Langer fires 63 to win SAS Championship

Cary, NC – Bernhard Langer fired a 9-under 63 on Sunday to come from behind and win the SAS Championship by two strokes.

Langer finished at 13-under-par 203. This was Langer's second win of the year on the Champions Tour and the 16th of his career on that circuit.

"I feel great obviously. We had a little fun last night. He said, you know at the 3M you were six behind and shot 10-under, and now you're four behind so maybe 8-under will do it," Langer said on TV of a talk he and his son had on Saturday night.

"I was trying to go 8-under. Looking up at the leaderboard, I figured I might need one more."

Jay Don Blake needed to birdie the last to force a playoff. Instead, he tripped to a bogey to close out a round 4-under 68, which left him alone in second at minus-11 at Prestonwood Country Club.

Mark Wiebe (68) took third at 10-under-par 206.

Fred Funk and Steve Pate shared the lead entering the final round. Funk, who had at least a piece of the lead for several holes on the final round, carded a 1-under 71 to share fourth with Tommy Armour III (66) at 9-under 207.

Pate managed an even-par 72 to end in a 4-way tie for sixth at minus-8.

Funk birdied the fourth to join Pate in the lead at minus-9. Pate bogeyed the fifth and sixth and never recovered.

Langer, who was five groups ahead of the leaders, birdied three in a row from the fourth. After a par on seven, the German birdied the eighth and ninth to get to 9-under.

After three straight pars, Funk birdied the par-3 eighth to go one clear of Langer and Blake. Langer birdied the 13th to grab a share of the lead.

Funk faltered to bogeys at 11 and 12. He never recovered from there. It was all up to Blake and Langer.

Blake had back-to-back birdies from the second. He followed a birdie on 14 with a kick-in birdie at 15 to join Langer at 11-under.

After a clutch par save at 16, Langer responded with a 2-putt birdie on the 17th. He closed his round with an 8-foot birdie putt at the last. Then, he headed to the driving range to stay loose.

"It wasn't easy. There was a click by a cameraman on my second, and I hit maybe my worst shot of the day as I pulled a 9-iron left of the green," Langer said in a TV interview of the 16th. "I had a horrible lie. The chip went 15 or 18 feet by, but I kind of knew what the line was because I saw the ball rolling by the hole.

"We read it perfectly and it went in. So, I'm very grateful for that."

Blake 2-putted for birdie at 17 to get within one. At the last, his drive clipped a tree and ended in the right rough. He hit another tree with his second shot and his ball came up short.

Blake needed to hole the chip to force a playoff. His shot landed a few feet right of the hole and released. Blake 2-putted for a closing bogey to end two back.

NOTES: Langer earned $315,000 for the win...With the victory, he moved to the top of both the money list and the Charles Schwab Cup points list...This was Langer's second win and sixth top-2 finish this season...The tour remains in North Carolina next week for the Greater Hickory Classic, where Wiebe beat James Mason in a playoff last year.