Right Place, Right Time; Lehman Wins in Des Moines When Final Round Is Cancelled

DES MOINES, Iowa -- After hitting the first 17 greens in regulation at Wakonda Club on Saturday, and playing those holes in 8 under par, Tom Lehman was a little too ambitious at the 311-yard, par-4 18th. He hit his second shot over the green. The result was his only bogey in two rounds at the Principal Charity Classic.

Despite the shot that he surrendered, Lehman posted the low round of the day, a 65, and established a two-stroke lead with a 36-hole total of 131 (13 under).

"I got over aggressive...just a big mess," he said later. "Aside from that, it was 35 holes of really good golf from me."

And as it turned out, that was all he needed. The final round of the tournament was rained out on Sunday, which meant that Lehman was declared the winner.

This was his 11th victory on the PGA Tour Champions, and his first since he won the Tucson Conquistadores Classic in March of 2017. Lehman made $262,500, which moved him up from No. 20 on the 2018 Champions money list to No. 10, with $627,199 in 11 events.

The 59-year-old former All-American at the University of Minnesota had always played well in Des Moines, with six top-10 finishes in as many appearances. But he had never won -- until Sunday. 

Lehman opened the tournament with a 66 on Friday, and trailed Bernhard Langer by two when Saturday's round began. He was only 1 under through seven holes, but an eagle at the 549-yard, par-5 eighth was the beginning of a dash to the top of the leaderboard -- as he went 7 under in a stretch of nine holes. He followed the eagle with a birdie at the par-3 ninth (188 yards) and added three more birdies in a row at the 12th (361, par 4), 13th (529, par 5) and 14th (201, par 3).

He got 8 under for the round with a birdie at the 430-yard, par-4 16th before giving one back at the 18th. 

Langer birdied the first two holes on Saturday, but played the last 16 holes in 1 under. The resulting 69 dropped him into a four-way tie for second at 133, along with Scott Parel, Glen Day and Woody Austin. 

CHAMPIONS TOUR

Principal Charity Classic

At Wakonda Club

Par 72

Final results (3rd round cancelled because of rain)

1. Tom Lehman                  66-65--131

T2. Scott Parel                   67-66--133

T2. Bernhard Langer         64-69--133

T2. Glen Day                     65-68--133

T2. Woody Austin              65-68--133

T6. Corey Pavin                67-67--134

T6. Jerry Kelly                   66-68--134