Berger rallies to defend St. Jude title

Daniel Berger shot a 4-under 66 to erase a three-shot deficit and win the St. Jude Classic for a second straight year.

The 24-year-old is the fourth back-to-back winner at St. Jude and the first since David Toms did it in 2003 and ’04.

Berger played a bogey-free round on Sunday, avoiding trouble on a fast, firm course at TPC Southwind. His 17-foot birdie putt on No. 15 put him ahead for good and he finished at 10-under 270. Now he’ll take quite a bit of momentum into next week’s U.S. Open.

South African Charl Schwartzel shot a 66 and South Korean Whee Kim shot a 67 to finish in second, one shot behind Berger. Billy Horschel and amateur Braden Thornberry were among five players two shots back.

David Hearn of Brantford, Ont., had an even-par 70 on Sunday to finish with a 6-under 274, good for a tie for 10th.

Stewart Cink, Ben Crane and Rafa Cabrera Bello started Sunday with a one-shot advantage on a crowded leaderboard that had 12 players within three shots of the lead.

Things became even more jumbled once the final round began. Nine players were tied for the lead at 8 under before Berger emerged from the pile.

Phil Mickelson briefly had a share of the lead in the final round, but a triple bogey on No. 12, which included a shot into the water, knocked him out of contention. He shot a 68 and finished at 7 under, three shots behind the leaders.

Thornberry shot a 65 and became the first amateur to finish in the St. Jude Classic’s top 10 since 1965. Thornberry, a sophomore at Mississippi who is from nearby Olive Branch, Miss., recently won the NCAA individual championship for the school’s first golf title.