Jerry Kelly seized control at the Bridgestone Senior Players Championship with a hole-in-one on the 12th hole at Firestone, sending him to a 1-under 69 and a two-shot victory for his first major on the PGA Tour Champions.
Kelly was clinging to a one-shot lead over Scott Parel when he hit a soft cut with a 5-iron that landed in front of the hole and rolled in for an ace, eliciting a shout from one volunteer around the green.
From there, Kelly was on his way. His only big mistake came on the 18th when he could afford it. He found a bunker off the tee, his next shot hit a tree and dropped into rough below the limbs. He did well to get into the fringe and took three putts for a double bogey, knowing that was enough to win.
“It never goes as planned. It gets you sooner or later,” Kelly said, knowing that later in this case was late enough.
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Parel, who wasted chances to put stress on Kelly earlier in the round, hit a tree from his approach in the fairway and made bogey to finish with a 70. Parel last year had the 54-hole lead at Firestone and failed to hold it.
His runner-up finish was enough to move him to the top of the Charles Schwab Cup standings.
Kelly, who finished at 3 under, won USD 450,000. He and Parel were the only players to finish under par on the South Course at Firestone, which previously hosted a World Golf Championship where Tiger Woods won a record eight times.
“Just to have a major out there is huge for me, not even getting that close on the regular tour,” Kelly said.
The victory gives him a spot in The Players Championship next March. That was equally exciting to Kelly, who in 2001 had a two-shot lead over Woods going into the final round at the TPC Sawgrass, only to fade with a 73 to tie for fourth.
Kelly also gets a five-year exemption into the PGA Tour Champions’ season-opener on the Big Island in Hawaii. It was Kelly’s first victory of the year, and his seventh since he turned 50 to become eligible in 2017.
This was a two-man race for the most part.
Colin Montgomerie close with a 71 and Miguel Angel Jiminez had a 69. They finished at even-par 280.
Kelly made two birdies early and had a two-shot lead when Parel made bogey on the par-4 sixth hole. Kelly had to make medium-length par putts on Nos. 8 and 10, and when he failed to save par on the 11th, the lead was down to one.
Parel hit a good shot into the 12th. Kelly followed with an ace, and when Parel missed his birdie putt, Kelly’s lead was back to three shots and he was on his way.
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