PGA Tour Champions season points title.

Phil Mickelson stood on the 18th green at Phoenix Country Club, a wide smile across his face as he held yet another PGA Tour Champions trophy. Next to him was 64-year-old Bernhard Langer, grinning just as broadly as he hoisted the Charles Schwab Cup trophy at an age when most players are playing from the front tee boxes, not fighting for championships. Mickelson birdied three of the final holes Sunday to win the season-ending Charles Schwab Cup Championship, and Langer held on to win his sixth PGA Tour Champions season points title.

PHOENIX — (AP) — Phil Mickelson shot a 6-under 65 and season points leader Bernhard Langer battled through a balky for a 68 in the opening round of the Charles Schwab Cup Championship on Thursday. Mickelson had seven birdies and a bogey to match Jim Furyk and Kirk Triplett for the lead in the PGA Tour Champions season finale at Phoenix Country Club. Langer arrived in the desert as the prohibitive favorite to win his sixth Schwab Cup, joining Furyk, Ernie Els and Miguel Angel Jimenez as the only players with a chance to win the season championship. Langer's scenarios for winning his fifth Schwab Cup in seven years ranged from winning the Schwab Cup Championship to 35th, depending on how the other contenders finish. Lefty is a part-time player on the PGA Tour Champions while still playing on the regular tour, winning three of his five starts on the senior circuit.

Langer's swing-solving skills have put him in a familiar place: frontrunner to win another Schwab Cup title. Langer has multiple scenarios to win the season-long Schwab Cup for the sixth time, from winning the Charles Schwab Championship to finishing 35th, depending how the other contenders end up. Langer also has made the cut at the Masters four times since 2015, including a tie for 29th this year. I prefer afternoon tee times to morning tee times, there’s no doubt about it.”While the main attraction will be the race between the four Schwab Cup contenders, Mickelson's presence adds extra buzz. Mickelson still has the game to compete on the PGA Tour — he won the PGA Championship earlier this year at 50 — and has been a part-time competitor on the PGA Tour Champions.

Langer closed with a 3-under 69, also birdieing the par-5 18th in regulation to match Barron at 14-under 202 on the Country Club of Virginia’s James River course. He missed a 6-foot birdie try in the playoff before Langer ran in the winner to end a string of five playoff losses. He’s incredibly, incredibly gifted and he’s one of my heroes and good friends,” Barron said about Langer. He has three victories in five senior starts, winning the Constellation Furyk and Friends two weeks ago in Florida. ___More AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf and https://twitter.com/AP_SportsCopyright 2021 The Associated Press.

Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka are finally getting their day in the sun.

Nobody has collected more wins at the Ryder Cup than Sergio Garcia.

Civic-minded Wisconsinites wanted to make sure Bryson DeChambeau, who was chomping on a sandwich during a practice round Tuesday, sampled the local fare.

GRAND BLANC, Mich. — (AP) — Joe Durant made a 5-foot bogey putt on the par-4 18th Sunday for a one-stroke victory over Bernhard Langer in The Ally Challenge. The 57-year-old Durant closed with a 4-under 68 to finish at 17-under 199 at Warwick Hills. He won for the fourth time on the PGA Tour Champions after winning four times on the PGA Tour. Two days after shooting his age on his 64th birthday, the German star had just one back-nine birdie — matching Durant on the 16th. Defending champion Jim Furyk (70) tied for 10th at 10 under.

GRAND BLANC, Mich. — (AP) — Bernhard Langer shot his age on his 64th birthday Friday for a share of the lead with Marco Dawson in the suspended first round of the The Ally Challenge. Furyk won last year in his Champions debut and took the PURE Insurance Championship a month and half later in his second senior start. Also the winner of the PGA Tour's 2003 Buick Open at Warwick Hills, he won the U.S. Senior Open last month in Nebraska and tied for second last week in the Boeing Classic. “Got off to a real fast start holing a wedge there at 1 and made an eagle early,” Furyk said. He's playing for the first time since the U.S. Senior Open on July 11.

