Gavin Coles outlasts Jonas Blixt to capture Winn-Dixie Jacksonville Open by one

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Australian Gavin Coles carded a 1-over-par 71 in windy conditions Sunday to best Jonas Blixt by one shot and win the Winn-Dixie Jacksonville Open.

The victory is the first of the year for Coles on the Nationwide Tour and moves the veteran to No. 15 on the money list entering next week’s season-ending Nationwide Tour Championship at Daniel Island. The top 25 money winners after next week’s finale will earn PGA Tour cards for the 2012 season.

Coles certainly had to earn his fifth career victory on the Nationwide Tour, clipping Blixt on a difficult day for scoring at Dye’s Valley Course at TPC Sawgrass. Wind gusts topped out at 20 mph, leading to a final round scoring average of 71.949 (+1.949). For the week, Dye’s Valley played to an average of 72.368 (+2.368), the highest of the season on the Nationwide Tour.

“The golf course played hard,” Coles said after the victory. “The greens were fast and you had to hit it in the right spots to make birdies. It was a tough test, and having said that, I don’t feel like I played all that well in terms of hitting it close.”

Coles didn’t give himself many birdies chances on the front nine, going out in 1-over 36 with a bogey at the par-4 No. 4, resulting from a wayward drive. Coles dropped a second shot at the par-4 15th, and stood on the 16th tee nursing a one-shot advantage over Blixt. The pair matched birdies on the par 5, Coles’ first of the day, before the 43-year-old from New South Wales took control on the penultimate hole. Coles hit a 7-iron to 30 feet and converted the putt to push his advantage to two with one hole to play.

“It’s funny, I didn’t think I could leave that putt on No. 17 short, and I’d been leaving putts short all day,” Coles remarked. “I just picked my line, hit it out there and it went in.”

The two-shot advantage heading to the last proved critical for Coles, who hit a “bunt” driver into the right rough on the 72nd hole and faced a difficult 40-footer over a ridge. Blixt, who found the fairway, was unable to apply pressure after his approach missed the green to the right.

Coles lagged his approach putt to 6 feet and then watched as Blixt failed to hole out for birdie. Knowing he had two putts for the victory, Coles failed to convert the par attempt, but tapped in for bogey and the one-shot triumph.

“I thought I hit my approach in the right spot and then it rolled all the way down that ridge,” Coles commented. “I hit just a bit of a bump on that second putt. I wasn’t too worried when I knew I had two putts from there to win.”

Coles will look to return to the PGA Tour for the fifth time next week in Charleston. He graduated from the Nationwide Tour in 2002, 2004 and 2006.

With the runner-up finish, his third of the year on the Nationwide Tour, Blixt improves to No. 5 on the money list and will advance to the PGA Tour for the first time in 2012. Though still in search of his first victory, Blixt was able to find a silver lining after the round.

“It’s good to be there on Sunday and get the experience of being under pressure,” said Blixt. “It’s time for me to win and pull one of these out.”

David Lingmerth’s solo third is his best finish on the Nationwide Tour this season in 25 starts, including this week. With the finish he moved to No. 75 on the money list to No. 50, securing his position in the field next week in Charleston.

Final-Round Notes:

--Gavin Coles’ victory is his first on the Nationwide Tour since the 2008 Chitimacha Louisiana Open, a span of 53 starts. His five-career victories are tied for third-most in Nationwide Tour history.

--Jonas Blixt collected his third runner-up finish of the season and seventh top 10, tied for second-most on the Nationwide Tour this year (Danny Lee – 8). He is in good shape to advance to the PGA Tour for the first time at No. 5 on the money list. 

--With the completion of Sunday’s final round, the top 60 players on the Nationwide Tour money list have advanced to the Nationwide Tour Championship at Daniel Island next week. David Lingmerth (third) and John Kimbell (tied for seventh) played their way into the top 60, while Charles Warren and Andrew Buckle both missed the cut and fell out of the top 60.

--Tim Wilkinson (No. 63) and Brian Stuard (No. 66) barely missed making the field for the Nationwide Tour Championship at Daniel Island despite solid weeks. They finished tied for 11th and tied for seventh, respectively.

