PGA GOLF A self-taught Kaye gains second tour victory at FBR

He turned back Chris DiMarco and Phil Mickelson in the final holes Sunday.
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) -- If Jonathan Kaye's first title was a relief, the second was a validation.
"Everybody out here is trying to win, and I was fortunate enough to get some of the bounces this week that made a difference," Kaye said Sunday after his two-stroke victory the FBR Open. "I'm just ecstatic to be on top."
Kaye, who closed with a 4-under 67, won for the first time last year in Harrison, N.Y., a breakthrough victory after 194 winless starts. It was a sweet reward to a player who fell one hole short of winning as a rookie in 1995, then spent two years recovering from rotator-cuff surgery and two more battling to regain and keep his tour card.
The self-taught golfer showed he is all the way back by winning in his 13th event since his initial title.
Tops money list
His 18-under 266 total stymied Chris DiMarco's bid for a second Phoenix title in three years and earned Kaye $936,000 -- enough to top the money list for the first time. Kaye has earned $1,292,944 in four events -- more than in any season but 2003.
He handled playing alongside gallery favorite Phil Mickelson and DiMarco, gaining momentum as his partners faltered.
DiMarco bogeyed the 16th and 17th holes, and Mickelson bogeyed his last three. Kaye two-putted from 28 feet on No. 18 and said he never noticed the pressure.
"It's very peaceful to be on the golf course," he said. "I feel comfortable playing, and it's just kind of my sanctuary."
DiMarco finished with a 69, a shot ahead of Steve Flesch and defending champion Vijay Singh, who carded 66s.
Another top-10 finish
It was Singh's 11th consecutive top-10 finish, the longest run since Greg Norman had six straight in 1993 and five more starting 1994. Jack Nicklaus set the modern record with 14 in 1977.
"It's nice to be finishing in the top 10, but it's also nice to win," Singh said.
Duffy Waldorf (65) and Masters champion Mike Weir (69) finished at 271, with first-round leader Scott Verplank (69) and Mickelson (72) at 272.
"I would love to have won this tournament," said Mickelson, the 1996 Phoenix champion who ended an 18-month drought by winning the Bob Hope last week. "This a special tournament to me, but rather than feeling down, I feel excited about next week."
Mickelson started a stroke behind Kaye and DiMarco but had a two-shot lead at 15-under after a birdie on the fifth hole. But he bogeyed the seventh hole and allowed the others to catch up.
After the turn, DiMarco had six consecutive birdies, catching Kaye at 14-under on No. 11. Then Kaye matched him birdie for birdie for four more holes that carried them past Mickelson and to 18-under.
DiMarco lost ground on No. 16, a par-3 with the loudest gallery in golf, when he pulled his tee shot into a bunker on the left side, blasted out and saw the ball run to the far side of the green 32 feet from the cup. He two-putted for bogey.
Johnnie Walker Classic
BANGKOK, Thailand -- Spain's Miguel Angel Jimenez closed with a 4-under 68 to beat Denmark's Thomas Bjorn and India's Jyoti Randhawa by two strokes. Jimenez, 40, an eight-time European tour winner, finished at 17-under 271. Bjorn, who had led for three days, bogeyed the par-5 14th and 17 in a closing 68. Randhawa shot a 64, highlighted by eagles on the seventh and 16th holes.