Sunday, May 30, 2004
David Toms repeated as winner of the St. Jude Classic.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
CORNING, N.Y. -- Annika Sorenstam did what she usually does when she's near the lead on Sunday.
Michelle Estill was so close to a victory, then Sorenstam rallied with four birdies on the back nine and finished with a 4-under-par 68 to win the Corning Classic by two strokes over Estill and Vicki Goetze-Ackerman.
It was Sorenstam's third victory in six tournaments this year, No. 51 overall, and her 16th come-from-behind triumph.
The victory was even sweeter because it came one year after Sorenstam chose to play against the men at Colonial instead competing in the Corning.
"The biggest thing is that I felt support last year when I did play Colonial. Corning was very supportive," said Sorenstam, who hadn't played the Corning Country Club course in nine years and won despite two weeks off and not even a practice round.
"They said whatever is good for the LPGA is good for us, and I thought that was a great comment. That's the way I was looking at the Colonial, too. Long-term, I always thought it was good for the LPGA."
Sorenstam finished at 18-under-par 270 and pocketed $150,000 to take over the top spot on the money list from Grace Park.
PGA Tour
MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- David Toms' comeback from wrist surgery is complete.
Toms started the final round of the St. Jude Classic with a seven-stroke lead on Sunday, and nothing -- not even windy conditions -- could stop him from repeating as champion.
He shot a 2-over 73 and still finished with a six-stroke victory over Bob Estes for his 10th PGA Tour victory and first since winning here last June.
"I just had to grind it all the way out," Toms said. "It was a tough day for everybody. I knew it would be tough for anybody to shoot a low score. I knew as long as I could hang in there and make a lot of pars, I'd be OK.
"In the end, it was good enough."
This is the eighth time in Toms' career that he entered the final round with at least a share of the lead after 54 holes. He has won six of those times, including five straight.
With the victory, the 37-year-old Toms is one of only five players under 40 on tour with 10 or more victories.
He also becomes just the third golfer to win consecutive titles at the tour stop in Memphis, and the first since the tournament moved to the TPC at Southwind in 1989. Dave Hill won in 1969 and 1970, while Lee Trevino took the titles in 1971 and 1972 at Colonial Country Club.
Senior PGA
LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Hale Irwin held a one-shot lead over Dave Barr and Jay Haas when the final round was suspended Sunday at the rain-plagued Senior PGA Championship at Valhalla.
A powerful front that spawned tornados in Indiana moved through the area Sunday afternoon, triggering the fourth delay in four days.
Play was suspended Sunday afternoon. The players were due to resume their final rounds early today.
Volvo PGA
VIRGINIA WATER, England -- Scotland's Scott Drummond, ranked 435th in the world, won the Volvo PGA Championship. He is the first to capture the European tour's flagship event on his first try since Arnold Palmer in 1975.