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| Franklin Langham sizes up a putt during the 2007 Utah... (Danny Chan La/The Salt Lake Tribune ) |
SANDY - Franklin Langham told his wife, Heather, at dinner Saturday night that he liked his chances going into Sunday's final round of the Utah Championship because he was "taking a sword into a sword fight and not a knife."
Fortunately for him, his putter was along for the ride as well.
Overcoming an opening tee shot that sailed out of bounds and cost him two strokes right off the bat, the 39-year-old Langham putted magnificently for the fourth-straight round and won the tournament by two shots at Willow Creek Country Club.
The closing-round 68 and 20-under-par 264 for the tournament earned Langham $90,000, but more importantly it moved the father of four sons a lot closer in his quest to return to the PGA Tour, where he played regularly, but not consecutively, for seven years prior to 2006.
Langham jumped to No. 20 on the Nationwide Tour money list with $170,966. The top 25 at season's end graduate to the PGA Tour.
"It's such a relief," he said after winning for the first time since 2004. "Winning is never easy, and it's not supposed to be. But it sure feels good to pull it off."
It completed a wire-to-wire win for Langham, who opened with a tournament-record tying 63 on Thursday and was tied with Craig Lile before taking a one-shot lead after the second round and a two-shot lead after the third.
His third win on the Nationwide Tour came after a mid-summer swing adjustment that he says turned his season around.
"I kind of felt like I was playing with a knife through the first part of the year, but now my game is where I want it to be," he said. "It's a good position to be in now. I've got a chance [to get back to the PGA Tour], and that's all you can ask for."
Langham entered the day with a two-shot lead over his Sunday playing partner, Richard Johnson of Wales, but bogeyed the first hole because of the errant tee shot while Johnson was making an eagle.
"I almost flipped right away," he said. "After that drive, it was damage control."
But Johnson had some hiccups in the middle of the front nine and Langham took a two-shot lead into the back nine. Johnson birdied holes 10 and 12 to draw even, setting up No. 14 as the swing hole.
Johnson hit his approach to about 6 feet, while Langham was 12 feet away. However, Langham drained his putt, and Johnson missed. Langham was also away on No. 16, but rolled in a 30-footer to take a two-shot lead.
Johnson got a shot back with a birdie on 17, giving a spirited and boisterous crowd gathered around the 18th green some drama for the finish. However, Johnson couldn't get a downhill 20-footer to drop, and Langham two-putted for the victory, made a bit easier when Johnson missed his come-backer for par.
"The putts I made on 14 and 16 were just clutch, and the two-putt on 18 was as good as any putt I make all week," Langham said.
Notes: Willow Creek yielded two more aces Sunday, as Tag Ridings got a hole-in-one on the 213-yard No. 7 hole and Justin Hicks aced the 242-yard No. 11 hole. . . . The highest Utah finisher was Daniel Summerhays of Farmington, who tied for 30th at 10-under 274 and earned $2,950. Bountiful's Garrett Clegg tied for 44th (276) and earned $1,879 and Layton's Barry Schenk was 64th and won $1,375. . . . Langham's 264 is a tournament record, but that was to be expected because Willow Creek played at a par-71 for the first time in the tourney's nine-year run here, rather than par-72.
Utah EnergySolutions Classic
Franklin Langham -20
Richard Johnson -18
Edward Loar -17
Mark Hensby -17
Chris Tidland -16
Fabian Gomez -16
Ron Whittaker -16
* Franklin Langham of Peachtree, Ga., leads wire-to-wire and wins the Utah Championship with a 72-hole total of 264 (20 under par).
* Langham, 39, leads the tournament in putting, averaging 27 putts per round.
* The win moves Langham to No. 20 on the Nationwide Tour money list with $170,966. The top 25 at season's end earn their PGA Tour cards.
E-MAIL: drew@sltrib.com
