There was a lot to unpack from the final round of the 2024 Ascension Charity Classic.
The tournament went to a playoff Sunday at Norwood Hills Country Club in St. Louis, with Y.E. Yang seeking his first PGA Tour Champions victory. His playoff foe? None other than the guy with the most wins all time on the senior circuit, Bernhard Langer.
Now 67, Langer shot his age in Saturday’s third round and then beat his age by three shots Sunday with a 64. Those rounds were the 16th and 17th time he’s shot his age or better in his career.
His remarkable return from tearing his left Achilles tendon while playing pickleball on Feb. 1, however, came up just short, as Yang birdied the first playoff hole to claim the title.
“This week I think very special,” said Yang, who beat Tiger Woods in the 2009 PGA Championship and who was making his 72nd career Champions tour start.
As for Langer, he continues to battle through rehab as he returns to tournament play, and he admits his leg is not back to 100 percent.
“No. I wish it was. You know, I’m in the middle of it so I don’t see a lot of improvement,” he said Sunday. “If I look back two months, yeah, I’m definitely walking better than I did two months ago. So there is some improvement, but it’s slow. It’s going to continue to take probably five more months or something like that. That’s what I’m told. I would like to have it happen sooner, but it’s not.”
Langer, who has a PGA Tour Champions-best 46 wins, now has 42 second-place finishes.
In the latest Charles Schwab Cup standings, Yang is up to sixth. The top five:
- Ernie Els
- Stephen Ames
- Steven Alker
- Richard Green
- K.J. Choi
There are four regular-season events left before the three-tournament playoffs.
