Bernhard Langer’s record victory on PGA Tour Champions made to wait as Ernie Els wins Hoag Classic

Ernie Els won the Hoag Classic at the PGA Tour Champions, making Bernhard Langer wait a week longer to break the record. Langer won the 45th Champions tour a month ago, tying up with Hale Irwin. He is just one win behind, breaking the record for the highest number of victories on the Champions Tour.

However, his dream was halted for a while after Ernie Els won the Hoag Classic, finishing at a score under 13. Els started the tournament with a birdie on the fifth hole, but he made three bogeys in the opening round. To compensate for that, he sank four birdies to finish at 70.

The second round turned in his favor and he went on to make three consecutive birdies on the first three holes and two more on the 5th and 6th holes.

With seven birdies and a bogey, Ernie Els got back in the game and wrapped up the second round at 65, and with a bogey-free third round, he won the tournament by one stroke over Steve Stricker and Dough Barron.

With a bogey-free opening round, Bernard Langer started the game to win it. He played the first round of 64 and the second of 66. Langer made six birdies, three bogeys, and an eagle in the second round. Apparently, his performance degraded in the final round as he could only make three birdies.

The four bogeys in the last round changed the game and he finished with a score of 73. Bernard Langer finished in a six-way tie for seventh position alongside Scott McCarron, Padraig Harrington, Shane Bertsch, Darren Clark, and KJ Choi.

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2023 Hoag Classic leaderboard

• 1. Ernie Els
• T2. Steve Stricker
• T2. Doug Barron
• T4. Dicky Pride
• T4. Rob Labritz
• T4. Miguel Angel Jimenez
• T7. Scott McCarron
• T7. Padraig Harrington
• T7. Shane Bertsch
• T7. Darren Clarke
• T7. KJ Choi
• T7. Bernard Langer
• T13. Billy Andrade
• T13. Harry Rudolph
• T15. David Toms
• T15. Brett Quigley
• T15. Rocco Mediate
• T15. Kevin Sutherland
• T15. Rod Pampling
• T15. Timothy O'Neal
• T15. Thongchai Jaidee
• T15. Chris DiMarco
• T15. Brian Gay
• T15. Fred Couples
• T25. Steve Flesch
• T25. Jim Furyk
• T25. Paul Broadhurst
• T25. Stuart Appleby
• T25. Robert Karlsson
• T25. Paul Goydos
• T31. Tom Pernice Jr
• T31. Mark O'Meara
• T31. YE Yang
• T31. Jeff Maggert
• T31. David Duval
• T31. Mike Weir
• T37. Robert Allenby
• T37. Retief Goosen
• T37. Vijay Singh
• T37. Woody Austin
• T37. Richard Green
• T37. Jeff Sluman
• T37. Mark Hensby
• T37. Olin Browne
• T37. Stephen Ames
• T37. Marco Dawson
• T47. Tim Petrovic
• T47. Corey Pavin
• T47. Joe Durant
• T47. John Huston
• T47. David McKenzie
• T52. Alex Cejka
• T52. Lee Janzen
• T52. Collin Montgomerie
• T55. Kirk Triplett
• T55. Justin Leonard
• T55. John Senden
• T55. Gene Sauers
• T55. Scott Parel
• T55. Tim Herron
• T61. Scott Verplank
• T61. Notah Begay III
• T61. Jose Maria Olazabal
• T61. Ken Duke
• T61. Mario Tiziani
• 66. Bob Estes
• T67. Davis Love III
• T67. Sandy Lyle
• T69. Wes Short Jr
• T69. Michael Allen
• T69. Fred Funk
• 73. Billy Mayfair
• 74. Tom Lehman
• 75. Scott Petersen
• 76. Brian Cooper
• 77. John Cook