CARY, N.C. – Russ Cochran won his second straight Champions Tour title, shooting a 1-under 71 on Sunday for a two-stroke victory over Tom Pernice Jr. in the SAS Championship.
The 51-year-old Cochran, a winner for the first time on the 50-and-over tour weeks ago in South Korea, became the third wire-to-wire winner in tournament history, finishing at 14 under on the Prestonwood Country Club course.
"I'm not used to a big lead, so I didn't know what to expect," said Cochran, who entered the final round with a four-stroke lead after shooting 64-67 the first two days. "I found out that you just need to play well regardless. It's not like I was ever a great winner. I'm still learning how to win right now."
Pernice, the 2009 winner, closed with a 68.
"All in all, I played well, and I had some chances," Pernice said. "But I was never able to put any heat on Russ. ... It was a totally new wind direction today, and it made a difference in the scoring."
John Cook (70) was third at 10 under, and Bernhard Langer (68), Mark Calcavecchia (69), Bobby Clampett (69) and Ted Schulz (72) followed at 9 under.
Cochran bogeyed two of the first three holes, then played the final 15 in 3 under — birdieing Nos. 16 and 17 — to take the $315,000 winner's check.
Pernice eagled the par-5 17th to pull within one, but Cochran's pulled away with his late birdies.
"That was a big birdie for me (on 16)," said Cochran, the left-hander who won the 1991 Western Open for his lone PGA Tour title. "That kept me up two shots."
Receive your weekly recap of all the happenings around the world of sports.