Michael Allen made a two-putt birdie on the second playoff hole to deny Duffy Waldorf his first victory on the Champions Tour by holding on to win the Allianz Championship on the Old Course at Broken Sound in Boca Raton, Fla.
Allen drove wildly on both playoff holes before hitting magnificent recovery shots after closing with a 3-under-par 69. He led almost from the start by shooting 60 in round one to tie the lowest score on the history of the senior circuit.
Waldorf, who is winless in 30 starts on the Champions Tour after claiming four victories on the PGA Tour, caught Allen with a final-round 67 before hitting his approach into a greenside bunker and missing a nine-foot birdie putt on the second extra hole.
“It always feel great to win, but if you shoot 60 you think you might win a little easier,” said Allen, who is from San Mateo and University of Nevada Reno. “I was fighting that thing, ‘Who was the guy who shot 60 on the Champions tour and didn’t win?’
“It was nice to fight through that and get the victory, even though I probably should have won it before a playoff. But getting a win in the end is always a good feeling.”
Waldorf, from Northridge and UCLA, has finished second and third three times each in two-plus seasons on the Champions Tour.
Chien Soon Lu of Taiwan followed two 65s with a 69 and finished third, one stroke back, and Tom Lehman was another shot behind after a 68.
Brad Bryant also closed with 68 to tie for fifth, three shots back, with Jay Haas, who had a 69.
Defending champion Rocco Mediate shot 66 to tie for seventh with Bernhard Langer, winner of the season-opening Mitsubishi Electric Championship, whose 64 equaled the best score of the day.
