The thought slipped into Justin Leonard’s mind briefly as he stood over a 3 1/2-foot putt for bogey on No. 18.
If he missed, he was going to a playoff.
That eight-stroke lead? Long gone, and his name would be in the record book for blowing the biggest lead ever on the PGA Tour.
“I pretty quickly pushed that out of my mind,” Leonard said.
The Texan sunk the putt, reached in the hole for the ball and then collapsed onto the green in relief after pulling out a one-stroke victory over David Toms in the St. Jude Classic on Sunday in Memphis, Tenn., the first wire-to-wire win of his career and the second on tour this year.
Starting with an eight-stroke lead, Leonard closed with a 3-over-par 73 to finish at 14-under 266 and earn his second title of the year and 10th of his career.
“It’s a good thing I had an eight-shot cushion because I was able to stay out just enough in front of a great round by David,” Leonard said.
It’s the second time Leonard didn’t record a birdie in his final round and still won, the previous in 2002 in Hilton Head, S.C., when he became the first tour winner to do that in seven years. He hit only five of 18 greens in regulation Sunday.
Toms, the two-time defending tournament champion, helped spice up the final holes with a 63 that included four birdies, an eagle and a bogey on the back nine.
Leonard pocketed the winner’s $882,000 check by becoming only the third wire-to-wire winner in the 48-year history of the tournament, joining Bob Estes (2001) and Dave Hill (1967).
Fred Funk (68) was third at 271, while Davis Love III (68) and Heath Slocum (71) tied for fourth at 272.
LPGA Tour: South Korea’s Jimin Kang aced the 15th hole just moments after a deflating bogey and shot a 6-under 66 to win the Corning (N.Y.) Classic , edging Annika Sorenstam and rookie Meena Lee by two strokes for her first career title.
Kang, who finished with a 15-under 273, became the seventh first-time winner in the tournament’s 27-year history and denied Sorenstam her fifth victory in seven starts this year.
Sorenstam made a late charge with three birdies over her final seven holes en route to a 69. Lee finished with a 67.
European PGA: Argentina’s Angel Cabrera won the BMW Championship for his third European tour title, closing with a 5-under 67 for a two-stroke victory over Ireland’s Paul McGinley in Virginia Water, England.
