Brett Quigley shoots 64 to take Cologuard Classic lead
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — Brett Quigley birdied six of the last seven holes Friday for a 9-under 64 and the first-round lead in the PGA Tour Champions’ Cologuard Classic.
The winner a month ago in Morocco in his second Champions start, the 50-year-old Quigley birdied Nos. 12-15 and 17-18 on Tucson National’s Catalina Course.
“I think I was 3 under and I saw someone 6. I was like, `All right, I’ve got to get going here. I’ve just got to make some birdies.’ Hit some good shots and made some good putts and all of a sudden it was a bunch of birdies.”
Robert Karlsson was second, making five back-nine birdies in a 65, The 50-year-old Swede is making his second career start on the 50-and-over tour. He tied for 23rd two weeks ago in the Chubb Classic in his senior debut.
Steve Stricker, John Day, Glen Day and Rod Pampling shot 67. Hall of Famers Fred Couples and Bernhard Langer were another stroke back along with Ken Tanigawa. Couples eagled the par-5 second and closed with two birdies.
Quigley followed the victory in Morocco with a ninth-place tie in Florida in the Chubb Classic.
“I’m just playing golf,” Quigley said. “I’m just trying to keep it simple.”
The nephew of 11-time PGA Tour Champions winner Dana Quigley, he had five runner-up finishes in 408 starts on the PGA Tour, earning more than $11 million.
“It’s such a great atmosphere out here,” Quigley said. “The camaraderie’s just different than the tour. Everybody still calls me “Champ” out here, walking by. It’s just a nice feeling. It’s not as dog eat dog as it is out there on the big tour. And I’ve had a bunch of time off, so I’m ready to play golf and I’m happy playing golf.”
Stricker won the 2018 event for the first of his five senior victories. His daughter, Bobbi Maria, made the traveling squad for Wisconsin’s golf team and played in the Phoenix area this week.
Daly had six birdies in a seven-hole stretch on his second nine. After playing the back nine in even par with a birdie and bogey, Daly birdied Nos. 2-5 and 7-8. He won his lone senior title in 2017.
“The greens are really good and you’ve got to hit some good shots into them because they’re pretty firm,” Daly said. “It’s hard to get a ball real close. That’s the way we always like it here. I just made so many 20- and 30-footers today. I didn’t hit it bad, I just didn’t hit it close. I just made some putts. It’s hard to do. It’s hard to keep doing that, so hopefully I can maybe hit a few more greens and get a little closer.”
He scrambled for the bogey on the par-5 17th.
“Hit it out-of-bounds,” Daly said. “Then my third one after the tee, I killed it, caught the tree, went right behind it, chipped out, got up-and-down for bogey, so that kind of saved the round.
Defending champion Mark O’Meara birdied three of the last four in a 69.
Chubb Classic winner Scott Parel opened with a 70.
Ernie Els had a 73 in his second senior start. He lost a playoff to Miguel Angel Jimenez in January in his debut in the season-opening event in Hawaii.
Hall of Fame pitcher John Smoltz shot 74. Playing alongside Karlsson and Thongchai Jaidee in the last group of the day off the first tee, Smoltz had five birdies, but made a triple bogey on the par-4 third and had three bogeys.
Page 1 of 4 ‘ Pre-Tournament Media Notes
Cologuard Classic ‘ Feb 25 – March 1
Cologuard Classic
Omni Tucson National ‘ Tucson, Arizona ‘ February 25 – March 1, 2020
Media Contact
Jackie Servais, Jackieservais@pgatourhq.com, 303-249-6439
Quick Facts
• Golf Course: Omni Tucson National Catalina Course
• Par: 73; Yardage: 7,218
• Course Designer: Robert Bruce Harris/ Bruce Devlin (1963)
• Purse: $1,700,000 (Winner: $255,000)
• Golf Channel Coverage (all times ET): Friday: 6:30 – 8:30 p.m.; Saturday/Sunday: 4:30– 7 p.m.
• Quick Links: Tournament Field ‘ Tee Times
• Social Media: Twitter (@CologuardGolf), Instagram (@cologuard_classic), Facebook
Field Overview (as of 2/25/20)
The sixth annual Cologuard Classic returns to Tucson, Arizona, this week with a field of 78 including defending
champion Mark O’Meara and Cologuard ambassador Jerry Kelly. Hot off his win at the Chubb Classic, Scott Parel
will compete as the leader of the Charles Schwab Cup, and World Golf Hall of Fame member Ernie Els will make the
second start of his PGA TOUR Champions career.