--Billy Hurley III is the man on the bubble at No. 25 on the money list entering next week’s Nationwide Tour Championship. He finished tied for 55th at 12 over par this week and is looking to advance to the PGA Tour for the first time in his career. 

--The winning score of 6-under-par 274 is the highest of the season on the Nationwide Tour and highest in relation to par since Bill Lunde won the 2008 Nationwide Children’s Hospital Invitational at 5-under-par 279. 

--Tommy Biershenk made five consecutive 3s from No. 12 to No. 16 en route to his round of 69. He finished tied for fourth at 3 under and advances to the Nationwide Tour Championship.

--B.J. Staten fired the low-round of the day Sunday, a 6-under 64, equaling the low round of the tournament. With the 64, Staten jumped from a tie for 54th to a tie for 18th at 2 over. The course record at Dye’s Valley Course is 63, posted by 2010 winner David Mathis in the second round.

Harrison Frazar earns first PGA Tour victory in 355th start, over Robert Karlsson in FedEx St. Jude Classic

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Harrison Frazar became the PGA Tour's seventh first-time winner in Memphis on Sunday.

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Teresa Walker

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Harrison Frazar knows he's supposed to act as if he's won before. Turns out it's really tough the first time around, especially for someone who thought he'd missed his chance.

Frazar won his first PGA Tour title in his 355th tournament, beating Robert Karlsson with a par on the third hole of a sudden-death playoff Sunday at the FedEx St. Jude Classic. He won a month before turning 40 when Karlsson pushed a par-saving putt 3 feet past the hole.

"It was a whirlwind there. This was the first time," Frazar said. "I don't know if I'm supposed to keep the seersucker jacket. I don't know if I'm supposed to carry the trophy. You don't know who you're supposed to talk to. I felt bad. I didn't thank the sponsors. I didn't thank FedEx. I didn't thank the volunteers. I was not quite sure really what was happening right then.

"The only tournament that I won is Q-School, you walked in, signed your card in the scoring trailer, and they gave you a pat on the back, 'Good job.' You walked out the door. There was nobody there."

And Frazar had been so ready to quit golf he had plans lined up for a new job at the end of the year.

He turns 40 on July 29, misses his family back in Texas, and is playing this year on a major medical exemption after separate surgeries on his hip and shoulder last summer. Memphis is just the fourth cut he's made in 10 events, though he just qualified for the upcoming U.S. Open at Congressional.

Now Frazar has the biggest paycheck of his career, taking home $1,008,000. He knows he'll be playing at least a couple more years now he has a slot in the Hyundai Tournament of Champions in Maui in January and in Augusta next April for his first Masters.

"It just shows you how sometimes when you let your guard down or let your expectations soften, you can free yourself up," Frazar said.

Frazar hadn't had a chance to share the news with his wife and three children when he talked with reporters. He said his wife likely was stuck in the Dallas airport, flying to meet him at Congressional.

"I'm assuming her phone is either blown up, or she's trying to get through the airport with three screaming kids," Frazar said.

Frazar missed a chance to win on the 72nd hole when he made his first bogey of the day. He shot a 3-under 67 to match Karlsson (68) at 13 under. He became the seventh first-time winner on tour this year and the first to win his first title in Memphis since Dicky Pride in 1994.

"I just wanted to make it interesting," Frazar joked. "I felt bad for Robert."

Karlsson led after the second and third rounds, and he has shot below par on his past eight rounds here. Now the Swede has lost in a playoff at the TPC Southwind course for a second straight year, though he said he couldn't have done much more in what he called a great match.

"He played great, and I played good as well," Karlsson said. "It's one of those days where I think most of us had a lot of fun out there. Congratulate him on a great win. He played great in the last round after sort of being injured and stuff like that. He played really well."

Camilo Villegas (64) tied for third with Tim Herron, Ryuji Imada, Charles Howell and Retief Goosen. Lee Westwood, the 2010 champion here, tied for 11th.

"It's pretty cool," Frazar said.

This final round turned into a two-man playoff almost from the opening hole with no one closer than three strokes early, a margin that expanded to six.

