Stephen Ames plays his shot from the bunker on the 18th hole during the second round of the Chubb Classic at Tiburon Golf Club on Feb. 17, in Naples, Fla.Julio Aguilar/Getty Images
Calgary’s Stephen Ames captured his seventh PGA Tour Champions title on Sunday without hitting a shot when the final round of the Chubb Classic was cancelled because of a massive storm system moving across Florida.
Tournament officials originally planned to play only nine holes for the final round at Tiburon Golf Club until a forecast of the storm getting stronger led to the cancellation.
Ames shot an 8-under 64 on Saturday to build a three-shot lead over Rocco Mediate, and he was declared the winner. Ames now has five wins in his last 24 starts on PGA Tour Champions.
It was the second time in three weeks the final round was cancelled at a PGA Tour-sanctioned event, this time on a different coast. The AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am was washed out on Sunday with Wyndham Clark the 54-hole winner.
Ames finished at 13-under 131 and earned $270,000. Rocco Mediate, who opened with a 63, was runner-up after a 71 on Saturday. Ernie Els was part of a four-way tie for third.
Steven Alker, who won the last two Champions events dating to the end of last season, wound up in a tie for 15th.
It was the first time since the 2021 Insperity Invitational in Houston that a PGA Tour Champions event, typically 54 holes, was reduced to 36 holes because of weather.