Bernhard Langer overcomes a two-stroke deficit to win the 3M Championship
Bernhard Langer fired a bogey-free 10-under par 62 on Sunday to win the 3M Championship en route to his first victory since The ACE Group Classic in February, 2011.
Before coming to the TPC Twin Cities, he participated in 13 Champions Tour events and had 11 top-10 finishes recorded to his name. It has a sensational track record, as it included eight top-five finishes and four runner-up positions too.
Last week, he started off his final round with a one-stroke lead in The Senior Open Championship and faltered for a 75 to take the tied sixth spot on the leaderboard.
Three weeks ago, he had a commanding four-stroke lead while teeing off in the final round of the US Senior Open. However, he recorded a 72, which was not enough to earn him a victory and he had to settle for the runner-up place.
Overall, he remained unlucky until he overcame a six-stroke deficit during the final round in Minnesota to end his 24-event victory drought on the 50-and-over tour.
"Winning is always special, but this is pretty important because it's been awhile since I've won, and especially after what I've been through the last few weeks being in contention and not being able to close the deal," Langer said. "It was very important
for my confidence to pull off a win here sooner than later".
His final score at the end of the tournament was 18-under par 198. David Peoples, the overnight leader, carded a two-under par 70 to take the second spot with a 16-under par tournament score.
Langer started off his round with a tied sixth place on the leaderboard. He recorded five birdies each before and after the turn and took the clubhouse lead.
Meanwhile, Peoples had the chance to force the game to enter the playoffs. However, he failed to save pars on the 16th and 17th hole and remained two strokes behind Langer at the end.
"I should have looked at the boards and I should have paid attention to what was going on," he said. "I got in my own little world and fell in love with where I was. ... I kind of felt like, `Just don't make any mistakes and you'll be all right.' I had no
idea”.
Yet, it was his best finish in his 51 starts on the Champions Tour.
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