CARY, N.C. – Continuing the celebration of the 10th anniversary of the SAS Championship presented by Bloomberg Businessweek, tournament officials are continuing to unveil the ranked order of the top 10 moments in tournament history. Moment No. 8 is Craig Stadler’s dominant victory at the 2004 SAS Championship. Moment No. 7 is Bruce Lietzke’s back-to-back victories in 2001 and 2002 at the first two SAS Championship tournaments.
Moment 8 – Stadler dominates and wins by six for 2004 title
Craig Stadler makes winning the 2004 SAS Championship look easy as he leads the tournament wire-to-wire. Stadler defeats Tom Jenkins by six strokes, firing a final-round 66 and finishing a tournament-record 17 under par.
The victory is Stadler’s third consecutive and fifth overall in 2004 and pushes his winnings for the season to over $2 million.
Blue Ribbon Panel Comment:
“Being a huge USC Trojan fan, I followed the Walrus all day on the final day,” said News & Observer Publisher Orage Quarles. “He was in dominating form, driving it long and making every putt he looked at. He not only broke the tournament scoring record, he smashed it. It was an amazing performance.”
Moment 7 – Lietzke wins first two SAS Championships (2002)
Bruce Lietzke remains the only winner in SAS Championship history with his second consecutive win at the tournament in 2002.
After winning the inaugural SAS Championship in 2001, Lietzke returns to Prestonwood Country Club the following year and shoots a course record 63 in Saturday’s second round. Lietzke follows up with a 67 in Sunday’s final round, ending the 54-hole tournament at 14-under 202 to defeat Tom Watson, Sammy Rachels and Gil Morgan by four strokes. In his two victories at the SAS Championship, Lietzke hits 96 of 108 greens in regulation.
After Lietzke’s second win, SAS President and CEO Jim Goodnight jokes that he is going to put Lietzke on retainer.
Blue Ribbon Panel Comment:
“After winning by three the first year, I couldn’t believe Lietzke would top that the second year,” recalled Clint deGabrielle, a tournament volunteer chairman and Prestonwood member. “His fade is perfect for this golf course. I am sure he wishes he could play it every week.”
The tournament’s top 10 moments were originally released in chronological order on July 28 and were ranked based on votes cast online until Aug. 13 by fans and a Blue Ribbon panel comprised of members of the media who have covered the event over the years and members of the Triangle community that have played an integral part in supporting and growing the SAS Championship.
Tournament officials began unveiling the ranked moments on Aug. 25. The moments are being unveiled two at a time each Wednesday afternoon in the five weeks leading up to the tournament, culminating with the announcement of moments Nos. 1 and 2 during tournament week, Sept. 22.
The previously unveiled ranked moments are:
10 – Wiebe turns last-minute sponsor exemption into Champions Tour debut victory (2007)
9 – Communities In Schools of Wake County named 2003 Champions Tour Charity of the Year (2004)
