Gil Morgan won his 25th career Champions Tour title Sunday, closing with a 5-under-par 67 for a two-stroke victory over Hale Irwin in the Wal-Mart First Tee Open.
Morgan, 60, won at Pebble Beach 15 years after a disappointing finish in the U.S. Open on the historic California seaside course. In 1992, Morgan was 12-under after seven holes of the third round, the lowest anyone had been in a U.S. Open, but played the next seven holes in 9-over and ended up tying for 13th.
Morgan finished with a 14-under 202 total, birdieing four of the first six holes Sunday and adding another on No. 16. He opened with a 70 at Pebble Beach and shot a 65 on Saturday at Del Monte.
Irwin, 62, closed with a 69.
With the victory, Morgan broke a tie with Miller Barber for third place on the 50- and-over tour’s career list. Irwin is the leader with 45, and Lee Trevino has 29 wins.
Tom Watson shot a 69 to finish third at 10-under. Scott Simpson, the 2006 winner, had a 67 to join Des Smyth (73) and Don Pooley (67) at 8-under.
PGA: Brett Wetterich emerged from the pack with a 15-foot eagle and held on for a 6-under 66, giving him a one-shot lead in the Deutsche Bank Championship in Nor- ton, Mass.
Wetterich was at 13-under 200 and will play in the final pairing today with Arron Oberholser, who had to scramble for par after hitting into the hazard on the 18th to shoot 66.
Phil Mickelson saved par six times with putts in the 6-foot range that kept his round together. He finished with a birdie on the 18th for a 68, putting him two shots behind at 202.
Another shot behind was Tiger Woods, the defending champion at Deutsche Bank who is making his first start in these playoffs. Woods was fuming as he left the 18th green with a 67, after three-putting the last two holes to spoil an otherwise solid day.
LPGA: Sherri Steinhauer held off a late charge by Christina Kim for a one-stroke victory in the LPGA State Farm Classic in Springfield, Ill.
The 44-year-old Steinhauer, who led after every round, finished at 17-under 271 for the four-day tournament at Springfield’s Panther Creek Country Club. The title is Steinhauer’s eighth in her 22 years on tour.
PGA Europe: Marc Warren birdied the second hole of a playoff with Simon Wakefield to become the first Scot to win the Johnnie Walker Championship in Gleneagles, Scotland. In the playoff, both parred the first hole. On the second, Warren set up his birdie with a putt from 60 feet that stopped within 5 feet of the cup.
