Berger retains Memphis title
Daniel Berger shot a 4-under-par 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 in Memphis. His 17-foot birdie putt on No. 15 put him ahead for good and he finished at 10-under 270.
South African Charl Schwartzel shot a 66 and South Korean Whee Kim shot a 67 to finish in second, one shot behind Berger. Amateur Braden Thornberry and Billy Horschel were among five players two shots back.
Stewart Cink, Ben Crane and Rafa Cabrera Bello started Sunday with a one-shot lead on a crowded leader board that included 12 players within three shots of the lead.
Things became even more jumbled once the final round began. At one point, there were nine players tied for the lead at 8-under before Berger finally emerged from the pile.
Phil Mickelson briefly had a share of the lead during the final round, but a triple bogey on No. 12 — which included a shot into the water — knocked him out of contention. He still shot a 68 and finished at 7-under.
LPGA Tour: Ariya Jutanugarn won the Manulife Classic in Montreal with a birdie on the first playoff hole to beat Lexi Thompson and South Korea’s In Gee Chun.
Jutanugarn’s drive found the long grass on the side of the par-4 No. 18, but she recovered with an approach shot that left her pin-high. She calmly made a 25-footer for the victory.
Jutanugarn finished with a 3-under 69 in the final round and was tied with Thompson (72) and Chun (70) at 17-under 271.
Thompson, who started the day with a one-shot lead, led by four shots at the turn but stumbled on the back nine with four bogeys. She three-putted from 35 feet on the 18th and missed a four-footer that could have given her the victory.
Jodi Ewart Shadoff (69) was one shot back in fourth place. Mi Hyang Lee (68) and Laura Gonzalez Escallon (67) were at 14 under.
Champions Tour: Brandt Jobe won the Principal Charity Classic in Des Moines, Iowa, by one shot, finishing at 14under 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.
Scott McCarron, who won in Iowa in 2016, was second at 13 under after shooting a final round 66.
Bernhard Langer finished at 12 under, while Scott Verplank, Tom Lehman and Steve Flesch were another shot back.
Madison’s Jerry Kelly closed with a 70 and was six shots off the pace.