Berger wins at St. Jude Classic

The first few shots of Daniel Berger’s final round didn’t give much clue that his second straight victory at the St. Jude Classic was only a few hours away.

He hit his drive on No. 1 into the rough, sent his next shot into the rough far past the hole and his third shot was a chip that didn’t even make it to the green. What was left was an awkward 25-foot chip to save par. He drilled it. And from that point on, Berger put together a stellar day on a firm, fast, challenging course at TPC Southwind, shooting a 4-under 66 to erase a three-shot deficit and beat South African Charl Schwartzel and South Korean Whee Kim by one stroke.

Now he just might be one of the young players to watch going into the U.S. Open next week at Erin Hills in Wisconsin.

“We hear a lot about the young guns and about the Justin Thomases and Jordan Spieths, but I feel like I kind of get forgotten a little bit,” Berger said. “I’m pretty good, so I’m just going to try and keep doing my thing and see if I can’t get a few more.”

Berger is the fourth back-toback winner at St. Jude and the first since David Toms did it in 2003 and ‘04. He played a bogey-free round on Sunday, usually avoiding trouble after the first hole. His 17-foot birdie putt on No. 15 put him ahead for good and he finished at 10under 270.

“I played really great through the first couple days but I didn’t make as many putts,” Berger said. “Then the last couple days they just started to fall and that was the big difference.”

David Hearn of Brantford, Ont., was the top Canadian, finishing in a tie for 10th, four shots back of Berger.

Schwartzel shot a 66 and Kim shot a 67 to finish in second. Amateur Braden Thornberry and Billy Horschel were among five players two shots back.

Schwartzel played well for most of the tournament, but a 4-over 74 in the third round made for a steep hill to climb on Sunday. He nearly made it, but a long putt on No. 17 stopped just short of the birdie he needed to pull even with Berger.

Stewart Cink, Ben Crane and Rafa Cabrera Bello started Sunday with a one-shot lead on a crowded leaderboard that included 12 players within three shots of the lead. Cabrera Bello stayed in contention for most of the day, finishing with a 71, but Cink and Crane both shot a 73.