Joe Durant’s latest PGA Tour title was memorable for his entire family.
Durant spent the past 10 days at Disney World, visiting every theme park with his wife and two children. They got to see Mickey Mouse up close Sunday in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., when the famed character presented Durant with the Funai Classic trophy.
The kids were delighted. Dad may have been even more ecstatic after ending a five-year winless streak on tour.
Durant shot a bogey-free 7-under-par 65 in the final round at Disney, finished 25-under and picked up his first tour victory since March 2001. He showed he hadn’t forgotten how to win, either.
“I knew the kind of round you needed to play on the last day to win, especially when the scores are low, and I was fortunate to do that,” he said.
Durant beat rookie Troy Matteson (70) and Frank Lickliter II (62) by four strokes. First- and second-round leader Justin Rose (69) was fourth at 20-under.
The 42-year-old Durant played mistake-free golf down the stretch for his fourth career victory.
He started the day one shot behind third-round leader Matteson and dropped another stroke back after the first hole on the Magnolia Course. But Durant made up ground with smart decisions, a steady short game and several clutch putts.
“He didn’t make many mistakes,” said Matteson, who played in the final pairing with Durant. “He was very machinelike.”
Durant made a 13-footer from the fringe on the par-3 third and followed with a tap-in birdie on the par-5 fourth. He took the lead for good on the par-5 10th, getting up and down for birdie from the sand.
He sealed his long-awaited victory with three birdies – and several astute moves – over the next six holes.
The victory earned Durant $828,000 – the biggest paycheck of his career – and ended his winless streak. It also vaulted him to 29th on the money list, in position to earn a spot in the Tour Championship in Atlanta next month.
Champions Tour: Fred Funk won for the first time in three tour starts, birdieing three of the last four holes for a 2-under 69 and a one-stroke victory at the AT&T Championship in San Antonio.
The 50-year-old Funk had a 12-under 201 total on the Oak Hills Country Club course. Chip Beck, also a newcomer on the Champions Tour, closed with a 65 to finish second. Scott Simpson (69) was 10-under.
Funk, who won The Players Championship last year for the last of his seven PGA Tour titles, earned $240,000. He tied for 11th in his two previous starts on the 50-and-over tour, the U.S. Senior Open and Senior Players Championship in July. He also had a runner-up finish in April on the PGA Tour.
Funk started the day with a one-shot lead over Raymond Floyd and two over defending champion Jay Haas, who also won last week.
Floyd and Haas both shot even-par 72 to fall out of it, leaving Beck with the best shot at Funk.
LPGA: South Korea’s Hee-Won Han won her sixth career tour title, closing with a 5-under 67 for a five-stroke victory over Diana D’Alessio in the inaugural Honda LPGA Thailand tournament in Chonburi.
Han, two strokes behind Nicole Castrale entering play Sunday, had eight birdies and three bogeys in the final round. She finished with a 14-under 202 total for her second win of the year.
D’Alessio finished with a 70 while Castrale shot a 75 to tie for third at 8-under with Taiwanese star Candie Kung (69) and Gloria Park (71). Cristie Kerr (70), a three-time winner this year, was another shot back along with Carin Koch (68), Brittany Lang (70) and Christina Kim (73).
European Tour: Niclas Fasth shot a 2-under 68 for a three-stroke win over Sergio Garcia at the Mallorca Classic in Son Servera.
The Swede finished at 5-under 275 and Garcia, the 2004 winner, shot 68 to finish second in back-to-back years.
