FORT WORTH - Boo Weekley was at the 13th hole during the final round of the Colonial before he finally glanced at a leaderboard - and saw his name on the top.
It was at that par 3 surrounded by an often rowdy crowd that he also heard the loudest “Boo!” in quite some time.
Weekley hit his birdie putt from about 22 feet, then swiped his putter in the air as if guiding the ball into the cup. He thrust the club above his head when the ball dropped to get him to 14 under, where he finished Sunday for his first PGA Tour victory in five years.
“That’s when I realized, ‘Wow, here I go.’ I need to do something, either hold on to it or try to make a couple of more birdies,” Weekley said. “I knew I was hitting the ball too well just to hold on.”
Weekley converted five consecutive pars after that to finish at 14-under 266 for a one-stroke victory over Matt Kuchar, the second- and third round leader, who had a 68.
Defending Colonial champion Zach Johnson, who also won at Hogan’s Alley in 2010, shot 66 to finish third at 12 under for his first top-10 finish this season.
Both of Weekley’s previous victories had been at Harbour Town, in 2007 and 2008. Like the Heritage winner, the Colonial champion gets a plaid jacket, though the 2008 Ryder Cup team member wasn’t able to compare any differences between them.
“I couldn’t tell you, it’s been so long,” said Weekley, who moved up to No. 55 in the world ranking, making him eligible for the U.S. Open.
Weekley’s check of just more than $1.1 million matched what he earned his previous 14 tournaments this season while making 12 cuts and finishing in the top 10 three times. Weekley never trailed after consecutive birdies at Nos. 8-10. Those came at the same time Scott Stallings made double bogey at No. 15 to drop out of the lead.
Kuchar, at No. 13 the highest-ranked player in the field, was 12 under after a 55-foot birdie putt at the 436-yard 12th hole. Kuchar punched his right arm into the air to punctuate the shot that got him within a stroke of Weekley.
Johnson was at No. 17, where a 19-footer for his second consecutive birdie also got him to 12 under.
Almost as quickly, their one-stroke deficit was back to two after Weekley’s birdie at No. 13.
David Lingmerth (Arkansas Razorbacks) tied for the second-best round of the day with a 5-under 65. The round put him in a tie for 18th place at 7 under and earned him $86,400. Lingmerth had four birdies on the front nine and another on the back nine in his bogey-free round.
Ken Duke (Arkadelphia, Henderson State) finished in a tie for 31st at 4 under and made $38,800 for the tournament.
Bryce Molder (Conway) had a 6-over 76 on Sunday and finished tied for 65th, good enough for $13,248.
LPGA
Lee survives Bahamas
PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas - A week like no other on the LPGA Tour ended with Ilhee Lee winning for the first time.
Lee made a clutch par putt to keep a one-shot lead, and then drilled a fairway metal onto the par-5 18th green to set up a two-putt birdie. She closed with a 5-under 42 on Sunday for a two-shot victory over Irene Cho in the Bahamas LPGA Classic.
It was only fitting that the tournament ended in a downpour. Flooding earlier in the week left so much of the Ocean Club under water that the tour’s best option was to shorten the course to 12 holes and play three rounds to reach the 36 holes required for an official event.
Lee birdied her first three holes and held her nerves until the end.
Stacy Lewis (Arkansas Razorbacks) finished in a tie for 27th place at 4 under and earned a $10,780 paycheck.
CHAMPIONS
Perry collapses late
ST. LOUIS - Kohki Idoki erased a five-stroke deficit against a fading Kenny Perry with room to spare, charging to a two-stroke victory Sunday in the Senior PGA Championship.
It was the third bitter final-round major tournament failure for Perry, 52, who led by three strokes with six holes to play but settled for a second-place tie with Jay Haas.
Idoki, 51, closed with a 6-under 65 to finish at 11 under at Bellerive Country Club.
EUROPEAN PGA Manassero makes history
VIRGINIA WATER, England - Italy’s Matteo Manassero became the youngest champion in the 58-year history of the BMW PGA Championship on Sunday, beating England’s Simon Khan with a birdie on the fourth hole of a playoff.
Manassero, at 20 years, 37 days, made amends for letting victory slip away two years ago at Wentworth. The previous youngest winner was Scotland’s Bernhard Gallacher in 1969 at 20 years, 97 days. With the victory, his fourth European Tour title, Manassero qualified for the U.S. Open next month and avoided a 36-hole qualifier today at Walton Heath.
WEB.COM Putnam wins in Mexico
LEON, Mexico - Michael Putnam won the Mexico Championship on Sunday for his second career Web.com Tour title, closing with a 6-under 66 for a two-stroke victory.
Putnam, 29, finished with a 13-under 275 total at El Bosque Country Club and earned $126,000 to jump from 11th to first on the money list with $246,234.
Ron Whittaker (Little Rock) shot a 1-over 73 to finish 4 over and in a tie for 54th to earn $2,222.
