Stephen Ames celebrates 60th birthday with successful title defense in Mitsubishi Electric Classic

DULUTH, Ga. (AP) — Stephen Ames celebrated his 60th birthday with a successful title defense in the Mitsubishi Electric Classic, closing with a 5-under 67 on Sunday for his eighth PGA Tour Champions victory.

A stroke behind Paul Broadhurst after matching the tournament record Saturday with a 64, Ames had two eagles in the final round. He won by four strokes, finishing at 14-under 202 at TPC Sugarloaf for his record third victory in the event.

Broadhurst, the 58-year-old Englishman coming off a victory last week in the Invited Celebrity Classic, closed with a 72 to tie for second with Doug Barron (69). K.J. Choi (70) and Steven Alker (71) were 9 under.

Ames became the first multiple winner this year on the tour, also taking the Chubb Classic in February. He has six victories in his last 29 starts after winning twice in his first 175 — the first at TPC Sugarloaf in 2017 — on the 50-and-over tour. A naturalized Canadian citizen from Trinidad and Tobago, Ames won four times on the PGA Tour.

Ames opened with a birdie on the par-4 first, eagled the par-5 sixth and par-4 13th and birdied the par-4 14th. He bogeyed the par-4 15th and 17th and birdied the par-5 18th.

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