KAUPULEHU-KONA, Hawaii – Dan Forsman won the season-opening Mitsubishi Electric Championship on Sunday for his third Champions Tour title, closing with a 3-under 69 in windy conditions for a two-stroke victory over Jay Don Blake.
The 53-year-old Forsman, a five-time winner on the PGA Tour, finished with a 15-under 201 total at Hualalai Resort and earned $307,000 in the 41-man event. He opened with rounds of 67 and 65 to take a two-stroke lead into the final round.
Blake birdied the final hole for a 67. He finished last season with a victory in the Charles Schwab Championship.
John Cook, the 2011 winner, shot a 68 to tie for third with Michael Allen at 12 under.
A warm wind that gusted up to 25 mph kept scores relatively high on one of the senior tour's easiest layouts. It was the first time since 2000 that the winner didn't have a sub-200 score at Hualalai.
Forsman protected his lead with three birdies in the first 11 holes. His first bogey since Friday and only his second of the week still left him with a two-shot edge after 12 holes, and he held off Blake with a birdie and five pars on the closing holes.
Forsman struggled with a painful left hip last year, and had just one top-10 finish. He dropped to 45th on the money list after finishing in the top 10 in his first two seasons on the 50-and-over tour.
Cook eagled the 10th and added three birdies.
Gary Hallberg (68) and Jeff Sluman (71) tied for fifth, four shots behind Forsman.
Mark Calcavecchia, Jay Haas, Brad Bryant and 62-year-old Tom Watson tied for seventh at 10 under. It was Watson's ninth top-10 finish in 12 starts at Hualalai.
Calcavecchia has seven consecutive top-10 finishes on the tour, dating to his win last year at the Boeing Classic. He matched Hallberg for the low round Sunday with a 66.
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