Leaderboard
CROWNE PLAZA INVITATIONAL At Colonial Country Club, Fort Worth Yardage: 7,204; Par: 70 Boo Weekley ............ 67-67-66-66-266 Matt Kuchar.............. 65-65-69-68-267 Zach Johnson .......... 69-65-68-66-268 Scott Stallings .......... 69-65-69-66-269 Matt Every ................ 65-69-66-69-269 John Rollins ............. 63-71-67-68-269 Tim Clark .................. 67-69-65-69-270 Jordan Spieth ........... 65-67-71-67-270 Chris Stroud ............. 67-66-67-70-270 Josh Teater ............... 65-67-71-67-270 ARKANSANS David Lingmerth ...... 72-64-72-65-273 Ken Duke .................. 66-68-73-69-276 Bryce Molder ............ 67-70-69-76-282 Complete list of scores, 5C
Golf scores
PGA Crowne Plaza Invitational At Colonial Country Club Fort Worth Purse: $6.4 million Par 70, 7,204 yards Final round 266 (-14) (500) ($1,152,000) Boo Weekley .............67-67-66-66
267 (-13) (300) ($691,200) Matt Kuchar...............65-65-69-68
268 (-12) (190) ($435,200) Zach Johnson ...........69-65-68-66
269 (-11) (115) ($264,533) Scott Stallings ...........69-65-69-66 Matt Every .................65-69-66-69 John Rollins ..............63-71-67-68
270 (-10) (83) ($192,800) Tim Clark ...................67-69-65-69 Jordan Spieth ............65-67-71-67 Chris Stroud ..............67-66-67-70 Josh Teater ................65-67-71-67
271 (-9) (65) ($147,200) Jonas Blixt .................67-68-67-69 John Huh ...................66-68-72-65 Chez Reavie ...............70-64-70-67
272 (-8) (56) ($112,000) Bud Cauley ................67-69-66-70 Franklin Corpening ....68-70-72-62 Martin Flores .............66-70-65-71 Ryan Palmer..............62-72-71-67
273 (-7) (52) ($86,400) David Lingmerth .... 72-64-72-65 Charley Hoffman .......66-70-67-70 Jason Kokrak ............66-71-68-68 Ted Potter, Jr. ............70-66-68-69
274 (-6) (48) ($64,000) Brendon de Jonge .....66-70-68-70 Graham DeLaet .........64-67-69-74 Steve Flesch ..............68-64-69-73 Brian Stuard ..............67-70-69-68
275 (-5) (43) ($47,360) Hunter Mahan ...........69-68-68-70 John Merrick .............68-70-71-66 John Peterson ...........64-71-71-69 Scott Piercy ...............69-69-70-67 Camilo Villegas..........70-68-69-68
276 (-4) (39) ($38,800) Ken Duke ............. 66-68-73-69 Angel Cabrera ............70-67-70-69Jim Furyk ..................69-66-70-71 Bo Van Pelt ................70-68-67-71 ARKANSANS
282 (+2) (5) ($13,248) Bryce Molder .............67-70-69-76
LPGA Bahamas Classic At Ocean Club Golf Course Paradise Island, Bahamas Purse: $1.3 million Par 70, 6,644 yards Final round NOTE Due to flooding all rounds were 12 holes with the first and second rounds a par 45; final round par 47 126 (-11) ($195,000) Ilhee Lee .........................41-43-42 128 (-9) ($120,353) Irene Cho ........................45-43-40 129 (-8) ($87,308) Anna Nordqvist ..............40-44-45 130 (-7) ($47,245) Paula Creamer ................43-42-45 Karine Icher ....................41-44-45 Mindy Kim ......................39-46-45 Mika Miyazato ................42-43-45 Cristie Kerr .....................44-40-46 ARKANSANS 133 (-4) ($10,780) Stacy Lewis ....................44-42-47 137 (E) ($2,875) Karen Stupples ...............43-49-45 138 (+1) Stacy Prammanasudh ...47-45-46
CHAMPIONS Senior PGA Championship At Bellerive Country Club St. Louis Par 71, 6,959 yards Final round 273 (-11) ($378,000) Kohki Idoki ................71-69-68-65 275 (-9) ($185,000) Jay Haas ....................66-72-67-70 Kenny Perry ..............69-66-68-72276 (-8) ($100,000) Mark O’Meara ...........73-70-68-65 277 (-7) ($80,000) Kiyoshi Murota ..........67-70-73-67 278 (-6) ($59,600) Jim Rutledge .............75-67-72-64 Kirk Triplett ................70-71-69-68 Duffy Waldorf ............66-72-71-69 Rod Spittle ................69-71-67-71 Russ Cochran ...........69-66-71-72
WEB.COM Mexico Championship At El Bosque Golf Club Leon, Mexico Purse: $700,000 Par 72, 7,701 yards Final round
275 (-13) ($126,000) Michael Putnam ........64-72-73-66 277 (-11) ($52,267) Whee Kim ..................72-67-66-72 Wes Roach ................67-69-71-70 Alex Prugh .................68-67-70-72 278 (-10) ($28,000) Tim Wilkinson ...........70-70-66-72 ARKANSAN 292 (+4) ($2,223) Ron Whittaker ...........71-70-78-73
EUROPEAN BMW Championship At Wentworth Club (West Course) Virginia Water, England Purse: $6.1 million Par 72, 7,302 yards Final round Manassero won on fourth playoff hole 278 (-10) Matteo Manassero ....69-71-69-69 Simon Khan ..............69-72-71-66 Marc Warren .............69-70-70-69 279 (-9) Miguel Angel Jimenez 76-69-67-67 Alejandro Canizares ..69-70-68-72 280 (-8) Ernie Els ....................72-69-72-67 James Kingston ........66-77-69-68 Eddie Pepperell .........71-69-71-69
Sports, Pages 19 on 05/27/2013