Argentina’s Gomez wins St. Jude Classic

Fabian Gomez of Argentina celebrates with the trophy after winning the FedEx St. Jude Classic at TPC Southwind in Memphis, Tennessee. (AFP)

AFP/MemphisFabian Gomez fired a four-under par 66 on Sunday to win his first US PGA Tour title, beating England’s Greg Owen by four strokes at the St. Jude Classic. Gomez, who shared the overnight lead with Owen, finished with a 72-hole total of 13-under 267, while Owen—who led by two through seven holes—finished with an even par 70 at TPC Southwind for 271. Gomez finished with a flourish, rolling in a 30-foot putt for his fifth birdie of the day at the final hole. He became the first Argentinian since Angel Cabrera at last year’s Greenbrier Classic to win on the US Tour. Birdies at the third and seventh saw Owen pull two ahead as Gomez was even for the day through seven after a birdie and a bogey. But Gomez birdied the par-three eighth, and Owen bogeyed nine and they were level again, Gomez then taking the lead for good with a seven-foot birdie putt at the 11th. Owen dropped his tee shot in the water en route to a bogey at the 12th, and dropped another shot when he missed the green at the par-three 14th. The Englishman’s birdie at 15 pulled him within two, but Gomez responded with a birdie from a greenside bunker at the par-five 16th. “Today, I tried to play the same way I played the first three days,” Gomez said. “If I got nervous, I thought about something else and that helped keep my mind blank.” Five-time major champion Phil Mickelson, tuning up for the US Open that starts on Thursday at Chambers Bay in Washington state, gave himself some momentum with a final-round 65 that left him in a group sharing third on 272. “I’m feeling a lot better about heading into the US Open after this week than I did after last,” said Mickelson, who had eight birdies and three bogeys on Sunday. Mickelson was joined on eight-under by South Korean Noh Seung-Yul, who also carded a 65, Australian Matt Jones (68), and Americans Michael Thompson (66) and Brooks Koepka (70). Reigning FedExCup champion Billy Horschel also closed with a 65 to share eighth place on 273. He was in a group that included Boo Weekley, Chad Campbell and Scotland’s Russel Knox. Leading final-round scores 267 - Fabian Gomez (ARG) 66-68-67-66 271 -Greg Owen (ENG) 64-70-67-70 272 -Phil Mickelson 68-69-70-65, Noh Seung-Yul (KOR) 69-72-66-65, Michael Thompson 69-69-68-66, Matt Jones (AUS) 69-67-68-68, Brooks Koepka 64-67-71-70 273 -Boo Weekley 67-70-71-65, Billy Horschel 71-67-70-65, Russell Knox (SCO) 70-64-73-66, Chad Campbell 69-66-70-68 274 -Will Wilcox 68-72-69-65, Colt Knost 72-64-72-66, Chez Reavie 70-70-66-68, Tom Hoge 69-65-71-69, Chris Smith 67-67-71-69, Scott Brown 65-69-68-72 275 -Cameron Percy (AUS) 69-69-71-66, Vaughn Taylor 67-74-68-66, Billy Hurley 72-66-70-67, Camilo Villegas (COL) 71-68-66-70 276 -Steven Bowditch (AUS) 69-71-70-66, Alex Cejka (GER) 71-68-69-68, Steven Alker (NZL) 65-68-74-69, Spencer Levin 67-68-72-69, Kevin Chappell 71-64-71-70, Ryan Palmer 64-71-70-71, Austin Cook 68-64-72-72Langer defends Senior Players title with six-stroke rompGerman Bernhard Langer captured his fifth career senior major in style when he completed a six-stroke romp at the Senior Players Championship in Massachusetts on Sunday. Langer entered the day with an eight-stroke cushion and finished things off with a 68 for a 19-under 265 total at Belmont Country Club. Kirk Triplett fired a 64 to earn second place at 13-under, but Langer was never challenged as he successfully defended his Players Championship crown. “I got off to a good start so the lead didn’t shrink too much, if at all,” Langer told Golf Channel. “That was my goal to come down the last few holes with a comfortable lead. “I’m very blessed again to have won this tournament back-to-back, another major.” Langer, 57, has dominated the senior circuit since turning 50. Langer’s wire-to-wire triumph is a familiar sight after he seized last year’s Senior British Open by 13 strokes. Three players tied for third place at 10-under on Sunday, including Colin Montgomerie who had won two of the last four senior majors entering this event. Montgomerie checked himself into hospital with chest pains on Sunday morning, but was given the all-clear to play the final round. Montgomerie cleared after health scare, finishes third Colin Montgomerie checked into hospital due to chest pains early on Sunday but was cleared in time to play his final round at the Senior Players Championship in Massachusetts. The Briton, one of the best players never to have landed a regular major title, has won three major championships in the over-50s ranks since joining the tour in 2013. The Scot said he felt discomfort at the end of his third round but returned to the course on Sunday after treatment to shoot a 68 and finish third, nine strokes behind winner Bernhard Langer. “I decided the prudent thing was to go in and get checked,” Montgomerie told reporters of his visit to Massachusetts General Hospital. “I had all these CAT scans and all this stuff. “I had two hours to do it this morning and the staff of the hospital was superb.” Montgomerie, who won 31 times on the European Tour and tasted Ryder Cup success as a player and captain, will head to Chambers Bay for the US Open looking to finally go one better than his five runner-up finishes at majors on the regular tour.