Champions Tour Golf Germany's Bernhard Langer hits from the second tee box during the Shaw Charity Classic golf event in Calgary, Alberta, Friday, Aug. 13, 2021. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press via AP) (Jeff McIntosh)CALGARY, Alberta — (AP) — Billy Mayfair shot an 8-under 62 on Friday at Canyon Meadows to take a one-stroke lead over Canadian star Mike Weir after the first round of the PGA Tour Champions' Shaw Charity Classic. In his last start, he tied for second in the U.S. Senior Open in Nebraska. I’m very happy with the way 6 under turned out.”The tournament is the first the PGA Tour Champions or PGA Tour event in Canada since the Shaw Charity Classic in 2019. He turned 50 last month and tied for 64th in the Senior British Open in his Champions debut.

BERKSHIRE, England — (AP) — Darren Clarke shot a 5-under 65 on Thursday at Sunningdale for a share of the Senior British Open lead with James Kingston. The 52-year-old from Northern Ireland won the British Open in 2011 at Royal St. George’s. “I played smart around here,” Clarke said. Didn’t make anything at the end, but just played smart. Jim Furyk, the U.S, Senior Open winner two weeks ago in Omaha, Nebraska, closed with a double bogey for a 70.

US Senior Open Golf Jim Furyk tees off the second hole during the final round of the U.S. Senior Open golf tournament at Omaha Country Club, Sunday, July 11, 2021, in Omaha, Neb. — (AP) — Jim Furyk recovered from a rough start Sunday in the final round of the U.S. Senior Open to hold off Retief Goosen and Mike Weir by three strokes. Making his debut in the event, Furyk closed with a 1-over 71 to become the eighth player to win both the U.S. Open and Senior Open, joining the likes of Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Lee Trevino, Billy Casper and Gary Player. Furyk played his final 15 holes in 2 under and finished at 7-under 273 to win the Francis D. Ouimet Memorial Trophy and $720,000. Furyk was the seventh player to have a lead of four or more strokes entering the final round of the U.S. Senior Open, and six have gone on to win.

The PGA Tour Champions newcomer already has wins in two senior majors and will go for a third this week in the U.S. Senior Open at Omaha Country Club. OCC is set on what once was rolling farmland on the north edge of the city and was the site of the 2013 Senior Open. Among them playing in the Senior Open for the first time are Ernie Els, Jim Furyk, Jose Maria Olazabal, Rich Beem and Mike Weir. There was no U.S. Senior Open last year because of the pandemic. The 60-year-old Perry, who also won the Senior Open in 2017, has only two top-10 finishes in 22 events this year.

Maybe the first hint that Will Zalatoris had what it took came when he was 6, and Ken Venturi went over to him on a driving range to show him a grip that he hasn’t changed since.

Tiger Woods, left, walks on the 11th fairway with his son Charlie during a practice round at the Father Son Challenge golf tournament, Thursday, Dec. 17, 2020, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)ORLANDO, Fla. – Padraig Harrington and Tiger Woods turned pro about the same time and have played in some 170 tournaments around the world together. “This is the first tournament I've ever played in that Tiger Woods is playing in that he's not the star of the show,” Harrington said Friday. Everybody is stopping to watch Charlie.”That would be Charlie Woods, the 11-year-old son of the 15-time major champion. Plus, he's the son of Tiger Woods. Even so, this cozy event in the holiday season has come to life with Woods playing for the first time.

The PNC Championship announced Thursday that Woods will play with 11-year-old son Charlie in the tournament that has paired major champions with their sons since 1995, the year before the 44-year-old Woods turned pro. “I can't tell you how excited I am to be playing with Charlie in our first official tournament together,” Woods said. The PNC Championship is Dec. 19-20 at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club Orlando in central Florida. It allowed Fuzzy Zoeller to play with his daughter, Gretchen, and Arnold Palmer to play with his grandson, Sam Saunders. Until deciding to play in the PNC Championship, it was thought Woods ended the year at the Masters.

