Kite’s Search Is Over

Tom Kite had been searching for quite a while, even trying the PGA Tour last year, to try to rediscover the golf game that once had him at the pinnacle of the sport.

He found something at Valencia Country Club, where he shot a two-under-par 70 Sunday in the AT&T; Classic while his nearest pursuers went south, and he cruised to a five-shot victory with a three-round total of 12-under 204.

It was Kite’s first victory since the 3M Championship in August 2004, ending a winless streak of 30 Champions Tour events and 12 PGA Tour events.

“Obviously, this has been way too long a drought,” Kite said. “I’m very excited about the opportunity to build on this and not just say ‘I got a win in ’06 and ’06 is a good year.’ I’ve got a chance to do some nice things now.”

He did most of his nice things this week during a back-nine 29 in the second round that gave him a one-shot lead over Andy Bean entering the final round. Bean tied Kite with a birdie on the first hole Sunday, but by the time Kite completed a bogey-free, three-under 33 on the front nine, he had a seven-shot lead.

That’s because Bean and Mitch Adcock, the first-round leader who began the day three shots out of the lead, both struggled with their putters. Bean shot 79 Sunday and finished tied for seventh at two under; Adcock shot 80 and tied for 17th at one over.

That left a hard-charging Gil Morgan, who tied for the low round Sunday with a 68, in second place at seven under. Tom Jenkins also shot 68 and was third at five under.

Kite’s lead, Morgan acknowledged, was never really in jeopardy.

“I don’t think I could have caught Tom no matter what happened,” he said. “I didn’t feel like he was going to fail out there, and then I kind of started looking at where I was in the field.”

Kite said he began Sunday expecting a battle, but when nobody made a run at him, he changed his game plan for the back nine.

“I was really anticipating that I needed to play well, that I really had to shoot a good score,” Kite, 56, said. “I really played well on the front nine and shot three under par, then all of a sudden I make the turn and I’ve got a seven-shot lead and it’s let’s not step on my own feet here. Don’t do anything stupid.”

It was the largest margin of victory in tournament history and the largest in any Champions Tour event in more than a year. Kite earned $240,000 for the victory and, with his 2002 victory, became the first to win twice since the tournament moved to Valencia in 2001.

It’s a huge confidence boost for Kite, a 19-time winner on the PGA Tour and World Golf Hall of Fame member who, during his PGA Tour career, was the first player in tour history to reach $6 million, $7 million, $8 million and $9 million in earnings.

“This puts me on the road,” he said. “I wouldn’t say it gets me back, but this is a huge win because it’s been a long time. The longer you go without a win, the more difficult it is.”

Kite won six times in his first 64 events on the Champions Tour, but then went 48 events without a victory from October 2002 through August 2004 and another 19 months before Sunday’s victory.

“When I first got out here ... I was kind of thinking this Champions Tour was pretty easy, and then I got in a drought and kind of struggled with it,” Kite said. “I know that if I play up to my caliber, if I play up to my standard, it’s good enough to win a lot of tournaments, and I think I’m as good a player when it gets to be tough as anybody out here.”

Kite, who used a career-money-leaders exemption to play 12 events on the PGA Tour last year, struggled with his putter and made only three cuts. He has worked with a swing coach and grown more comfortable and confident with the claw putting grip he has been using for two years.

“At times out here on the Champions Tour and the last few years on the PGA Tour I’ve kind of fought my putter,” he said. “But now my putter is getting very, very good. I’m really starting to swing well again so I’m very encouraged and very, very optimistic about what’s going to happen over the next year, year and a half.”