Kite rallies on the back 9 to win Boeing Classic
SNOQUALMIE, Wash. (AP) - Tom Kite sat down wearing a leather Bomber jacket, a glass of wine in his right hand and a wide grin on his face.
Yes, it's quite nice being on top again. Especially after two years.
"This feels really, really good," he said.
Kite climbed back from two shots down with three birdies in four holes on the back nine Sunday, rallying to overtake Scott Simpson to win the Boeing Classic by two shots. Kite finished at 14 under after shooting a 6-under 66 in the final round for his 10th career Champions Tour title.
If nothing else, this winning feeling was quite familiar to Kite. His last win came exactly two years ago in this tournament, when he beat Keith Fergus in a playoff. That day was very similar to this final round for Kite. In both situations, Kite started the day three shots behind.
That was 57 events ago for Kite.
"When I won this tournament in '06 I thought I was just going to light it up," Kite said. "After two years you start to wonder, 'Am I going to win one?"'
Since his victory two years ago, Kite has fought frustrating inconsistency in his game. A streaky putter for much of his career, Kite has solved that bugaboo with a long putter he began using almost a year ago. As evidence, he was the best putter for all three rounds, capped by his 25 putts on Sunday.
Now, his ball striking is coming around, and was at its best on the back nine when Simpson could only watch Kite pull away.
Kite's charge began with a clutch bogey putt on 11. Instead of finding himself three back of Simpson, Kite stayed two behind by dropping an 8½-footer that became the catalyst for his run.
Kite birdied No. 12, then avoided the temptation to go for the green on the canyon-crossing 14th, instead playing about 50 yards short of the green and making a 9-footer to draw even with Simpson.
Kite took the lead on 15, playing the long par-5 perfectly and dropping a 7-foot putt to reach 13-under. Two pars preceded his birdie on 18 that gave him a two-shot victory.
"I played really, really well all week long," Kite said. "The last three or four weeks I've been on the upswing coming in here. I'm hitting some irons that are really nice, close to the hole, and I've been putting well since I went to the long putter."
Simpson started the day at 11-under and with a two-stroke lead. He birdied Nos. 1 and 7 before dropping a shot at the 8th with his first bogey in 44 holes dating to last week's JELD-WEN Tradition. Simpson was then stuck at 12-under, failing to give himself any reasonable birdie chances on the back nine, while Kite continued to make up ground.
His hopes ended when a 2-foot par putt horseshoed around the hole on the 16th, putting him two behind Kite with two holes to play.
"I was just a little off on the back nine and Tom played great today," Simpson said. "He made a lot of great shots on the back nine."
John Cook was tied for second when he made the turn at 10-under, but his irons failed him on the back nine. He saved par after poor approaches on Nos. 10 and 11, but couldn't do the same from a bunker on 12, falling back to 9-under.
Cook made consecutive birdies on 16 and 17, but the charge was too late.
Last year's champion, Denis Watson, was the only player from back in the field to make a push on Sunday. He was 9-under on the 14th green, but missed consecutive short birdie putts on 14 and 15 that ended his hopes of putting a scare in Kite. Watson finished with a 66.
Yes, it's quite nice being on top again. Especially after two years.
"This feels really, really good," he said.
Kite climbed back from two shots down with three birdies in four holes on the back nine Sunday, rallying to overtake Scott Simpson to win the Boeing Classic by two shots. Kite finished at 14 under after shooting a 6-under 66 in the final round for his 10th career Champions Tour title.
If nothing else, this winning feeling was quite familiar to Kite. His last win came exactly two years ago in this tournament, when he beat Keith Fergus in a playoff. That day was very similar to this final round for Kite. In both situations, Kite started the day three shots behind.
That was 57 events ago for Kite.
"When I won this tournament in '06 I thought I was just going to light it up," Kite said. "After two years you start to wonder, 'Am I going to win one?"'
Since his victory two years ago, Kite has fought frustrating inconsistency in his game. A streaky putter for much of his career, Kite has solved that bugaboo with a long putter he began using almost a year ago. As evidence, he was the best putter for all three rounds, capped by his 25 putts on Sunday.
Now, his ball striking is coming around, and was at its best on the back nine when Simpson could only watch Kite pull away.
Kite's charge began with a clutch bogey putt on 11. Instead of finding himself three back of Simpson, Kite stayed two behind by dropping an 8½-footer that became the catalyst for his run.
Kite birdied No. 12, then avoided the temptation to go for the green on the canyon-crossing 14th, instead playing about 50 yards short of the green and making a 9-footer to draw even with Simpson.
Kite took the lead on 15, playing the long par-5 perfectly and dropping a 7-foot putt to reach 13-under. Two pars preceded his birdie on 18 that gave him a two-shot victory.
"I played really, really well all week long," Kite said. "The last three or four weeks I've been on the upswing coming in here. I'm hitting some irons that are really nice, close to the hole, and I've been putting well since I went to the long putter."
Simpson started the day at 11-under and with a two-stroke lead. He birdied Nos. 1 and 7 before dropping a shot at the 8th with his first bogey in 44 holes dating to last week's JELD-WEN Tradition. Simpson was then stuck at 12-under, failing to give himself any reasonable birdie chances on the back nine, while Kite continued to make up ground.
His hopes ended when a 2-foot par putt horseshoed around the hole on the 16th, putting him two behind Kite with two holes to play.
"I was just a little off on the back nine and Tom played great today," Simpson said. "He made a lot of great shots on the back nine."
John Cook was tied for second when he made the turn at 10-under, but his irons failed him on the back nine. He saved par after poor approaches on Nos. 10 and 11, but couldn't do the same from a bunker on 12, falling back to 9-under.
Cook made consecutive birdies on 16 and 17, but the charge was too late.
Last year's champion, Denis Watson, was the only player from back in the field to make a push on Sunday. He was 9-under on the 14th green, but missed consecutive short birdie putts on 14 and 15 that ended his hopes of putting a scare in Kite. Watson finished with a 66.