Watson wins playoff

Posted March 16, 2008 11:00 pm

Associated Press

Zimbabwe's Denis Watson won the AT&T Champions Classic for his third Champions Tour title in two seasons, beating Loren Roberts with a birdie on the third hole of a playoff Sunday at Valencia in Santa Clarita, Calif.

Watson, the 2007 Senior PGA Championship and Boeing Classic winner, birdied the par-5 18th in regulation for a 7-under 65 and a share of the top spot with Roberts (70) and Brad Bryant (72) at 7-under 209. Bryant was eliminated on the second extra hole.

Watson, a three-time winner on the PGA Tour, set up his winning putt with a 9-iron form 152 yards to 20 inches on the par-4 10th.

Last year, Tom Purtzer beat Roberts on the fourth hole of a playoff.

Watson, Roberts and Bryant opened the playoff with pars on No. 18. Watson and Roberts birdied the 18th on the second playoff hole to eliminate Bryant. Watson then won with the short birdie putt on the third extra hole.

Watson began the day tied for 20th, 7 shots back. He finished regulation play 80 minutes before Roberts and Bryant completed their rounds.

MasterCard Classic

Sweden's Louise Friberg won her first LPGA Tour title, closing with a 7-under 65 for a 1-stroke victory over Taiwan's Yani Tseng in the MasterCard Classic in Huxquilucan, Mexico.

Ten strokes behind Ji-Young Oh at the start of play after opening rounds of 72 and 73, Friberg had an eagle, 6 birdies and a bogey in the 65 -- a Bosque Real course-record round and the best score by 3 strokes in the final round.

The 2003 University of Washington graduate finished at 6-under 210 on the hilly Bosque Real course and made $195,000. Making only her third start as a tour member and fourth overall, she earned her tour card in early December with a ninth-place tie in the qualifying tournament.

Tseng finished with a 74.

Jane Park (70) and Jill McGill tied for third at 4 under, and Pat Hurst (72), Na Yeon Choi (73) and Eva Dahllof (74) followed at 3 under. Oh closed with a 79 to match top-ranked Mexican star Lorena Ochoa (68) at 2 under.

Ballantine's Championship: Northern Ireland's Graeme McDowell won the inaugural Ballantine's Championship, beating India's Jeev Milkha Singh with a birdie on the third hole of a playoff in Jeju Island, South Korea.

McDowell, a three-time winner on the European tour, and Singh closed with 6-under 66s to finish at 24-under 264 on the Pinx Golf Club course. Ireland's Paul McGinley (69) finished third, 7 strokes back.