Frazar kept catching Karlsson atop the leaderboard, finally getting the lead to himself when Karlsson bogeyed No. 17 after yanking a 3-wood way left off the tee. Frazar promptly gave the stroke back on the 72nd hole when his second shot landed near the green and dribbled into the water.

Karlsson stroked in an 8-foot par putt to set up his second straight playoff in Memphis.

In the playoff, Frazar had a 17-footer for birdie and the win on the first hole at No. 18 where he had just bogeyed. But he pushed his putt a foot past. Karlsson had an 18-foot birdie putt for the win on the par-3 11th only to just miss right, while Frazar two-putted from 45 feet.

Frazar had a nice drive on the third hole, the par-4 12th, that left him 93 yards to the pin. He hit his approach to 22 feet and two-putted.

Karlsson had to chip onto the green, and the ball sped past 11 feet past the hole. Needing to hole out to extend the playoff, Karlsson missed his par putt left.

Frazar tied Karlsson at 12 under through three, at 13 under through eight and at 14 under when he stuck his tee shot on the par-3 No. 11 6 feet from the pin for his fourth birdie of the round. With nobody else closer than six strokes, the men matched par for par over the next five holes.

Frazar had birdie putts of 4 feet and 15 feet to take the lead on Nos. 16 and 17 but couldn't knock them in.

Still sharing the lead, Karlsson yanked his tee shot on the par-4 No. 17 way into the rough. His 8-iron came up 42 yards short of the pin, leaving him a 6-footer for par. He started it left of the hole, and it never moved off the line rolling 4 feet past the pin.

Frazar gave it right back on 18, taking his drop and knocking his ball to 2 feet to salvage bogey after Karlsson's par putt from 8 feet.

"Felt more like 12 for me," Karlsson said. "Really, really big 8 feet. I know that's a putt to get into the playoff. So you ... pick your shot and try to hit it there. Scary thing was I had quite a big spike mark right in the way, but you can't clip it. That's the way it is. You take your spot and try to hit it as good as you can, and it went in. It was great."

DIVOTS: Nine consecutive PGA Tour events have been decided by a stroke or a playoff. ... This marks the third time in St. Jude history that the winner has been decided in a playoff in back-to-back years. Don Whitt and Tommy Bolt won playoffs in 1959 and 1960, while Andy Bean and Gil Morgan needed extra holes to win in 1978 and 1979. ... Frazar's 71 in the opening round equals the high start by a winner on tour this year and is just the second over-par opening round by a champion this year. Rory Sabbatini opened the Honda Classic with 1-over 71, and Bubba Watson started the Farmers Insurance Open with the same score. ... Frazar is just the sixth player to make Memphis his first win in the 54-year history of the event.

Kuchar leads Barclays over Simpson and Woodland by one shot at nightfall

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Matt Kuchar tops the Barclays leaderboard after going 5 under through 13 holes on Friday.

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Doug Ferguson

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JERSEY CITY, N.J. – Matt Kuchar made the most of his short day at The Barclays. 

Kuchar didn't tee off until Friday afternoon at Liberty National and knew he had no chance to finish. He could barely see his ball cross the water and set up a two-putt birdie on the 13th hole that gave him the outright lead, and there was enough light coming from lower Manhattan across the Hudson River to hit his tee shot on the 14th. 

The horn sounded, and by then, he was ready to go home. 

Kuchar was at 10 under par with five holes remaining and had to return Saturday morning to hold his one-shot lead over Webb Simpson and Gary Woodland, who both finished the second round in the rain-delayed tournament. 

Simpson had to play 29 holes – 11 holes to finish his first round in the morning, followed by his second round – and he was ready to go more. He ran off six birdies over an eight-hole stretch and had a 5-under 66. 

"It's much nicer when you're playing well to keep playing. And when you're playing well, you feel like you could play 40 holes in a day," Simpson said. "My main goal ... I just wanted to get done today. It just felt nice to putt out on 9, knowing that I've got tonight to sleep and catch up on rest." 

Woodland was one of the last players to finish at twilight Friday, and he finished strong. Woodland, back on track after a win at the Reno-Tahoe Open three weeks ago, birdied four of his last five holes for a 64 to join Simpson in the clubhouse at 9-under 133. 

