Barnes wins Canada Senior Open

Brian Barnes brushed off his comeback victory in the Canada Senior Open as simply a bonus. Making it back from the brink of suicide was a far greater recovery.

"I'd be dead if I hadn't stopped drinking. I'm convinced of that," said the 53-year-old Englishman, a recovering alcoholic who considered taking his own life five years ago.

Barnes won his first Senior PGA Tour title Sunday, closing with a 4-under-par 68 on the Glencoe course for a two-stroke victory over Dana Quigley, Bruce Summerhays and Tom Jenkins.

"My wife had a tough time for a few years and stuck with me," Barnes said. "How can I drink now? Too many good things have happened. And I like the opportunity to talk about and hopefully help other people who are in the same situation to make them realize there is life after booze."

Barnes, who began the round three strokes behind Walter Hall, made a 75-foot eagle putt on the par-5 14th and added a birdie on No. 15. The two-time Senior British Open winner had an 11-under 277 total.

"It's lovely winning your own open title, but this has done far more for me," said Barnes, who earned $165,000. "Now I'm in a position until this time next year to play in every event that I want to."

Quigley also closed with a 68, while Summerhays and Jenkins had 70s. Hall shot a 74 to finish fifth at 280.

"The guy who is leading is there to be shot at," said Barnes, a 10-time winner on the PGA European Tour.

"If you're two or three shots behind you're in a position to relax a little more and concentrate on playing your own game and not looking over your shoulder all the time.

"As the round progressed, I found myself walking slower and taking a little more time with the shots. Whenever I've won tournaments, I've gotten into that kind of zone."

LPGA FRIENDLY'S:At 29, Amy Fruhwirth is young enough to call "Terminator" an old movie and old enough to worry about whether she would ever win an LPGA tour event. "That's been weighing on my mind. When you are so close to winning and can't get there, it gets frustrating," she said Sunday after earning her first victory in the Friendly's Classic. "I'm not one for a lot of words, but it's the best feeling in the world, the best accomplishment. It's a relief I was able to keep my game together." Fruhwirth, nicknamed "Giggles" because that's what she does when she's nervous, overcame her anxiety with an even-par 72 in the final round to finish at 8-under 280 and beat Charlotta Sorenstam and Kim Saiki by two strokes. Fruhwirth's lone bogey of the weekend on the 6,381-yard Crestview course came in the final round on No. 6, a par-3, and she parred out from there to claim the $90,000 first prize and a Rolex watch for her first victory.

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