Tiger Woods helps Masters' champion Dustin Johnson with his green jacket after his victory at the Masters golf tournament Sunday, Nov. 15, 2020, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)AUGUSTA, Ga. – Nothing ever comes easily for Dustin Johnson in the majors, except for when he slipped his arms through that Masters green jacket Sunday. Johnson overcame a jittery start that conjured memories of past majors he failed to finish off. His five-shot victory was the largest at the Masters since Woods won by 12 in 1997. “As a kid, you're dreaming about winning the Masters, having Tiger put the green jacket on you. No one had a better finish than defending champion Tiger Woods, but only after the five-time Masters champion posted the highest score of his career — three balls in Rae's Creek for a 10 on the par-3 12th hole.

___12:20 p.m.Dustin Johnson has made the turn in the final round of the Masters with a two-shot lead over Cameron Smith. That broke a stretch of 33 consecutive holes without a bogey going back to the second round. The Masters leader three-putted from just off the front of the green at the par-3 fourth hole in the final round. The final round of the Masters began with another weather delay, this one only 10 minutes because of fog. Johnson is the 16th player to lead by four shots or more going into the final round at Augusta National.

Langer, a two-time Masters champion and ageless wonder, gets to play two more rounds. He became the oldest player to make the 36-hole cut at the Masters, topping the record by Tommy Aaron in 2000 by 33 days. Tiger Woods constantly cites Langer and Fred Couples as examples of Masters champions who can find their way around the course and post good scores. When golf returned from the pandemic in June, Langer teed it up twice on the PGA Tour because the 50-and-older PGA Tour Champions had not resumed. Langer still decided to check on the policy on Tuesday night during the Masters Club dinner for past champions.

What two days have shown is that Masters experience only goes so far on a soft course with rye grass that isn't grown in quite the way it usually is in April. Another Masters rookie, Sungjae Im (70), was in the group another shot behind that included Patrick Cantlay (66), who contended for the green jacket last year. “You have to really throw all the past knowledge out the window this week, as weird as it is,” Thomas said. Johnson quickly became the first player this week to reach 10 under with three birdies around Amen Corner. The two-time Masters champion shot 68 in the morning on a long, soft course.

The opening round was delayed nearly three hours at the start by heavy rain, and with limited daylight in November, there was no way to complete the round. Greg Norman still holds the record for lowest opening round, a 63 in 1996, the year he lost a six-shot lead to Nick Faldo in the final round. There were 53 rounds under par in the 92-man field and 24 rounds in the 60s, both Masters records for any round. The previous mark was 47 rounds under par in the second round of 1992 (83-man field). This is his fifth Masters, and not only his lowest score, but the first time he has shot par or better in the opening round.

Play has been suspended in the second round of the Masters, with 48 players yet to finish. While the second round won’t be completed until Saturday morning, Langer is assured of getting through. Dustin Johnson, Justin Thomas, Cameron Smith and Abraham Ancer all have a share of the lead after finishing the second round at 9-under 135. ___11:50 a.m.Dustin Johnson is pulling away from the field in the second round of the Masters. The second round is underway at the Masters, and the first round hasn't quite finished up yet.

Augusta National Chairman Fred Ridley announced Wednesday a $10 million donation to help with the redevelopment of what he said were once-thriving communities that have gone through decades of poverty, crime and unemployment. Bernhard Langer received that assurance at the Masters Club dinner Tuesday night with Chairman Fred Ridley. “But the issue is a lot larger than Augusta National and the Masters.”He was only certain that it would not change for the next Masters. And it wasn't in 1976, when Masters Chairman Fred Ridley stayed there for the first time. In fact, Masters Chairman Fred Ridley said it was decided before the pandemic forced the Masters to be postponed in April.

Jordan Spieth putts on the 10th green during the first round of the RBC Heritage golf tournament, Thursday, June 18, 2020, in Hilton Head Island, S.C. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)Ian Poulter and Mark Hubbard set the pace for good scoring through a brief spell of rain at Hilton Head. Spieth didn't figure to be part of the conversation until bouncing back from a triple bogey with eight birdies for a 66. It was the kind of break Spieth has seen far too often during three years without a victory. He was on such a roll that Spieth began to contemplate eight straight birdies to end his round. Michael did a great job of reminding me that today when it wasnt going well on my front nine, Spieth said.