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NEW ORLEANS (Louisiana), May 5: Steve Flesch sank a 30-foot birdie putt on the first playoff hole to defeat Bob Estes and win the New Orleans Classic on Sunday.
Flesch shot a seven-under 65 to reach 21-under 267 and then entered a playoff when Estes shot 69.
Scott Verplank, who led for the two previous rounds stumbled to a 74 and finished alone in third at 19-under 269.
Rookie Mark Wilson (69) finished fourth at 18-under 270, while J.L. Lewis (70) and Jerry Kelly (70) tied for fifth at 17-under 271.
Both Flesch and Estes drove the fairway at the first playoff hole, the par-four 18th.
After Estes left his approach 25 feet from the hole, Flesch hit the green and was five feet further from the hole.
Flesch became the second first-time winner on the PGA Tour in 2003, joining Ben Crane.
Leading final round scores (US unless stated):
267 — Steve Flesch 67, 70, 65, 65; Bob Estes 66, 66, 66, 69 (Flesch won on first playoff).
269 — Scott Verplank 65, 63, 67, 74.
270 — Mark Wilson 65, 67, 69, 69.
271 — J.L. Lewis 68, 68, 65, 70; Jerry Kelly 67, 69, 65, 70.
272 — Woody Austin 66, 72, 65, 69.
273 — David Frost (South Africa) 70, 65, 71, 67; Briny Baird 68, 71, 66, 68; Chris DiMarco 69, 68, 65, 71.
274 — Patrick Sheehan 68, 69, 72, 65; Brian Bateman 66, 70, 70, 68; Vijay Singh (Fiji) 67, 68, 69, 70; Paul Stankowski 64, 69, 71, 70; Jeff Sluman 65, 69, 66, 74.
275 — Steve Lowery 71, 64, 73, 67; Mike Sposa 73, 63, 71, 68; Skip Kendall 68, 69, 67, 71; Davis Love III 65, 67, 71, 72; Scott McCarron 70, 67, 66, 72; Stuart Appleby (Australia) 71, 68, 63, 73; Kirk Triplett 66, 66, 67, 76; Brian Gay 65, 66, 68, 76.
276 — Esteban Toledo (Mexico) 69, 70, 67, 70; Greg Chalmers (Australia) 70, 66, 68, 72; Geoff Ogilvy (Australia) 67, 67, 69, 73.
GRONBERG WINS
BRESCIA (Italy): Mathias Gronberg claimed his fourth European Tour title three years after his last when the Swede came from three strokes behind to win the Italian Open on Sunday by two shots.
Gronberg, 33, closed with a seven-under-par 65, only a stroke off the Gardagolf course record, for an aggregate of 17-under-par 271.
Second place was shared by overnight leader Ricardo Gonzalez of Argentina, Britain’s Colin Montgomerie, the tournament favourite, and Spain’s Jose Manuel Lara.
Leading final round scores (Britain unless stated):
271 — Mathias Gronberg (Sweden) 71, 67, 68, 65.
273 — Jose Manuel Lara (Spain) 69, 68, 71, 65; Colin Montgomerie 70, 67, 71, 65; Ricardo Gonzalez (Argentina) 67, 70, 66, 70.
274 — Martin Maritz (South Africa) 71, 71, 66, 66; Simon Khan 70, 72, 64, 68.
275 — Fredrik Widmark (Sweden) 69, 65, 72, 69; Pierre Fulke (Sweden) 68, 70, 66, 71.
276 — Emanuele Canonica (Italy) 72, 70, 68, 66; Marc Farry (France) 72, 66, 68, 70; Gustavo Rojas (Argentina) 70, 68, 68, 70; Peter O’Malley (Australia) 64, 70, 70, 72; Rolf Muntz (Netherlands) 69, 66, 69, 72.
277 — Roger Wessels (South Africa) 70, 71, 70, 66; James Hepworth 73, 70, 67, 67.
278 — Barry Lane 71, 68, 69, 70; Marcel Siem (Germany) 73, 68, 67, 70.
279 — Jarrod Moseley (Australia) 74, 64, 73, 68; Ian Poulter 74, 66, 71, 68; Stephen Scahill (New Zealand) 71, 69, 68, 71; Erol Simsek (Germany) 68, 69, 69, 73; Steen Tinning (Denmark) 72, 64, 70, 73.
280 — Philip Golding 70, 70, 72, 68; Matthew Cort 71, 68, 71, 70; Peter Fowler (Australia) 71, 71, 67, 71.
MAIDEN CROWN FOR CHUNG
SEOUL: South Korea’s Chung Joon held off a late charge by Amandeep Johl of India to win the Maekyung Open by a shot on Sunday, sealing his maiden victory on the Asian PGA Tour.
The 31-year-old Chung fired a final-round 69 to finish at 13-under 275 while Johl, who twice tied for the lead over the final seven holes, closed with a 67 after bogeying the last.
Leading final round scores (South Korea unless stated, a-denotes amateur):
275 — Joon Chung 70, 68, 68, 69.
276 — Amandeep Johl (India) 70, 70, 69, 67.
278 — Thongchai Jaidee (Thailand) 74, 68, 69, 67.
279 — Choi Yoon-soo 71, 70, 68, 70.
280 — Choi Sang-ho 73, 72, 69, 66; Shin Yong-jin 74, 71, 66, 69; a-Kim Kyung-tae 74, 68, 70, 68; Choi Gwang-soo 71, 73, 66, 70.
281 — Eddie Lee (New Zealand) 72, 73, 69, 67.—Reuters
