Twelve years after he went broke, gave up golf and went to work making and delivering pizzas, Tim Petrovic earned his first PGA Tour victory.
Petrovic completed the long journey by holing a 4-foot par putt to beat rookie James Driscoll on the first hole of a playoff in the Zurich Classic in Avondale, La.
“That last putt seemed to take about 12 minutes to fall in,” Petrovic said. “I saw every dimple rolling over, and over, and over and then it went in.”
Petrovic, 38, set up the breakthrough victory with a 19-foot birdie putt on the final hole of regulation, then finished off Driscoll with a routine par on the par-5 closing hole on the year-old TPC of Louisiana.
Petrovic, the former pizza and newspaper deliverer whose 2002 entry on the PGA Tour came 14 years after he turned pro, shot a 4-under-par 68 to match Driscoll at 13-under 275.
Driscoll, playing in the final group with Masters runner-up Chris DiMarco, had a 70, missing a 4-foot birdie try for the victory on No. 18.
DiMarco, the third-round leader, bogeyed No. 18 to finish a stroke back along with Lucas Glover (69). DiMarco, playing his first event since losing to Tiger Woods in a playoff at Augusta National, shot a 72.
LPGA Tour: Stacy Prammanasudh won the Franklin American Mortgage Championship for her first LPGA Tour title, birdieing Nos. 16 and 17 to pull away from defending champion Lorena Ochoa en route to a three-stroke victory in Franklin, Tenn.
Prammanasudh, the first first-time winner on the tour this season, closed with a 3-under 69 for a 14-under 274 total. The former Tulsa star earned $150,000.
Ochoa finished with a 70. Cristie Kerr (68), Christina Kim (69) and Catriona Matthew (71) tied for third at 9-under.
Champions Tour: Jim Thorpe won his 10th career Champions Tour title, birdieing four of the final five holes for a four-stroke victory over Dana Quigley in the FedEx Kinko’s Classic in Lakeway, Texas.
“Watching the leaderboard, it seems like it dials me in on birdies,” said Thorpe, 56.
Thorpe, a three-time winner on the PGA Tour, closed with a 4-under 68 for a 10-under 206 total. He earned $247,500. Quigley finished with a 70.
European PGA: South African star Ernie Els ran away with the BMW Asian Open today, finishing off a 13-stroke victory with a bogey-free 7-under 65 in Shanghai, China.
In Super Stats: Results. 9D
