Champions Tour 2008 Guide - PGA TOUR Media

R. W. EaksEXEMPT STATUS: Top 30 on 2007 Champions TourMoney ListFULL NAME: Robert W. EaksHEIGHT: 6-0WEIGHT: 200BIRTHDATE: May 22, 1952BIRTHPLACE: Colorado Springs, CORESIDENCE: Fountain Hills, AZFAMILY: Wife, Karen; Dawn (3/15/79), Jeremy(12/14/85); one grandchildCLUB AFFILIATION: Southern Dunes GC(Scottsdale, AZ)EDUCATION: University of Northern ColoradoSPECIAL INTERESTS: Family, sportsTURNED PROFESSIONAL: 1976JOINED PGA TOUR: 1980JOINED CHAMPIONS TOUR: 2002CHAMPIONS TOUR VICTORIES (2): 2007Dick’s Sporting Goods Open, Greater Hickory Classic atRock Barn.2007 CHARLES SCHWAB CUP FINISH:9th - 1,438 pointsBEST PGA TOUR CAREER FINISH: T7—1998United Airlines Hawaiian Open.OTHER VICTORIES (2): 1995 Taco Bell NewportClassic. 1996 Taco Bell Newport Classic.NATIONWIDE TOUR VICTORIES (3): 1990Quicksilver Open. 1993 Louisiana Open. 1997 San JoseOpen.PGA TOUR CAREER EARNINGS: $291,734BEST 2007 CHAMPIONS TOUR FINISHES:1—Dick’s Sporting Goods Open, Greater Hickory Classicat Rock Barn; 2—Toshiba Classic, Regions Charity Classic,The Principal Charity Classic, Boeing Classic; T3—AllianzChampionship.2007 SEASON:Had his best season as a professional and was voted byhis peers as the Champions Tour Comeback Player of theYear…More than doubled his 2006 earnings and alsoposted his first two Champions Tour victories. Ended awinless streak of 209 events in PGA TOUR-sponsoredevents when he was a three-stroke victor at the Dick’sSporting Goods Open in July. After an opening-round 71,fired a career-best, 10-under 62 in the second round tograb the lead and closed with a 6-under 66 to emerge withthe win. His 62 included a hole-in-one on No. 7 at the En-Joie GC (5-iron/197 yards), his second on the ChampionsTour. Earned a then-career-best $240,000 for the victoryand went over $1 million in season earnings for the firsttime...Registered a second title late in the season whenhe avenged a heartbreaking overtime loss to Andy Bean in2006 with a wire-to-wire to win at the Greater HickoryClassic at Rock Barn. Opened with a course-record-tying,9-under 63, the low score by a winner in 2007. Led by sixCHAMPIONS TOUR CAREER SUMMARY PLAYOFF RECORD: 0-3Year Events Played 1st 2nd 3rd Top 10 Top 25 Earnings Rank2002 14 2 7 $245,705 652003 8 2 83,607 902004 7 3 114,135 822005 25 5 12 550,595 302006 23 2 7 13 751,923 252007 26 2 4 1 11 15 1,534,098 6Total 103 2 6 1 25 52 3,280,064COMBINED ALL-TIME MONEY (3 TOURS): $4,180,502strokes with nine holes to play and eventually held on fora two-shot win over Jay Haas and Rod Spittle. Became thefirst player since Allen Doyle at the Toshiba Classic in2000 to win a tournament after losing in a playoff at thesame event the year prior. His 17-under 199 total was atournament record at Rock Barn...Multiple wins during theseason helped ease the disappointment of several closecalls earlier on the Champions Tour. Had lost in a threeholeplayoff to Brad Bryant at the Regions Charity Classicin mid-May. Shot a closing-round, 7-under 65 to get intocontention. His final-round scorecard included six birdiesand an eagle...Just over a month after his victory in NewYork, he almost won again when he was one of the playersinvolved in a record seven-man playoff in August at theBoeing Classic near Seattle. Birdied the first extra hole,joining Craig Stadler and eventual winner Denis Watsonon the second hole. Watson ended the affair with an 18-foot eagle putt...Also produced a strong finish Sunday atThe Principal Charity Classic that led to a T2 finish in Iowa.Closed with a bogey-free, 7-under 64 in the final round atthe Glen Oaks CC...Second-round, 8-under-par 64, at theBank of America Championship near Boston was one offthe tournament scoring record. Round included successiveeagles on Nos. 18 and 1 (he started his round on No. 10)and, at one point, he was 9-under in a nine-hole stretch.Earned a $62,000 check on Long Island that allowed him tosurpass his previous-best total for single-season earnings(2006/$751,923)...Was in contention for all three rounds atthe