St. Jude serves up Berger double
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-par 66 to erase a 3-shot deficit and beat Charl Schwartzel and Whee Kim by 1 stroke in Memphis, Tenn.
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 yesterday, usually avoiding trouble after the first hole. His 17foot birdie putt on No. 15 put him ahead for good and he finished at 10-under 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.”
Schwartzel shot a 66 and Kim shot a 67 to finish in second. Amateur Braden Thornberry and Billy Horschel were among five players 2 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 yesterday. 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 yesterday with a 1-shot lead on a crowded leaderboard that included 12 players within 3 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.
Phil Mickelson briefly had a share of the lead, but a triple bogey on No. 12 knocked him out of contention.
Lexi falls apart at end
Ariya Jutanugarn of Thailand won the Manulife LPGA Classic with a birdie on the first playoff hole to beat Lexi Thompson and In Gee Chun in Cambridge, Ontario. Thompson, who started the day with a 1-shot lead, led by 4 shots at the turn but stumbled on the back nine with four bogeys. She 3-putted from 35 feet on the 18th and missed a 4-footer that could have given her the victory.
Patient Jobe prevails
Brandt Jobe won the PGA Tour Champions event by 1 shot in Des Moines, Iowa, finishing at 14-under 202 for his first victory in 19 years. Jobe shot a 69 in the final round to snap a winless drought that had stretched back to 1998, when he took first in a tournament in Japan. . . .
Dylan Frittelli shot a 5-under 67 to win the Lyoness Open for his first European Tour title in Atzenbrugg, Austria. Frittelli, a Challenge Tour graduate who turned pro in 2012, finished 12-under for the event, defeating Mikko Korhonen, David Horsey and Jbe’ Kruger by 1 stroke.