Stricker strikes for elusive win in playoff
Steve Stricker has all sorts of top-10 finishes on the PGA Tour this season. Now he has the best one, too.
Stricker birdied the second hole of a playoff with Tim Clark and Steve Marino to win the Crowne Plaza Invitational in Fort Worth, Texas, on Sunday. Stricker finished second, third, fourth, sixth and seventh this year before breaking through at Colonial.
The 42-year-old Stricker shot a 2-under 68 to match Marino (68) and Clark (70) at 17-under 263. Stricker earned $1,116,000 for his fifth career PGA Tour victory.
"I feel fortunate," Stricker said, wearing the plaid jacket given to all winners at the Colonial Country Club. "I've been on the other end a couple times this year where you feel going to win and end up losing. This feels very good."
On the par-4 17th on the second extra hole, Stricker put his approach to 4 feet, and Clark almost matched it - but his approach hit the stick and rolled more than 20 feet away. He missed his birdie try and Stricker made his.
Trying to shed his title as the guy who'd won the most money on the PGA Tour without winning an event, Clark wasted a 2-shot lead with five holes left. He left short a 9-foot putt that would've won it on the final hole, then pulled a 7-footer that would've ended the playoff on the first hole. The final kick in the gut came when his approach on the second extra hole hit the pin and rolled more than 20 feet from the cup.
"I can't take anything positive from today," the 33-year-old South African said. "I have a lot of work to do when it comes to closing out golf tournaments."
Jason Day shot a 69 to finish fourth at 16 under.
Principal Charity Classic: Mark McNulty won the Principal Charity Classic in West Des Moines, Iowa, for his seventh Champions Tour victory, beating Fred Funk with a 30-foot birdie putt on the fourth hole of a playoff. The 55-year-old McNulty, from Zimbabwe, closed with a 5-under 66 to match Funk (66) and second-round leader Nick Price (68) at 10-under 203 on the Glen Oaks Country Club course. McNulty and Funk birdied the second extra hole to eliminate Price.
European Open: France's Christian Cevaer won the European Open in Ash, England, for his second career European tour win, closing with a 2-over 74 for a 1-stroke victory. Cevaer, also the 2004 Spanish Open winner, had a 7-under 281 total on The London Golf Club course.