
NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. (AP) -- Fred Couples won his second
straight Champions Tour title, shooting a 6-under 65 for a four-stroke
victory Sunday in the Toshiba Classic.
Couples, making his third
start on the 50-and-over Tour, had an 18-under 195 total on the Newport
Beach Country Club course. He won the ACE Group Classic on Feb. 14 in
Florida and finished second behind Tom Watson in the season-opening
event in Hawaii. Last week, Couples tied for 14th in the PGA TOUR's
Waste Management Phoenix Open.
"In a good way I am full of
confidence in my game," said Couples, who opened with rounds of 66 and
64. "I talked to Jay Haas a long time ago and when you are 50 you are
the youngest guy out here and if you are a good player like I think I
am, I thought I would have some opportunities to win out here."
Couples earned $255,000 to push his Tour-leading total to $691,000.
Ronnie
Black (65) finished second. Tom Lehman (69) and Chien Soon Lu (69) tied
for third at 12 under, and Watson (62) and Loren Roberts (68) followed
at 11 under.
Couples played the front nine in 1 under Sunday,
then had a 5-under 31 on the final nine holes -- making an eagle, four
birdies and a bogey.
"I was a little off," Couples said. "I made some good swings. I started coming on on the back nine."
The
60-year-old Watson matched his best round on the Champions Tour and
also tied Hale Irwin's 1998 mark for the best final round in the event.
Watson
had an eagle and three birdies on the first four holes, dropped a
stroke with a bogey on No. 9, then birdied five of the last nine holes.
He settled for a birdie on the par-5 18th after missing a 20-foot eagle
putt.
"The putter was the star," Watson said. "I kind of had an
attitude going out there on the first three holes of both nines, I
hadn't made any birdies. Those are short par 4s, I ought to be making
some birdies there."
Watson pulled within two strokes of Couples, but ran out of holes.
"I
was thinking Freddie hanging onto 13 under," Watson said. "If I get to
12 and the weather coming in you never know what's going to happen."
Couples hit a wedge into No. 12 that stopped a foot from the hole, then made a 3-footer for another birdie on 13.
But
Couples made a mistake on the par-3 14th when he missed the green and
was unable to get up and down for par. Black made an eagle on No. 15,
to cut the lead to two again, but wasn't able to get any closer.
"I
was struggling with my swing as well as my putting," Black said. "If I
had been a little sharper I think I could have come after (Couples) a
little better."
Couples reached the par-5 15th hole in two and
made a 12-foot eagle putt to extend his lead to four. He birdied the
following hole and even birdied the 18th after his second shot hit the
side of the grandstand to the right of the green. He hit a wedge to 20
feet and rolled in the birdie putt.
"The shot I hit at 18 was
basically an up and down," Couples said. "I got on the green and I've
been putting really well this whole year,"
In nine Champions Tour rounds, Couples hasn't had a score higher than 68 and is 56 under over 162 holes.