"I feel ecstatic right now to be done," Woodland said. "It was a close call coming down the stretch if we would be able to finish. Luckily, I played great today, gave myself a lot of opportunities, and I drove the ball phenomenally and rolled some putts in, especially late." 

As for Tiger Woods, he couldn't get off the course fast enough. 

Woods challenged the target set by Simpson with three birdies in five holes – he was two shots behind – and he had a pair of par 5s in front of him. He failed to make birdie on either of the par 5s, and made three bogeys out of the bunker through the 12th hole to fall off the pace. He made birdie on the 13th, the last hole he completed, but was still five shots behind Kuchar, who was in his group. 

"I got off to a great start today and then lost it the middle part of the round and made too many mistakes," Woods said. 

He also said his back remained sore from what he said earlier in the week was due to a soft bed in his hotel that led to stiffness in his neck and bad. He said the pain increased throughout the round and when asked if a specific shot made it hurt, he replied, "Every one." 

"I'm going to get treatment right now ... and be ready for tomorrow morning," Woods said. 

It was the second straight year at The Barclays he has said a soft hotel bed caused stiffness in his back. Last year, it caused him trouble in the third round. 

Rory McIlroy showed more signs of turning his game around. After three double bogeys on Thursday, he limited the mistakes with some nifty par saves and was at 5 under with two holes remaining, starting with a shot from the 17th fairway after a big tee shot. 

Kuchar stopped with his tee shot just short of the green on the par-3 14th, and he had no inclination to finish. 

"`'I feel like in the morning, they will be perfect greens," he said. "A situation where I'm on 18 and can pretty much have a proper night's sleep and not have to worry about going out, I'll finish on 18. But in this situation ... it was amazing, we were down on the last hole, 13, kind of a little bit down the hole and it was dark. I wasn't sure we were going to tee off on 14. Coming out over the water, it brightened up by a good margin. It's actually a beautiful skyline. 

"I think when the sun sets coming off, it was a nice little place to be this time of night." 

It looked even better atop the leaderboard, though there's still a long way to go – and plenty of stars right behind him. 

Keegan Bradley set the tournament course record with a 63 and was at 7-under 135, along with Rickie Fowler (64) and Adam Scott, who was tied for the lead at one point until a lazy finish for a 66. 

Phil Mickelson, trying to retool his game after his British Open win, had a 69 and was seven shots behind the clubhouse lead. 

The last time The Barclays was at Liberty National, Heath Slocum won at 9-under 275. Since then, some of the landing areas were widened and the slopes on the greens were softened. Plus, the course was very little rough this year. And the soft conditions from the rain Thursday is making it easier to make birdies. 

For some players, their year was over. 

Ben Crane, after opening with a 67, had to withdraw with a lower back injury after playing just four holes of the second round. At No. 125 in the FedEx Cup, he won't be among the 100 players advancing to the second playoff event next week outside Boston. 

Lucas Glover withdrew with a hand injury, ending his season. 

The cut would not be made until Saturday morning, and Erik Compton needed two more rounds to try to qualify for the next tournament. He did his part, a birdie-birdie finish to get back to even-par 142. That was right on the line for making the cut. 

Phil Mickelson and Brian Davis lead Deutsche Bank, Tiger Woods five back

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Phil Mickelson and caddie Bones Mackay, at the Deutsche Bank Championship, had plenty to smile about Friday as he posted a first-nine 28 en route to an opening 63 and a share of the lead.

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Doug Ferguson

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NORTON, Mass. – Phil Mickelson keeps saying how much he loves playing with Tiger Woods. He shot 63 at the Deutsche Bank Championship to prove it.

In a feature grouping of the top three players in the world ranking, Mickelson turned in the star performance Friday morning with a 28 that allowed him to consider – but only briefly – another shot at 59. 

By the end of the day, when he played a risky shot from deep in the trees on his final hole to salvage bogey, he was happy to have a share of the lead. Mickelson was tied with Brian Davis, who made a 25-foot birdie putt on the last hole to join him at 8-under 63. 

"What Phil did today was pretty impressive," Woods said after a 68 that only seemed worse considering the company he kept. 

Masters champion Adam Scott, rounding out the 1-2-3 pairing, struggled to a 73 and joked later that he rolled out of the wrong side of the bed. "I wish could have gotten in their jet stream," Scott said. 

