Allen Doyle

Allen Doyle spoiled Tom Watson's homecoming in his native state of Kansas and defended his title by making three birdies in the last seven holes to charge home with a two-stroke victory at the 2006 U.S. Senior Open at Prairie Dunes C.C. in Hutchinson.

Doyle took the lead for good with his birdie on the 12th, then sealed his win by holing a curling 14-footer for birdie on the par-5 17th, making Watson's tap-in birdie relatively meaningless. Doyle held on to his two-stroke lead.

"I kind of looked at it as a freebie," said Doyle of his birdie on the second-to-last hole. "I didn't have to worry about my speed going down there. I felt if I could read it good, then maybe I could make it. It was a bonus. I was just going to make sure I didn't do anything stupid."

Doyle then played the last for a routine par and in doing so became the oldest to win the Senior Open title, at age 58.

Watson had taken the outright lead on Friday morning. He held a two-stroke lead heading into the final round, which was moved up to mid-morning and played in groups of three because of impending bad weather in the area. The forecast proved true as lightning in the area halted play for slightly more than two hours first thing in the final round.

When play was resumed, Watson was slow getting started.

He relinquished his lead when he bogeyed the second and third holes. In contrast, Doyle had two birdies and a bogey and was now one in front. The race was on.

Doyle and Watson, however, were not the only golfers to play a part in this final chapter.

There were others who grabbed a brief view from atop the leaderboard before falling to Doyle's charge. Peter Jacobsen, the 2004 champion, made three birdies in his first seven holes and held the lead alone at seven under par until he made double-bogey six on the ninth.

A couple groups further ahead, 2005 co-runner-up D.A. Weibring was busy making five birdies in his first seven holes, and when he added birdies on holes 11 and 12, he took over the sole lead briefly at 7 under.

Andy Bean was one of four golfers who briefly tied for the lead at six under par when he birdied the 11th, playing in the group just in front on the Doyle and Watson. But the 13th hole caught up with both Weibring and Bean, and they fell off the pace.

Doyle found himself alone in front again when Watson bogeyed the 11th and he made par, after benefiting from a free drop in the tall left rough because of interference from a burrowing animal hole. The result was an improved lie in shorter rough and a par.

"As far as the ruling, the officials were right there," said Doyle. "The officials approved everything ... That was certainly a key hole."

He rode the good fortune to birdie the next hole, moved to seven under par and staked himself to a twostroke lead that he held the rest of the way home.

Bruce Lietzke rolled in a birdie on the last hole to gain a share of third at five under par with Jacobsen. But it was a battle between Doyle and Watson over the last seven holes. And every time Watson made a move to apply some pressure, Doyle countered with a birdie of his own.

Watson birdied the 14th; so did Doyle. Watson birdied the 17th; so did Doyle.

Doyle became the third to win back-to-back Senior Opens, joining Miller Barber (1982-83) and Gary Player (1987-88).

"I am so impressed with Allen," said Jacobsen moments after offering his congratulations. "He doesn't waste strokes. You can take Mickelson, take Woods, take Vijay, take Jim Furyk; I'll put this guy up against anybody with his wedge from a hundred yards in. The guy is phenomenal. He's automatic."

Doyle was the only player to complete all four rounds in the 60s, going 69-68-67-68. And he had only one three-putt for the week - that when he bogeyed the fifth in the final round.

In the end, it was Watson's cold putter that did him in. A couple of early three-putts led to his bogeys on holes 2 and 3 and he never found his confident strokes the rest of the afternoon.

"There was some weight on my shoulders, said Watson, a resident of Stillwell, Kan., a three-hour drive from Hutchinson. "It's very disappointing to not win here."

Watson has now been U.S. Senior Open runner-up three times.

After indifferent rounds his first two days, Loren Roberts jumped into contention with an 8-under-par 62 on Saturday, the lowest of any 18-hole score in a USGA Open championship.