Since the Boeing Classic’s inception in 2005, there have only been two golfers who’ve won the Washington-based PGA Tour Champions tournament more than once: U.S.’ Tom Kite (2006, 2008) and Germany’s Bernhard Langer (2010, 2016).
However, no golfer had ever won at The Club at Snoqualmie Ridge back-to-back years.
That statistic changed on Sunday, Aug. 11, when Canada’s Stephen Ames claimed his second-straight Boeing Classic trophy.
Ames won the 2023 Boeing Classic by seven strokes, carding a 19-under-par 197 and establishing a new tournament record. But entering the final round of the 2024 Boeing Classic, the defending champion wasn’t leading. Instead, the 60-year-old Canadian was in a three-way tie for fourth place (-6) with South Africa’s Ernie Els and New Zealand’s Steven Alker. They were all trying to catch Sweden’s Robert Karlsson (-13), the solo leader and only bogey-free golfer through the first two rounds of the three-round tournament.
Ames, Els and Alker needed a minimum of seven strokes and some bad shots from their opponents to put themselves in trophy contention, and nearly all of that happened.
Ames didn’t make up the seven strokes but did finish with six birdies and one bogey; Els had seven birdies and three bogeys and Alker four birdies and zero bogeys. Karlsson’s bogey-free scorecard didn’t last long as he carded six bogeys and only three birdies; five of the bogeys occurred on the front nine.
South Africa’s Ernie Els tees off on the 8th hole at The Club at Snoqualmie Ridge on Sunday, Aug. 11, 2024. Els finished tied for second. (Photo courtesy of Jim Nicholson)
When it came down to the last two holes, Ames, Els and Alker led the field.
On the par-5 18th hole, Ames made birdie and finished with an 11-under-par 205, one stroke ahead of Els and Alker, who both finished with a 10-under-par 206.
Leading up to Ames’ winning birdie putt, play was tight. Els and Alker weren’t going to hand Ames the victory.
Both Ames and Els were tied at -10, and Alker was at -9 heading to the par-3 17th hole. Ames placed his iron shot onto the backside of the green, missed his birdie putt and tapped it in for par. Alker also hit his tee shot onto the backside of the green, narrowly missed his birdie putt and tapped it in for par; a birdie for Alker would have created a three-way tie at -10 heading to the final hole.
Els had the best shot of the three, placing his unique yellow ball on the right side of the green and rolling it down to within 5 feet of the hole. Els’ putt, however, trickled near the edge of the hole, took a peek at the bottom of the cup but didn’t fall in, resulting in a par and denying him the solo lead and potentially the trophy.
Seattle’s Fred Couples hits out of the bunker on the 18th hole at The Club at Snoqualmie Ridge on Sunday, Aug. 11, 2024. Couples finished tied for 18th. (Photo courtesy of Jim Nicholson)
At the 18th, Ames’ and Alker’s drives landed in the fairway not too far from one another while Els’ ball found the rough. Ames put his second shot on the green, and Alker’s ball dropped into a greenside bunker. Els was forced to lay up for his second shot and chip onto the green for his third shot, resulting in the final sequence of Els making par and Alker getting up and down for birdie.
Karlsson was in the last pairing of the day and the only golfer who had a chance to tie Ames and force a playoff. On the 18th, he drove his tee shot onto the fairway and placed his iron shot on the far-left side of the green, setting him up with a lengthy-uphill eagle putt. He rolled the ball a few feet away from the hole, resulting in a respectable birdie, but it wasn’t enough to catch Ames, who was officially declared champion. Karlsson finished with a 10-under-par 206, creating a three-way tie for second with Els and Alker.
Germany’s Bernhard Langer hits out of the bunker on the 18th hole at The Club at Snoqualmie Ridge on Sunday, Aug. 11, 2024. Langer holed out for eagle and finished tied for eighth. (Photo courtesy of Jim Nicholson)
Some other notables in the tournament included Langer, Spain’s Miguel Ángel Jiménez, South Korea’s K.J. Choi and Seattle’s Fred Couples.
Langer finished tied for eighth (-6) and did it in style making eagle from the bunker on the 18th. Jiménez, the 2022 Boeing Classic champion, and Choi, the 2024 Senior British Open champion and 2023 Boeing Classic third-place finisher, tied for 18th (-4). And at 64 years old, Couples gave Washingtonians some pride by also ending the weekend tied for 18th, tallying another upper-half finish.
Seventy-eight players shot for $2.2 million purse. Ames received $330,000, his third victory this season and seventh since 2023.
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