Zalatoris at last earns PGA Tour win
Will Zalatoris had the most money and the best world ranking of anyone without a PGA Tour victory. He changed that Sunday by winning the FedEx St. Jude Championship in Memphis, Tenn., without making a birdie in a three- hole playoff.
Heartache in two previous playoff losses this year — one in a major — turned into relief for Zalatoris after a wild finish in the TPC Southwind. It ended when he took a penalty drop from the rocks that frame the parthree 11th green and holed a seven- foot bogey putt to beat Sepp Straka.
“It’s hard to say, ‘ About time,’ when it’s your second year on tour, but it’s about time,” said Zalatoris, a runner- up to Hideki Matsuyama in the Masters last year and a playoff loser at Torrey Pines and the PGA Championship. “Considering all those close finishes, it means a lot.”
Zalatoris moves into the top 10 in the world for the first time and takes the No. 1 spot in the FedEx Cup.
He was clutch even if he was scrambling. It started with a 10- foot par save on the 18th in regulation for a fourunder- par 66 to post a 15under 265.
Straka just missed a 20foot birdie putt for the win on the 18th for a 67. He had a 25- foot putt for the win on the 18th on the f irst playoff hole and had to make a seven- footer the second time around to stay in the game.
“This course is where every shot you hit you’re on the edge of your seat,” Straka said. “Add the nerves of competing for a tournament to that, especially for a playoff event, and yeah, it can get a little crazy.”
British Open champion Cameron Smith was given a two- shot penalty when rules officials realized upon review that when Smith took a penalty drop in the third round, the ball was still touching the red hazard line. Smith shot a f inal- round 70 and tied for 13th.
Ferguson, Stark win World Invitational
Ewen Ferguson of Scotland captured the second title of his rookie season on the European Tour by winning the ISPS Handa World Invitational in Ballymena, Northern Ireland, by three shots.
Ferguson closed with a one- under 69 to complete a wire- to- wire victory at Galgorm Castle.
In the women’s event, Maja Stark of Sweden closed with a 10- under 63 for her third victory this year on the Ladies European Tour. The tournament is co- sanctioned with the LPGA Tour, giving her access to join the LPGA.
Elsewhere
Miguel Angel Jimenez won the Boeing Classic in Snoqualmie, Wash., for his third PGA Tour Champions win this season, closing with a five- under 67. ... Saki Baba routed Monet Chun of Canada 11 and 9 in University Place, Wash., to become the second Japanese winner in U. S. Women’s Amateur history, after Michiko Hatttori in 1985.