Additional field highlights:
• 9 members of the World Golf Hall of Fame
• 54 PGA TOUR winners with 339 total career victories
• 51 PGA TOUR Champions winners with 302 total career victories
• 24 with a PGA TOUR Champions major title; 18 with a PGA TOUR major title
2019 Recap: O’Meara Secures First Victory in Over Eight Years
Mark O’Meara ended an eight-year win drought when he claimed the 2019 Cologuard Classic title by four strokes over
Willie Wood, Darren Clarke, Kirk Triplett and 2019 Charles Schwab Cup Champion Scott McCarron. At 8 years, 4
months and 21 days, it was the second-longest gap between victories on PGA TOUR Champions and O’Meara became
the fourth-oldest winner in Champions Tour history (62 years old).
The World Golf Hall of Fame member went on to post three finishes in the top 15, advancing to the second Playoffs event
and finishing the 2019 season No. 46 in the Charles Schwab Cup standings.
Els Enters Tucson
A 19-time PGA TOUR winner, Ernie Els turned 50 on October 17, 2019, and will make the second start of his PGA
TOUR Champions career this week in Tucson. Els competed in the season-opening Mitsubishi Electric Championship at
Hualalai where he lost on the second playoff hole to Miguel Angel Jimenez. The finish marked the first top-five for Els in
a PGA TOUR-sanctioned event since a solo fifth-place finish at the 2016 Quicken Loans National – a span of 3 years, 6
months and 23 days.
Page 2 of 4 ‘ Pre-Tournament Media Notes
Cologuard Classic ‘ Feb 25 – March 1
The start will mark just the third time in Els’ career he has competed in the state of Arizona. In 1998, Els lost to Colin
Montgomerie in the Accenture World Championships of Golf (an unofficial event at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale),
and in 2001 he missed the cut at the Waste Management Phoenix Open after rounds of 69-72.
Langer Looking for Cologuard Classic Title
While Langer owns 40 victories on PGA TOUR Champions and has won 10 tournaments multiple times, the Cologuard
Classic is one of 11 tournaments on Tour he has yet to claim. The others are the Morocco Champions, Rapiscan Systems
Classic, Principal Charity Classic, Mastercard Japan Championship, American Family Insurance Championship, Shaw
Charity Classic, The Ally Challenge, Sanford International, Ascension Charity Classic (new event) and the Charles
Schwab Cup Championship. Langer will make his fifth start in Tucson, but first since 2018, as he did not compete in the
event last season due to injury.
Langer has begun his 2020 season strong, marking three finishes inside the top 10 in his first three starts. Woody Austin is
the only other player on Tour to do so in the first three events this season. Langer’s most recent finish at the Chubb
Classic (T3) marked his 99th top-three finish of his career (40 wins, 35 seconds, 24 thirds). Hale Irwin (111) is the only
player with more top-three finishes on PGA TOUR Champions.
Kelly Competes as Cologuard Classic Host
Jerry Kelly will make his fourth start at the Cologuard Classic, and second as the official brand ambassador for
Cologuard. Kelly’s best finish at the event came in 2018 when he finished runner-up to Steve Stricker by two strokes. Last
year he finished T31 after rounds of 70-74-72.
Kelly has competed in the first three events of the 2020 season but has failed to finish inside the top 20. His best finish
thus far was at the Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai where he posted three rounds of 2-under 70 to finish
T22.
Smoltz Back in the Game
Major League Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher John Smoltz will play the Cologuard Classic as a sponsor exemption in his
season debut. Earlier this year, Smoltz defended his celebrity title at the 2020 Diamond Resorts Tournament of
Champions as he defeated American tennis professional Mardy Fish and MLB All-Star pitcher Mark Mulder.
Smoltz made three starts as a sponsor exemption 2019 and competed in the first stage of PGA TOUR Champions
Qualifying School, where he ultimately finished T54. In four starts on PGA TOUR Champions, Smoltz’s best finish is
T53 at the 2019 Cologuard Classic.
Lehman Loves the Cologuard Classic
Winner of the 2017 Cologuard Classic, Tom Lehman returns to Tucson for the sixth time. Last year, Lehman finished the
Cologuard Classic T15 after rounds of 70-70-72, one of 14 top-25 finishes of the 2019 season. Lehman advanced to all
three Playoffs events, ultimately finishing No. 23 in the Charles Schwab Cup. Lehman is entering the week off a T9 finish
at the Chubb Classic, his best in three starts this season.
Past Champions in the Field
The 78-player field includes all five of the tournament’s past champions: Mark O’Meara (2019), Steve Stricker (2018),
Tom Lehman (2017), Woody Austin (2016) and Marco Dawson (2015). They are joined by five winners of the former
PGA TOUR event, the Tucson Open, including Kirk Triplett (2006), Jeff Sluman (1997), Larry Mize (1993), Lee
Janzen (1992), and David Frost (1988).
