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53-year-old Duffy Waldorf shot a 6 under 66 to finish at 18 under par at the Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualālai Golf Club. Not only was it Waldorf’s first appearance here, but he managed to play all 54 holes without a single bogey.
It was an incredible week with a stellar field. Veteran Tom Watson made headlines Friday afternoon after bettering his age of 66, shooting 7 under 65 to be two behind Waldorf going into final round Saturday.
In fact, a total of 9 players were within 3 shots of the lead entering the final round.
The entire field seemed to be playing exceptional golf, but Tom Lehman and Duffy Waldorf’s match was one for the books. Both players amazingly kept their composure all the way into the final holes. It started with a clutch putt made by Lehman to save par on the 15th hole to keep his 1-shot lead over Duffy. Waldorf however didn’t falter and dropped a nice looking birdie putt on No. 16 which would result in a tie. Waldorf had a small error when he overshot the 17th green, but Lehman only had the advantage for a couple of minutes before Waldorf made his clutch 7 footer again tying Lehman heading into 18.
The two hit beautiful approaches into the green, landing 25 and 30 feet away. Duffy, being away, managed to drain his long putt to put the pressure on Lehman. Lehman couldn’t comply as his ball stopped just a few inches short of the hole. Lehman closed with a solid 66, but couldn’t match the play by Duffy Waldorf.
"I knew I was playing well, but this is a strong field," Waldorf said. "Even starting the day, I'm like, 'If I play well there's a good chance I won't win.' So I really didn't feel any pressure out there that I had a chance to win or was going to do well, just wanted to play as good a round as I could."
This is Waldorf’s second victory in his last three starts, winning the Toshiba Classic last November, his first senior title.
If you and your family are planning a golf trip to the islands or would like to learn more about courses in Hawaii. . .
Jennel Alexander
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