Beating
the
System
by TOM ROBINSON
B
Most senior golfers slow
down around age 60,
but not Bernhard Langer
ernhard Langer is a beast. A boss. At the least, he’s been the best 50-plus
golfer in the world during the decade he’s played on the PGA Tour
Champions. And the German juggernaut, barring the unforeseen, will
grace Greater Richmond in October for the second consecutive autumn.
Langer, 60, is expected to headline the Dominion Energy Charity
Classic Oct. 19–22, on the Country Club of Virginia’s pristine James
River Course. That represents a new weekend and, to executive director
Steve Schoenfeld, more attractive placement on the tour schedule.
The Virginia tournament is the first of three playoff stages that will decide the
season-long Charles Schwab Cup winner. The Cup carries a $1 million bonus. Langer
has claimed four of them, including three in a row. But to unseat defending Dominion
champ Scott McCarron, Langer will have to beat the 71 men directly behind him on
the money list.
That’s different from the inaugural tournament last November. It was the second
playoff event and featured a field of just 53 after one player, Tom Lehman, withdrew.
“This gives us more chance to get some major names here,” says Schoenfeld, noting
Fred Couples and John Daly were among those who failed to advance to Richmond
last year. “And while it will be tough to beat last year’s weather, moving it up two
weeks gives us even better odds.”
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