After two days of magic, Tom Weiskopf left his bag of tricks in the clubhouse and played a safe final round in the Pittsburgh Senior Classic.
Weiskopf hit greens in regulation and made two-putt pars all day Sunday in shooting a 2-under-par 70 that gave him a three-shot victory at Quicksilver Golf Club."I played very defensively," said Weiskopf, who began the day with a three-stroke cushion carved via rounds of 67 and 68 the first two days. "It's tough to have fun when you're playing that way. You just want to avoid any disaster. It's fun in the respect that you are going to win, but it's uncomfortable."
Weiskopf finished at 11-under 205, a tournament record. He led wire to wire, shaving two strokes off the previous tournament record of 207, set by Bob Charles in 1993.
Brian Barnes, an Englishman and senior tour rookie who was playing in the tournament under a sponsor's exemption, shot a tournament-best 66 Sunday to finish at 8-under, tied for second with J.C. Snead. Bob Eastwood, playing on a sore leg, shot a 71 and finished at 209.
Barnes finished in the top five for the third time this year, although he has yet to win.
"I felt good about this course," said Barnes, who was around the hole all day and rolled in birdie putts from 15 feet on the ninth and 13th holes. He couldn't get closer than three strokes of Weiskopf, though.
Weiskopf played even par through the first six holes Sunday, then birdied the par-5 No. 7 by reaching the green in two and two-putting. He added another birdie on the par-4 No. 9 after placing his second shot 6 feet from the hole.
"I really feel that was the turning point, those two birdies," said Weiskopf, who plays the senior tour only occasionally when he can break away from his golf course design business.