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Leonard wins St. Jude on 2nd playoff hole

Victory comes after blowing lead with two holes remaining in regulation

Stanford St. Jude Championship - Final RoundGetty Images
Justin Leonard tees off from the 14th hole during the final round of the St. Jude Championship on Sunday.

Leonard’s victory kept him from wondering what happened after he had the lead to himself with a birdie on No. 15.

He missed a chance to pad that margin on the par-5 16th when his approach went over the green, and he had to salvage par. His tee shot on No. 17 went into the right rough, and Leonard chipped out into the fairway and pushed a par putt from 15 feet 3 feet past the hole.

On No. 18, Leonard still had a chance to win without a playoff. He stuck an iron from 176 yards to 13 feet and rolled a nice putt that missed just left of the hole.

Gavin Coles, the Australian whose only win this year was on the Nationwide Tour at the Louisiana Open, was the last player with a chance to win in 72 holes if he birdied the 18th. He sent his tee shot into the right rough, his second into a greenside bunker and blasted out over the green into the rough. He couldn’t hole his chip to get into the playoff, then double bogeyed for a 71 and a 278 total that left him tied for eighth with Tom Pernice, who carded the tourney’s best round at 63, and Scott Verplank (68).

“It was like a train wreck,” Coles said.

Allenby walked over to the range to warm up, while Leonard grabbed a cool drink in the shade behind the 18th green before walking over to the range himself while the final two groups finished. Immelman, in the last group, two of the last three holes and had a 23-footer for birdie on No. 18 to make it a three-man playoff. He did, celebrating with a fist pump.

Only 12 players finished under par. Tim Clark started with a two-stroke lead before opening with a triple-bogey and finished with a 78 and tied for 18th.

Divots: Leonard is the fifth multiple winner in Memphis, joining Dave Hill (four), Lee Trevino (three), Nick Price (two) and David Toms (two). ... Leonard is 2-4 in playoffs, while Immelman is 0-2. ... Garcia had the only bogey-free round Sunday. ... Pernice’s finish kept him waiting around to see if he made a playoff, and he missed seeing his 13-year-old daughter Brooke, who suffers from a rare congenital disease that has left her blind, sing the national anthem before the Cubs-Dodgers game Sunday night.

© 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


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