Harris delighted after first pro victory
John Harris claimed his first professional tournament victory when winning the Commerce Bank Championship on the first play-off hole in New York.
Harris fired a final-round seven-under-par 64 to finish level with Tom Jenkins at 11 under on 202.
The former US Amateur champion, who joined the Champions Tour in 2002, hurdled 16 players in 18 holes to climb to the top of the leaderboard, then watched the challenge of Gil Morgan and Jay Haas come up short.
Jenkins, the second-round leader, managed a bogey-free 69, with his second birdie two-foot tap-in at the 17th that moved him into a tie for the lead.
“I’m thrilled to close this thing out with the satisfaction of playing under the gun against the best players,” Harris said.
“It was a hard decision four years ago to do this. I wanted to challenge myself to see if I could play at this level. It will take some of the pressure off.”
In the play-off, Jenkins sent his drive well right amid trees but whistled his approach through the trees into the rough just shy of the green.
His pitch curled short and left him a six-foot par putt, which he knocked in to put the pressure on Harris.
But Harris was up to it, draining a six-footer of his own after a strong drive down the middle of the fairway and a wonderful five-iron from 178 yards.
Haas, seeking to become the first Champions Tour player in 19 years to win four straight events, shot a two-under 69.
But he missed a three-footer for birdie at the 17th and could not birdie the par-four 18th, where he ran a 20-foot birdie try past the cup.
“I didn’t know the course coming in but gave myself an opportunity to win it,” Haas said. “I can’t complain with the week I’ve had.”
Andy Bean carded a final-round 67 that included an eagle at the par-five third hole but he had three bogeys over the final six holes, including one at the 18th where he missed a three-foot par putt that could have put him in a play-off after a remarkable chip burned the edge of the hole.
“The putt went right at the end and I thought it would go left,” Bean said. “I thought I actually made the chip. It came out hotter than I expected.”
