GOLF Sabbatini flips fortune inspired by jeering fans

He won despite losing a four-shot lead.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
LOS ANGELES -- Losing a four-shot lead was bad enough.
What rekindled the fire in Rory Sabbatini was hearing a crowd rooting so hard for Fred Couples that it began cheering Sabbatini's misfortune.
And when the South African made another sloppy bogey on the 15th hole to slip into a four-way tie for the lead Sunday in the Nissan Open, he knew it was time to turn it around.
"That was definitely one of the hardest rounds of golf I've played in my life," Sabbatini said. "It seemed like everything was going the wrong way."
On the verge of a collapse, Sabbatini hit a 7-iron to 5 feet on the pivotal par-3 16th hole for a birdie, sending him to a one-shot victory over Adam Scott that finally gave him something to show for his great start to the season.
Sabbatini never realized it would be so difficult.
He heard muffled applause on some of his best shots, and jeers when he found a bunker on the 12th hole and made bogey to lose the lead for the first time since Friday. Then came his spectacular escape from the trees with a 2-iron on the 13th hole that allowed him to stride up the fairway with a putter in his hand.
Miscalculation
Only later did he realize the applause was for his ball rolling off the green.
"I thought it must be on the green, but I was wrong," he said. "That was the Freddie Couples Support Team. That just seemed like the way everything was going, hitting a lot of good shots that seemed to go the wrong way."
Sabbatini overcame it all, and when he lagged his 45-foot putt to within a foot of the cup for a tap-in par on the 18th, he had a 1-over 72 and his first victory in three years.
And this time, the applause was for him.
It was despair for Couples, who stood over an 8-foot birdie putt on the 13th hole to take the lead only to leave it short. Then, the two-time Nissan Open champion and one of the most popular figures in golf threw it all away with three bogeys on the final four holes.
Sabbatini had the highest final round by a Nissan Open winner since Tom Purtzer shot 72 to win in 1977. Sabbatini wound up at 13-under 271 to edge Scott, the defending champion who started the final round nine shots out of the lead and not expecting to have a chance.
Champions Tour
NAPLES, Fla. -- Loren Roberts survived a battle on the final hole Sunday to win The ACE Group Classic, becoming the first golfer to open a Champions Tour season with three wins.
Roberts parred the last 12 holes, and 60-year-old Hale Irwin put his approach shot in the water on the closing hole at The Club at TwinEagles.
Playing in the group behind Irwin, Roberts two-putted from 35 feet to clinch the victory with a final-round 69 and 14-under 202 total -- one shot ahead of Brad Bryant and R.W. Eaks.
Bryant birdied the last hole to finish with a 70, and Eaks had a 67 despite missing a birdie putt at the last and. Irwin double-bogeyed No. 18 after hitting a 7-iron from 162 yards into the water in front of the green for a 68, and tied for fourth with Tom Watson (67) at 204.
Malaysian Open
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia -- South Korea's Charlie Wi birdied his last hole and shot a 9-under 63 to win the Malaysian Open.
Jacob's Creek Open
ADELAIDE, Australia -- Australian Paul Sheehan beat compatriot Michael Sim at the second playoff hole to win the Jacob's Creek Open at Royal Adelaide.