John Cook wins season-ending Charles Schwab Cup Championship
Showing that he knows how to finish off a season in style, John Cook successfully defended his title at the Charles Schwab Cup Championship, the season-ending event on the Champions Tour
schedule, winning $440,000 for his fifth career victory on the senior’s circuit.
Cook shot a four-under 67 in the final round on Sunday 7 November to finish at 17-under, good for a two-shot victory over Michael Allen. German golfer Bernhard Langer, who won the season-long
Charles Schwab Cup points race, finished in a tie for third-place at 12-under, along with South African David Frost.
The event was staged at Harding Park Golf Club in San Francisco, the home course of legendary golfing commentator and player Ken Venturi. Cook describes Venturi, the 1964 U.S. Open champion,
as his mentor and said he felt his presence out there.
"One of the great achievements," Cook said. "His voice was in my head all day long and for some reason it just clicked in. So I had a little extra in there. I'm very happy and proud that
I could, you know, be a part of his legacy here."
Going into the final event of the season, it was a two-man battle for the points race, with only Fred Couples able to catch Langer. But Couples only managed a tie for 10th, finishing nine-under
for the event. Langer won $1 million for claiming the season-long award while Couples won $500,000 for finishing runner-up.
"Looking back, it's been an unbelievable year," said Langer, who won five times this year. "The thing I [hadn't] done so far is winning the Schwab Cup, so this was a big deal for me. To
come out on top is a great feeling and it's worth all the hard work over the years."
Cook, who entered the final round one shot behind Allen, birdied two of his first three holes to claim the lead. With a steady rain falling on Harding Park, Allen’s one-under round of
70 simply was not good enough. And he had nothing but praise for the solid play of Cook.
"He really had that blade rolling," Allen said of Cook’s putting. "On that front nine there were a lot of two-shot swings that made it tough for me to come back, especially when I wasn't
firing on all cylinders."
Cook, who finished runner-up five times this year, won for the first time this season.
"If I'd have gone through this year without a win it would have been disappointing to say the least," he said. "People remember who your champions are and it's about winning out here."
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