Murray earns first PGA Tour victory

Rookie pars final hole to record 1-shot win at Barbasol.

Grayson Murray unhappily found himself with a couple of extra days to prepare for the Barbasol Championship — and ended up with a breakthrough victory.

After missing the weekend cut last week in the John Deere Classic, the rookie won his first PGA Tour title Sunday in Opelika, Ala. He holed a 5-foot par putt on the final hole for a one-stroke victory.

Murray closed with a 3-under 68 to edge Chad Collins. The 23-year-old former Wake Forest and Arizona State player set up the winning par with a long putt from below the hole. He finished at 21-under 263, a tournament record.

“I was in control,” said Murray, who earned $630,000. “I didn’t get out of my game plan once. I was going to let them make the mistakes instead of myself. I was going to make them have to birdie the last hole, or the last two holes.

“I was playing for par on 17 and 18. Those are two hard holes and I knew if I parred both of those they would have to do something special to beat me.”

Murray arrived in Alabama a week earlier after suddenly finding himself with an open weekend. It paid off, the win securing him a spot in the PGA Championship in his home state of North Carolina.

Ryder Cup captain Jim Furyk, who didn’t qualify for the British Open, finished at 11 under after a third straight 68.

LPGA: In-Kyung Kim rallied to win the Marathon Classic in Sylvania, Ohio, to become the second twotime winner this season on the LPGA Tour.

Two strokes behind 18-year-old Nelly Kim entering the round, Kim birdied six of the first nine holes and finished with an 8-under 63 for a four-stroke victory over Lexi Thompson.

Kim also won the ShopRite Classic in June. The six-time LPGA Tour winner joined fellow South Korean So Yeon Ryu as the only multiple winners this season. Kim, 29, finished at 21-under 263.