The annual SAS Championship presented by Forbes brought a plethora of fans and golf legends to Prestonwood Country Club in Cary. Argentinean golfer Eduardo Romero won the championship, earning $315,000 on the latest stop on the Champions Tour. Here are a few highlights of the SAS Championship:

“The Cat” is back
Eduardo “The Cat” Romero guaranteed Saturday that if he shot a 65 or 66 on Sunday, he would win the SAS Championship.

In Sunday’s final round, trailing Bruce Fleisher by one stroke, Romero fulfilled his promise, shooting a 66 and winning the event with a final score of 201 (-15), three strokes ahead of second-place finisher Tom Kite. Romero started strong Sunday, birdying the first hole to edge Fleisher, who bogeyed the hole.

“Eddy played awesome,” Kite said. “He got off to a fast start, birdying the first hole, and he never looked back.”

The final round paired Romero, Fleisher and Kite alongside one another.

Kite nearly closed the gap on the 13th, where Romero opened the door with a bogey on the par-4 hole and Kite just barely missed a putt for birdie, which would have put him in striking distance down the stretch.

But Romero kept his composure to birdie on 15, giving him some room for comfort.

“I felt nervous at [hole] 14,” Romero said. “But when I made birdie at 15, I felt I would win. I could breathe easier after that birdie at 15.”

Romero said his ability to keep his composure is an aspect of his game he works on diligently. The Argentinean said his ability to return home and rest has helped him keep composure on the golf course. Romero has even taken up yoga to help improve his concentration.

“I started doing yoga again because mental concentration is very hard,” Romero said. “It’s not physical, it’s mental. I lost the concentration very quick.”

This year, Romero has had every reason to let things other than golf cloud his mind in competition. Within a period of several weeks this year, Romero lost his 19-year-old cousin, who died in a motorcycle accident, and his brother-in-law, who passed away after a long bout with cancer. “It was very hard — but it’s over. Things happen in life,” Romero said.

Despite personal tragedy this year, and even facing sickness this week upon arriving in North Carolina, Romero decisively took the SAS Championship. The win gives him three on the Champions tour this year, one more than any other participant.

“I played great this week,” Romero said. “I can win one or two more. I feel it.”

Friendly bets
If the stiff competition of the SAS Championship wasn’t enough, Irish golfer Mark McNulty found a little extra incentive to perform well on Saturday — frequent bets with his caddy, Basil Van Rooger.

“We had little bets going where if I didn’t make the fairway, I’d have to pay him five bucks, and if I did make the fairway he’d have to pay me one buck, and so on and so forth,” McNulty said.

The bets extended to a variety of shots, and unfortunately for the caddie, McNulty made the most of the opportunity to make some cash.

McNulty shot a 63 (-9) Saturday, tied for the best round of the day and finished the day in a tie for fourth place overall after tallying five straight birdies on the back nine. McNulty finished in a tie for seventh overall.

“I think he’s still adding up how much he owes me,” McNulty said Saturday.

A fan’s perspective
Once the skies cleared from Friday’s showers, the conditions at the Prestonwood Country Club were ideal for golf fans looking to make the SAS Championship a family outing. Saturday was family day, featuring the “Family Fun Zone” where kids could participate in putting games, jump on the Moonwalk and enjoy face painting and other activities just outside of the SAS Championship concourse area.

Bill Stewart, a Cary resident who lives near Prestonwood, brought his twin 8-year-old sons Bradley and Jeffrey to the tournament Sunday to enjoy the weather and the competition. The Stewarts cheered for John Cook, an Ohio State graduate, because they are originally from Ohio.

“It’s been great,” Stewart said. “The weather is good. The crowd is good. It’s a decent place to walk around and see a lot of golf.”