Toshiba Classic before eventually finishing second,two strokes behind Jay Haas at the Newport BeachCC...Three consecutive rounds of 68 led to a T3 at theAllianz Championship, three strokes back of winner MarkJames...Battled various physical woes (sore knee, badback) during the season which forced him to withdrawfrom four events...Led all players in Eagles (holes per) at90.0 and was second to Tom Purtzer (17) with 14 eagles.CHAMPIONS TOUR CAREER HIGHLIGHTS:2006: Once again used strong play in the final two monthsto secure a spot in the top 30 and a berth in the seasonendingCharles Schwab Cup Championship. Earned$323,813 in his final seven events prior to picking up anadditional $62,000 at the season-ending tournament,which eventually gave him a then career-best total of$751,923...Nearly won for the first time in his ChampionsTour career when he lost in a one-hole playoff to AndyBean at the Greater Hickory Classic at Rock Barn. Made alate run Sunday, with birdies on six of the last seven holes.Fired a 5-under-par 31 on the back nine to get into theplayoff with Bean, who eventually won with a birdie.Nearly didn’t play Sunday after experiencing backproblems Saturday. Earlier in the season sat alone atopthe leaderboard after the opening round of The ACE GroupClassic following a 7-under-par 65. Eventually finished T2in Naples, one stroke behind winner LorenRoberts...Equaled the 18-hole tournament record on thePalmer Course, posting a 7-under 65 in the second roundof the Turtle Bay Championship. Eventually T11 at theevent...Had the second-longest drive of the season, a 398-yarder in the final round at the Great Kansas City GolfClassic. 2005: Used a late-season push to finish 30th onthe money list and earn a berth in the Charles Schwab CupChampionship...Won nearly $250,000 in his last sevenstarts, including at the time his largest check ever($83,700) in the year’s final full-field event at the SBCChampionship. Monday-qualified in San Antonio and useda then career-best T4 to vault into the top 30. Despitebattling high blood pressure on Sunday, fired a 66 thatincluded a back-nine 31 featuring five birdies. His finishmoved him from 34th position into the 30th spot on moneylist. That performance, coupled with Jay Haas’ victory,knocked Tom McKnight (29th coming into the week) downtwo spots and out of a trip to the season-endingevent...Was not feeling well again the following week atthe Charles Schwab Cup Championship and withdrewafter two rounds...Was the 36-hole leader by one strokeover Bob Gilder at the SAS Championship, but his closinground77 on Sunday left him T10. Posted rounds of 67-66the first two days to seize sole possession of the leadbefore watching his chances slip away with a 7-over-par42 on the front nine on Sunday...At one point in the year,went 15 consecutive appearances with an opening roundof par/better, beginning at the Toshiba Senior Classic inMarch...Finished second in Driving Distance (296.6), andalong with Brad Bryant, shared the distinction of havingthe longest measured drives on the Champions Tour at 385yards. Recorded his drive at the SBC Championship, whileBryant’s came at the JELD-WEN Tradition. 2004: Earnedfully-exempt status for 2005 for the first time in his careerafter finishing T4 at the Champions Tour NationalCHAMPIONS TOUR MAJOR TOURNAMENT SUMMARYYear 02 03 04 05 06 07Senior PGA Championship T13 T10 WD T24Constellation Energy Senior Players T40 T68 T56 T46U.S. Senior Open T37 T19 CUT T26 T23 T58JELD-WEN Tradition T9 T39 T9CHAMPIONS TOUR YEAR-BY-YEAR STATISTICSScoring Average Putting Average Greens in Regulation Driving Distance Driving Accuracy2002 71.19 (T30) 1.785 (29) 69.1 (T21) 295.1 (1) 56.4 (88)2003 73.19 (N/A) 1.727 (N/A) 59.2 (N/A) 284.1 (N/A) 54.6 (N/A)2004 71.67 (N/A) 1.720 (N/A) 65.1 (N/A) 291.2 (N/A) 60.3 (N/A)2005 70.96 (25) 1.780 (T31) 68.8 (T38) 296.6 (2) 61.9 (75)2006 70.60 (13) 1.784 (T30) 70.0 (22) 291.1 (3) 64.3 (75)2007 70.40 (15) 1.732 (4) 68.3 (34) 287.5 (5) 61.0 (73)SECTION2 PLAYER BIOGRAPHIESPGATOUR.COMChampions Tour 2008 Guide2-27