PALM HARBOR, Fla. -- Carl Pettersson steadied his nerves and
his swing down the stretch Sunday, saving par with a tough chip on
the 15th and a clutch putt on the 16th for an even-par 71 to win
the Chrysler Championship for his first PGA Tour victory.
Chad Campbell made five birdies on the back nine in a terrific
charge, including a 12-foot putt that swirled into the cup on the
18th hole for a 67 that left Pettersson no room for error.
Leading by one shot, Pettersson found the middle of the fairway
and hit his approach 20 feet by the cup. Trying to nestle the ball
close to the hole, he ran it 3 feet by, but made that for par and
the $954,000 prize.
Pettersson, born in Sweden and raised in North Carolina,
finished at 9-under 275.
The consolation prize for Campbell was a trip to the Tour
Championship. He showed up at Innisbrook at No. 43 on the money
list, but second-place earnings of $572,400 easily pushed him into
the top 30.
Steve Lowery, who started the final round tied at 9 under with
Petterson, lost his chance to win for the first time in five years
on the par-3 eighth hole. From an uphill lie in a front bunker,
Lowery caught it clean and sent the ball over the green in the pine
straw, with a branch behind his ball. It took him two chips to get
to the green, and his triple bogey sent him tumbling out of the
lead.<
^Charles Schwab Cup Championship=
SONOMA, Calif. -- Tom Watson rallied from a six-shot deficit
with an 8-under 64 Sunday to win the Charles Schwab Cup
Championship, the season-ending event on the Champions Tour.
Watson surged up the leaderboard as third-round leader Jay Haas
struggled, finishing at 16-under 272 for his second win of the year
and eighth victory on the Champions Tour.
The Senior British Open champion, who had 39 PGA Tour victories,
earned $440,000 and also claimed the Charles Schwab Cup points race
and a $1 million annuity.
Haas, going for his third win in four weeks, closed with a 71
and was one stroke back. Tom Kite had a final-round 67 and was
third at 13 under. Mark McNulty was 11 under after a closing 68,
and Loren Roberts and leading money winner Dana Quigley were
another stroke back in fifth after 70s.
Quigley, playing in the final pairing with Haas, tried to put
pressure on his playing partner early. Also starting six stokes
back, Quigley opened with three straight birdies, but gave strokes
back with bogeys at Nos. 6 and 8 and fell off the pace.
^CJ Nine Bridges Classic=
JEJU, South Korea -- Jee Young Lee of South Korea won her
first LPGA Tour title, closing with a 1-over-par 73 for a
three-shot victory in the CJ Nine Bridges Classic.
Lee led all three rounds and finished at 5-under 211 to easily
beat Mi-Hyun Kim and Carin Koch. She refused to consider victory
until she stood over a short par putt on the final hole.
Her nerves showed down the stretch when she made three straight
bogeys until finishing with a par. Lee became the fourth South
Korean in four years to win the tournament. Defending champion
Grace Park had a 70 and tied for sixth.
Annika Sorenstam, who already has clinched LPGA player of the
year, closed with a 70 to tie for 13th. Paula Creamer, who started
the final round five shots of the lead, shot a 79.<
^Volvo Masters=
SOTOGRANDE, Spain -- Not even eligible for all the majors at
the start of the year, Colin Montgomerie completed a remarkable
turnaround when he tied for third in the Volvo Masters and captured
his record eighth money title on the European tour.
Paul McGinley of Ireland closed with a 4-under-par 67 at
Valderrama for a two-shot victory over Sergio Garcia, his first
victory this year. He finished at 10-under 274.
But the season-ending event was all about the Order of Merit,
which Montgomerie won seven straight times in the 1990s until his
streak ended in 2000.
After going through a public divorce last year and watching his
world ranking plunge to No. 83, Montgomerie turned his game around
with a runner-up finish to Tiger Woods in the British Open, then
winning the Dunhill Links Championship at St. Andrews in October
for his first victory in 19 months.<
^Nationwide Tour Championship=
PRATTVILLE, Ala. -- David Branshaw hit an approach to 2 feet
for eagle on the par-5 17th hole to win the Nationwide Tour
Championship and join 20 other players who earned PGA Tour cards
for the 2006 season.
Branshaw, 29th on the money list going into the final event of
the year, closed with a 1-under 71 for a two-shot victory over Eric
Axley. He finished at 12-under 272 and earned $117,000.
Axley, who was 27th on the money list, bogeyed the 17th for a
three-shot swing and wound up with a 69. Even so, his runner-up
finish was worth $70,200 and sends him to the PGA Tour for the
first time.
The top 21 players on the Nationwide money list earn tour cards.
An extra spot was created because Jason Gore won three times on the
Nationwide Tour to earn an instant promotion to the PGA Tour, where
he won the 84 Lumber Classic last month.<