Walk in Rancho Park a Victory for Floyd

Raymond Floyd tried the Ralphs Senior Classic on for size and it was a perfect fit.

Floyd, breaking out of the pack with three birdies on the first five holes Sunday at Rancho Park, held off the challenge of Isao Aoki to win the $600,000 tournament by three shots.

In his sixth appearance on the Senior PGA Tour, Floyd set a tournament record with a final-round nine-under-par 62 and a 54-hole total of 195, 18 under par and a record by five shots.

Aoki, also playing his sixth tournament with the 50-and-older set, birdied four of the first five holes on the back nine to pull within a shot, but Floyd had something in reserve. He sank a seven-foot putt on the 15th hole and a 30-footer on 17 to give him 10 birdies.

Going into the final round, Floyd trailed long-hitting Jim Dent by two shots and Gary Player and Rocky Thompson by one. By the fifth hole Floyd was in the lead.

Aoki, with a final-round 65, was second at 198. George Archer, who holds the Rancho Park record with a 61, shot a final-round 64 to finish third.

Floyd and Aoki were in the same threesome and, after Aoki started dropping long putts on the back nine, it became virtually match play.

“It looks like an easy win,” Floyd said, “but it wasn’t. It was a tough struggle. I had to go all-out. Aoki is the best putter in the game, but for one round, I out-putted him.

“The 14th-hole par saved me, but the two-shot switch on 17 made it look deceptively easy. I was only a few feet closer on 17, but I made my putt and he three-putted.”

Going to the 14th, a 393-yard par four, Floyd was clinging to a two-shot lead. But he “went to sleep” on his drive and hit a three-wood into the trees.

“Aoki was on with a birdie putt, and I had to make a decision,” Floyd said. “I would have had to hook a pitching wedge 25 feet to get near the flag. I did what I could and hooked it about 12 feet to (within) 30 feet (of the hole) and got down in two for the par. Aoki made the birdie, but the important thing is I didn’t lose the lead.”

With the $90,000 top prize, Floyd assured himself of a finish in the top 31 seniors to qualify for the $1 million season-ending Senior Tour Champions event in Puerto Rico in December. He also put himself in the right frame of mind for the $2 million Tour Championship, the regular tour’s richest event, this week at Pinehurst, N.C. The winner earns $360,000.

“Until the last two rounds I had not putted well since June,” Floyd said. “I tried changing stances, strokes, grips, everything. I finally solved the problem yesterday when I tossed everything out of the computer and just made myself comfortable and started putting.

“Sometimes you just have to clear the computer and stop thinking. Believe me, mine had a lot of hieroglyphics in there. I can’t believe I used that word.

“Anyhow, I putted well enough yesterday, when I shot the 65, that I would be satisfied to putt that well the rest of my life. Today I putted even better.”

Floyd had 10 birdies and no bogeys until the final hole, when he hit another three-wood off the tee into the woods.

“I was already working on my acceptance speech,” he said, laughing.

Floyd won because of superior play on the four par-five holes. He birdied all of them all three days to go 12 under par. Aoki, unable to reach some in two shots, was only five under for the 12 holes.

Aoki, who uses a unique style, holds his putter with the blade at an angle to the ground. Most golfers have the blade perpendicular. Aoki’s seven-foot putt on the seventh hole for a birdie put him even with Floyd at 12 under par.

Then came back-to-back par-fives. On the 500-yard eighth, hitting into the wind, Floyd outdrove Aoki by more than 30 yards. He went for the green on his second shot and wound up just off the fringe.

Aoki hit short and, when his sand wedge shot was 25 feet from the cup, he settled for a par. Floyd birdied to take the lead for good.

On the 480-yard ninth, Floyd reached in two shots and birdied again. Aoki missed a 20-foot putt for his birdie and was two shots behind.

“The par-fives were what beat me,” Aoki said through an interpreter. “Today he was four under on them. I was one under. But actually, I knew before the round started it was between Ray and myself. I knew the only way I could win was to cash in on every birdie opportunity.

“I did very well, except on 15 and 16. I had 15-foot birdie putts on both of them and just missed. But I have known Ray a long time and I’ve never seen him putt better. He told me he never putted that well before.”

Aoki, who won in his fourth try on the senior tour, said he was looking forward to playing at La Costa in the Tournament of Champions in January for the first time in 10 years.

“I don’t know how well I’ll do,” he said, laughing, “because New Year’s is big in Japan and I’ll drink lots of sake.”