Tim O’Neal shot the best round of the week, a 7-under-par 65, and won for the first time on the PGA Tour Champions at the Dominion Energy Charity Classic on Sunday in Richmond, Va.
At the first leg of the tour’s Charles Schwab Cup Playoffs, O’Neal not only earned his long-awaited win but also rocketed from No. 55 in the points standings to No. 13. Only the top 54 players after Sunday’s results qualify for the second playoff event, the Simmons Bank Championship.
O’Neal went 13-under 203 for the week at the Country Club of Virginia, two shots better than Argentina’s Ricardo Gonzalez (final-round 69). David Brandson of Australia (67) finished third at 10 under.
“It’s been a long season,” a tearful O’Neal told the Golf Channel broadcast. “For me to get it done when I had to, it means a lot.”
O’Neal, 52, never played his way onto the PGA Tour but racked up eight career wins on smaller tours in the U.S., Latin America and Europe. Prior to Sunday, he had just four top-10 finishes in his brief PGA Tour Champions career.
“I don’t know. It was how it was supposed to happen, I guess,” O’Neal said of his journey. “I’ve been playing well in the past few weeks but just giving too many shots back. The last two days were really solid. It only takes one week, right, and this was my week.”
O’Neal, who began the day three shots off the pace set by Ken Duke, started hot with six birdies and a bogey over his first 10 holes. He stuck a pair of great approaches at the par-5 16th and 18th holes to give himself short birdie putts, which proved to be critical in the final stretch.
Gonzalez birdied No. 15 to get within two strokes but parred the next two holes. He missed the fairway off the 18th tee and could not produce the eagle necessary to force a playoff, finishing with one final par.
“I didn’t really scoreboard-watch,” O’Neal said. “I just kept telling myself, just keep hitting greens and giving myself birdie looks.”
Tim Petrovic (70) placed fourth at 8 under. Duke struggled to a 2-over 74 and slipped into a tie for fifth at 7 under with Stewart Cink (71), Paul Goydos (70), Kenny Perry (70), Rod Pampling of Australia (68) and Thomas Bjorn of Denmark (66).
Ernie Els of South Africa (T20 at 4 under par) gained a slight lead in the points race over second-place Steven Alker of New Zealand (T37, 1 under par).
Chris DiMarco (from No. 51 to No. 55), Kirk Triplett (No. 53 to No. 56) and Argentina’s Angel Cabrera (No. 54 to No. 59) fell onto the wrong side of the cut line.