Sluman is the only player to win the Tucson Open on this week’s host course, the Catalina at Omni Tucson National
Resort.
Arizona Connections
Page 3 of 4 ‘ Pre-Tournament Media Notes
Cologuard Classic ‘ Feb 25 – March 1
The state of Arizona is well represented, with five players in this year’s field residing in the state. The players include
Michael Allen (Scottsdale), Tom Lehman (Scottsdale), Bill Mayfair (Scottsdale/Arizona State), Ken Tanigawa
(Scottsdale) and Kirk Triplett (Scottsdale).
PGA TOUR Champions – 2020 Season Overview
Charles Schwab Cup Playoffs
The 2020 Charles Schwab Cup Playoffs will begin with 72 players at the Dominion Energy Charity Classic (Oct. 16-18).
The top-54 will advance to the Boca Raton Championship (Oct. 30 – Nov. 1), and the season will conclude with the top-36
players at the Charles Schwab Cup Championship (Nov. 5-8), where they will compete for the Charles Schwab Cup.
At the start of the playoffs, each player’s regular-season money total will become the equivalent number of points (e.g.
$330,000 equals 330,000 points). During the three Playoffs events, each dollar earned is worth two points, and those
points will be added to a player’s regular-season point total. After the Dominion Energy Charity Classic, the top 54
players will advance, and after the Boca Raton Championship, the top 36 players will qualify for the season-ending
Charles Schwab Cup Championship. The player with the most points at the conclusion of the Charles Schwab Cup
Championship will win the Charles Schwab Cup.
The 2020 Rookie Class
For players to become eligible to compete for PGA TOUR Champions events they must turn 50 years of age by the first
competition round. If a player plays less than six tournaments in his first season of eligibility, he is considered a rookie the
following season. Newcomers for 2020 with at least one PGA TOUR win include:
• Ernie Els (October 17, 2019)
• Tim Herron (February 6, 2020)
• Jim Furyk (May 12, 2020)
• Mike Weir (May 12, 2020)
• K.J. Choi (May 19, 2020)
• Phil Mickelson (June 16, 2020)
Upcoming rookie classes include:
• 2021 – John Senden (April 20, 1971), Stuart Appleby (May 1, 1971), Robert Allenby (July 12, 1971), Padraig
Harrington (August 31, 1971)
• 2022 – David Duval (November 9, 1971), Brian Gay (December 14, 1971), Y.E. Yang (January 15, 1972), Justin
Leonard (June 15, 1972), Notah Begay II (September 14, 1972)
2020 Schedule
The 2020 schedule features 27 official tournaments in Morocco, Canada, Japan, England and 18 states, with prize money
totaling nearly $59 million. After the 24-event Regular Season, the fifth-annual Charles Schwab Cup Playoffs will
determine the winner of the season-long race for the Charles Schwab Cup.
1. Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai: Miguel Angel Jiménez birdied the second extra hole to win the
Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai for the second time in his career. Jiménez became the tournament’s
eighth repeat champion (2015, 2020) and he extended his streak to seven consecutive years with a victory, the
Tour’s second-longest active streak (13, Bernhard Langer).
2. Morocco Champions: Brett Quigley won the inaugural Morocco Champions in Marrakech in his second PGA
TOUR Champions start, saving par on the final two holes on Saturday to hold off Stephen Ames by one stroke.
Winless in 408 career starts on the PGA TOUR, Quigley’s win was his first in a PGA TOUR-sanctioned event
since 2001 on the Korn Ferry Tour.
3. Chubb Classic: Scott Parel closed with an 8-under 63 to erase a three-shot deficit and win the Chubb Classic by
two with a tournament record-tying 17-under total. It was the third win of his career and he moved to No. 1 in the
Charles Schwab Cup for the first time in his career.
4. Cologuard Classic
Page 4 of 4 ‘ Pre-Tournament Media Notes
Cologuard Classic ‘ Feb 25 – March 1
5. Hoag Classic
6. Rapiscan Systems Classic
7. Mitsubishi Electric Classic
8. Insperity Invitational
9. Regions Tradition
10. KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship
11. Principal Charity Classic
12. American Family Insurance Championship
13. Mastercard Japan Championship
14. U.S. Senior Open Championship
15. Bridgestone SENIOR PLAYERS Championship
16. The Senior Open Championship presented by Rolex
17. The Ally Challenge
18. DICK’S Sporting Goods Open
19. Boeing Classic
20. Shaw Charity Classic
21. Sanford International
22. PURE Insurance Championship
23. Ascension Charity Classic
24. SAS Championship
25. Dominion Energy Charity Classic
26. Boca Raton Championship
27. Charles Schwab Cup Championship
