Kyle Kelting wins 28th annual Coors Tournament of Champions
Amarillo local Kyle Kelting arrived to Ross Rogers Golf Complex on Sunday morning ready to celebrate his 60th birthday and play a competitive final round of the Coors Tournament of Champions in front of friends and family.
The two-time winner entered the last round one stroke behind Stewart Dodson and tied with Luke Kane in a tight race that would go down to the wire.
To become the third three-time winner in the event's history, Kelting would need to close out the last 18 holes strong with the pressure on under the hot summer sun.
Mission accomplished.
Kelting shot a final round 66 on Sunday to finish with his best Tournament of Champions winning performance by far of 14 strokes under par (272). He finished three strokes ahead of both Dodson and Kane and capped off his win with a birdie on the final hole.
"I'm at a loss for words, it's pretty special," an emotional Kelting said following the win. "My mom and dad are here, Lori and the kids. It's a pretty good birthday present."
Kelting won his first Tournament of Champions back in the summer of 1998 with a final score of 285. It was the fifth year of the event and he was the first golfer not named Tom Doughtie or Ryan Palmer to claim victory.
He would claim his second title in the event 18 years later in 2016 when he shot a 280 and ended Casey Weiss' chances at a four-peat.
More:Kyle Kelting speaks about the competition and his finish at the Tournament of Champions
Now, Kelting has claimed the championship title once again and joins the likes of Doughtie and Weiss as the only three-time winners.
"Those guys are hard to beat," Kelting said about his competition this past weekend. "I've got a lot of experience but it never gets any easier. You look at the scores and they're just incredible. I had to play good and I wasn't going to win without playing good. I told myself I was just going to try to play mistake-free golf and let the chips fall where they may. Today, it turned out in my favor. I'm very blessed."
SENIOR DIVISION
Brad Borden won his third straight senior division Tournament of Champions title with a two-round score of 137 (-7). He tied the tournament record with that score and a dominant showing that left him six strokes ahead of second-place.
Les Jones was the lone other competitor in the senior division to finish under par (-1) in the 36-hole tournament.
TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS RESULTS
1. Kyle Kelting, 272; T-2. Steward Dodson, 275; T-2. Luke Kane, 275; 4. Josh Roche, 276; 5. Tate Allred, 283; 6. Zachary Norrell, 283; 7. Derick Kelting, 284; T-8. Les Phillips, 288; T-8. Tyler Paige, 288; 10. Geoff Phemister, 292
SENIOR RESULTS
1. Brad Borden, 137; 2. Les Jones, 143; 3. Ralph Ellis, 151; 4. Mickey Wilson, 152; 5. Greg Jennings, 154; 6. Rebel Aistrup, 155; Chris Purcell, 162
This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: Kyle Kelting wins 28th annual Coors Tournament of Champions
