Stephen Ames’ late birdie surge gives him flight (again) at Boeing Classic

The 19th Boeing Classic at The Club at Snoqualmie Ridge awakened Sunday with the potential to be a slow-moving runaway. Robert Karlsson of Sweden (13 birdies through two rounds) appeared to be in control as he pursued his first victory on PGA TOUR Champions, having not encountered a single bogey all week.

However, by mid-Sunday afternoon in the Pacific Northwest, that tumultuous four-letter word we all know so well – golf – would intervene. The final round would turn chaotic, in the most exciting sense. A familiar champion, Stephen Ames, would step up to shoot 5-under 67 and win one of the better Sunday shootouts of the season, prevailing by a shot over a formidable trio.

Ames roared home in 4-under 32, making four birdies in his final seven holes, including one at the last, to collect his third title of 2024. Ames, playing the best golf of his career at 60, has now captured seven titles since the start of 2023. In victory, he became the third player to win multiple Boeing titles, and the first to do so in back-to-back years.

A year ago, he shot 63 on Sunday and won by seven.

Ernie Els entered the week leading the Charles Schwab Cup Standings, and will rue not winning his fourth championship of what has been his best PGA TOUR Champions season. Tied with Ames for the lead, Els, 54, stuffed a 7-iron inside 4 feet at the 196-yard 17th hole, but missed the putt that would have given him a one-shot lead with one to pay. He paid a price for it.

Els, forced to lay up at the 495-yard 18th after finding the right rough with his tee shot, then failed to birdie the par-5 18th, his attempt from 18 feet drifting left. He shot 68. Ames had the stage and knocked in a 4-footer for birdie to get to 11 under. Karlsson (75) and Stephen Alker (68) tied Els for second.

Kirk Triplett (71), an eight-time winner among the over-50 set, and Charlie Wi (75), who owned a share of the lead on the final nine, tied for fifth. With Karlsson setting such great pace, did Ames even think he had the slightest chance to win when he got out of bed on Sunday?

“No, absolutely not,” Ames told Golf Channel. “At that stage, when you're seven back ... I guess the next goal probably was to try and finish top‑five.

“Today was unexpected because I was seven back going into the day and I didn't expect everybody else to falter like they did coming in. That's golf, that does happen, and I took advantage of it and made it happen. It was a nice win.”

Karlsson, 54, began his week with rounds of 66-65 (13 under) to open up a two-shot lead over Charlie Wi, and led Kirk Triplett by six headed into the final round. Seeking his first PGA TOUR Champions triumph in his 82nd start – and first victory on any tour in almost 14 years – Karlsson never was able to build any sort of momentum in the final round, and slid precipitously down the leaderboard during a rough opening nine.

Having not made a single bogey through his first 38 holes, Karlsson ran into five of them on his first nine Sunday at Snoqualmie Ridge – including four consecutive beginning at the third – going out in 41. At that point, a handful of players suddenly had hope, something few expected to have.

A dangerous trio lurked seven shots back at 6 under to begin the day: Els, this season’s lone three-time champion and leader in the Charles Schwab standings; Ames, a two-time winner second in Schwab points behind Els; and Alker, the 2022 PGA TOUR Champions Player of the Year who was running third in the Schwab standings.

Els, who last month earned his first senior major (Kaulig Companies Championship) wasted little time jumping into the Sunday mix, making things intriguing with birdies on his opening three holes. By the time Karlsson made bogeys at the third and fourth holes, he still led Wi by two, but Els and Alker were suddenly three back.

Alker needed eagle to tie at the last, but took consolation in making birdie from a greenside bunker to tie for second. For the eight-time PGA Tour Champions winner from New Zealand, Snoqualmie Ridge is where he got it all started, getting into the field as a Monday qualifier shortly after turning 50 in 2021. He finished inside the top 10 to earn a start the following week, and soon won the TimberTech Championship event in Boca Raton to earn his card. He's been contending just about every week since, it seems.

“Obviously, we needed some help from the leaders start of the day and we kind of got that,” Alker said. ‘I was kind of surprised when we got through 9 and we looked at the leaderboard and we were only two back. Yeah, it was just a great fight. It was a lot of fun, I really enjoy that back nine, we’re going at it, and yeah, came up just one short.”

Ames was steady, if not spectacular, over his first nine holes, though a bogey at the par-5 eighth left him 1 under at the turn. His ignition came at the 426-yard 12th, where he played a short-iron approach right of the flag, his ball picking up steam down a slope before hitting the brakes on the edge of the hole, just shy of tumbling for an eagle-2.

Els surged into the solo lead at the 196-yard 13th (4 feet), but Ames answered with birdies at 14 and 16 (7 feet, up the hill) to pull up next to him. When Els missed his opportunity at 17, Ames, a man not afraid of going up against the very best players these days, saw his opening. At 18, he two-putted from long range for the decisive birdie. Winning is something Ames is getting accustomed to doing. When the pressure turns up, he is comfortable.

“Hey, this is nice,” said Ames, who had friends and family along with to watch him, having made the trip from Vancouver, once his home. “It was a nice battle. I enjoyed the battle coming down the end with Ernie. Ended up with me winning, fortunately, but I think overall it was a nice battle, and I enjoyed that very much.

Bernhard Langer, a two-time Boeing Classic champion who turns 67 later this month, finished birdie-eagle to climb into the top 10 at 6-under par. He was one of four World Golf Hall of Famers in this week’s field, which included Washington’s own Fred Couples, who made his first PGA TOUR Champions start since March.

Els kept his lead over Ames in the Charles Schwab Cup standings, though he trimmed his lead to $35,495 in the season-long race. The tour heads north across the border this week to Calgary for the Rogers Charity Classic, the 19th of 28 events on the circuit this season.