Mickelson did everything right. 

He started his round on the TPC Boston by making birdie putts of 20 feet on No. 10 and 30 feet on No. 11. He ended the front nine with five straight birdies, only the second nine-hole score of 28 on the PGA Tour this year. And even after a bogey from the bunker on No. 1, he hit a 6-iron from 213 yards that settled just more than a foot away for eagle on the next hole. That put him at 8 under for his round with seven holes to play. 

"It was a good start," Mickelson said. "I got off to a great front nine and somewhat stalled on the back. But after shooting 7 under the first nine, it was going to be a good round as long as I didn't mess it up." 

He tried. Mickelson ended his brilliant round with two words: "Oh, no." He hit a snap-hook off the ninth tee, so far right that it missed the fairway by some 40 yards and went so deep in the woods that fans could barely see Mickelson ducking and weaving through the branches to find his ball. 

He decided against a one-shot penalty drop out of the lateral hazard, fearing the slope would roll the ball too close to the branches and restrict his swing. 

"Just give me an 8- or a 9-iron," he told his caddie, Jim "Bones" Mackay. He was ready to hack away when his caddie reminded him the gallery was still in the way. Choking well up the grip, flattening the swing to avoid limbs, Mickelson chopped it out to the rough and still had 210 yards left. He knocked that one on the green and two-putted for his bogey and a 63. 

Kevin Stadler birdied his last four holes for a 64. 

Sergio Garcia, Hunter Mahan and Roberto Castro were in the group at 65. Garcia tends to skip the Deutsche Bank, but he is No. 55 in the FedExCup, no guarantee of being among the top 70 who advance to the third playoff event outside Chicago. Instead, the Spaniard is playing his fifth straight week. 

Rory McIlroy opened with a 70, which he said was the worst score he could have shot. 

It was at the Deutsche Bank Championship in 2007 when Mickelson first got over the mental hurdle of playing with Woods, his longtime nemesis. He said swing coach Butch Harmon, who formerly worked with Woods, gave him a few tips about playing with the world's No. 1 player that relaxed Mickelson. 

In the 15 rounds they have played together since, Mickelson has a 9-5-1 advantage in posting the lower score. He has shot the better score all five times in the final round, three of those leading to wins. 

Mickelson had said Woods "brings out the best in me" on Thursday after his pro-am round. When asked about that again after his 63, Lefty smiled and said, "After today, it's hard to think any differently." 

Woods referred to the course as "gettable," the same description he gave of Muirfield when Mickelson shot 66 on the final day to win the British Open, considered one of the great closing rounds in a major. That was the case, though. The TPC Boston was soft enough – and the fairways wide enough – to allow some low numbers. 

Woods said his back felt fine, and there were no outward indications he was in any pain. The only thing that hurt was not hitting enough shots close for birdie chances, and missing a few at the end. Woods had a 6-foot birdie putt on the seventh and a downhill birdie putt from about 12 feet on his last hole, missing both of them. 

"The back is good," Woods said. "Unfortunately, I didn't give myself a whole lot of looks." 

Even though the majors are over, and Mickelson added a big one at the British Open, the next month is a great chance for him. For all his greatness over the last two decades – 42 career wins on the PGA Tour, five majors and a spot in the Hall of Fame – he came along at the wrong time. Mickelson has never been player of the year, No. 1 in the world or tops on the PGA Tour money list. And he hasn't won the FedExCup, now in its seventh year. 

This might be his best chance. Mickelson feels great, though at 43 he was reminded he wasn't getting any younger when he went home to San Diego last week to take his oldest daughter to high school. 

With two wins – one a major – and a runner-up in the U.S. Open, another win at a FedExCup playoff event might be enough to get voted PGA Tour player of the year. Woods has five wins, all of them strong, but failed to win a major. 

"If I finish off with one or two wins this year, and win the FedExCup, I think that would be enough to get the player of the year," he said. "My game clicked again last week, and I feel like these next three weeks I'm going to play very well. I can just feel it. You can just tell sometimes. The game feels sharp. And mentally, I have a lot of energy and I'm able to focus clearly. And that's usually when you play well."