Barr gains first senior victory

Dave Barr birdied the final four holes, capped by a 35-foot putt on the 18th, to win the Royal Caribbean Golf Classic on Sunday, his first win as a senior.

Barr ended a 16-year victory drought, winning for the first time since the 1987 Georgia-Pacific Atlanta Golf Classic on the PGA Tour. He earned $217,500 for the win in the first full-field event on the Champions Tour, formerly known as the Senior PGA Tour.

Barr shot a 5-under 67 on the Crandon Park Golf Club course and finished at 9-under 207, one shot better than Gil Morgan and Bobby Wadkins, both of whom missed chances to force a playoff on the final hole.

Barr was fortunate on the 18th, hitting his second shot to the left of the bleachers on the par-5. After a free drop, Barr chipped past the hole, then made a slippery downhill putt to move to 9 under.

Morgan, the second-round leader, could have forced a playoff but missed his 7-foot par putt on the final hole. Morgan shot a 70, while Wadkins survived an erratic round to shoot 68.

Wadkins, who missed a 6-foot birdie putt on 18, had six pars, eight birdies and four bogeys Sunday.

Rodger Davis (70) was alone in fourth at 7-under 209, while Hubert Green (71) finished fifth at 211.

Morgan almost managed to recover from disaster and extend the tournament. His tee shot on the final hole landed in a water hazard, forcing him to play his third shot from 240 yards. That shot landed just short of the green, and after chipping up, the par putt to force a playoff with Barr lipped out.

Barr's final-round 67 was matched as the best round of the day by Wayne Levi and Rocky Thompson. Only Wadkins, who shot a 66 in Friday's opening round, posted a better score during the tournament.

Hugh Baiocchi and Jim Colbert each had a hole-in-one Sunday.

Baiocchi aced the 131-yard 8th, while Colbert did so on the 178-yard 12th. The two aces were the first on the same day of a senior event since the 2000 tour stop in Atlanta.

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