Walker, Texas pro, disarms young gun

Jimmy Walker speaks during an interview after the fourth and final round of the Valero Texas Open golf tournament, Sunday, March 29, 2015, in San Antonio. Walker won the tournament. (AP Photo/Darren Abate)
Jimmy Walker speaks during an interview after the fourth and final round of the Valero Texas Open golf tournament, Sunday, March 29, 2015, in San Antonio. Walker won the tournament. (AP Photo/Darren Abate)

SAN ANTONIO -- Jimmy Walker made himself right at home on the Texas Open leaderboard.

Walker won his hometown event Sunday to become the first two-time winner this season on the PGA Tour, beating fellow Texan Jordan Spieth by four strokes.

"He really made me fight hard," Walker said of Spieth. "He kept hitting it close, and I had to keep making putts."

Walker made birdie putts of 15 feet at No. 16 and 17 feet at the 17th in a 2-under 70 that left him at 11-under 277 at TPC San Antonio, a 35-minute drive from his home.

Walker, 36, won the Sony Open in Hawaii by nine shots in January and has a tour-best five victories in the past two seasons.

"Everybody says it's hard to win at home," said Walker, who played college golf at Baylor, "(but) it's hard to win any week -- home, away, out of the country, it's hard. So I feel good."

Spieth, 21, also finished with a 70, making four birdies in a row late. Spieth was coming off a playoff victory two weeks ago at Innisbrook.

"It actually looked like I had a chance," said Spieth, seven shots back with eight to play. "I didn't think that would be possible. You're never out of it in this game, but Jimmy shut that down pretty quickly with his made putts."

Walker and Spieth will move to career highs in the world ranking, with Spieth going from sixth to fourth and Walker from 13th to 10th.

"That's cool," said Spieth, who is from Dallas. "But I'm not pinching myself, because there are three guys ahead."

FedEx Cup champion Billy Horschel was third at 4 under after a 71.

Daniel Summerhays, second last year behind Steven Bowditch, tied for fourth with Chesson Hadley at 3 under. Summerhays closed with a 69, and Hadley had a 71.

Doral winner Dustin Johnson shot his second consecutive 68 to match Ryan Palmer at 2 under. Palmer also had a 68.

"With the same wind the last three days it helped to figure out the course, and I played well," Johnson said, noting steady wind at past 20 mph much of this week. "I just played a couple of holes bad. Other than that, I played a lot of good golf in between and if I played those other holes better it's a whole different tournament."

Phil Mickelson, looking for some momentum heading to the Masters, closed with a 76 to drop into a tie for 30th at 4 over.

Ten players finished under par, with the Oaks Course playing the toughest on the PGA Tour this season with a 74.581 stroke average -- more than two shots over par. The previous high was PGA National's Champion course at 1.832 over par for the Honda Classic.

Marc Warren and Harris English failed to crack the top 50 in the world ranking, which would have given them spots in the Masters. Warren, 52nd, needed to finish ahead of Brendan Todd to get in, but closed with a 70 to finish 35th. English, 53rd, needed at least a top 10. His final-round 72 only got him to 30th.

Bryce Molder (Conway) shot a 72 and closed with a 2-over 290. He earned $67,167. David Lingmerth (Arkansas Razorbacks) finished with a 74 and closed with a 7-over 295, earning $18,745.

LPGA

Kerr ends drought

CARLSBAD, Calif. -- Cristie Kerr closed with a 7-under 65 on Sunday and won the Kia Classic for her first LPGA Tour title in nearly two years.

Kerr made four consecutive birdies on the back nine at Aviara to pull away from Mirim Lee and 17-year-old Lydia Ko. It was her 17th career victory, and her first since May 2013 at the Kingsmill Championship.

Her victory ended a streak of South Korean-born players winning the past seven LPGA events.

Ko didn't make another birdie after the 14th hole and closed with a 67 to finish third. It was her 28th consecutive round under par on the LPGA Tour, one short of Annika Sorenstam's record set in 2004.

Kerr finished at 20-under 268 to break the tournament record by six shots.

World No. 3 Stacy Lewis (Arkansas Razorbacks) shot a 70 Sunday to close with a 11-under 277.

EUROPEAN

Ramsay wins

AGADIR, Morocco -- Richie Ramsay of Scotland shot a 3-under 69 Sunday to win the Trophee Hassan II by one shot ahead of Frenchman Romain Wattel and claim his third European Tour title.

Ramsay, 31, wasted a three-shot lead before recovering with three consecutive birdies from the 12th hole at the Golf du Palais Royal to finish with a 10-under 278 total.

Wattel birdied the 17th but settled for par on 18 for a 70.

Ramsay birdied four in a row early in his round but dropped four shots in the space of two holes before sealing his first win of the season, having previously missed four cuts out of five.

Six players shared third place on 8 under, including South African George Coetzee, who needed to win in order to secure a place at the Masters.

Former Ryder Cup Captain Jose Maria Olazabal finished with a 66 to climb into a tie for ninth and secure his 150th top-10 finish on the European Tour.

WEB.COM

Kraft earns victory

BROUSSARD, La. -- Kelly Kraft won the Louisiana Open on Sunday for his first Web.com Tour title, closing with a 6-under 65 for a one-stroke victory at Le Triomphe.

Kraft, a 26-year-old who played collegiately at SMU, had a 14-under 270 total and earned $99,000. He birdied Nos. 15-17 and finished with a par on the par-4 18th.

D.H. Lee and Rhein Gibson tied for second. Lee birdied for the final two holes for a 63. Gibson bogeyed Nos. 13 and 14 and closed with four straight pars for a 71.

Andrew Landry (Razorbacks) shot a 66 and finished 8-under 276. He earned $4,475. Glen Day had a final-round 77 to close with a 4-under 280, earning $1,493. Scott Gardiner shot a 71, finishing 1-under 283. He earned $1,342.

CHAMPIONS

Frost holds on

SAUCIER, Miss. -- South African David Frost survived a one-stroke penalty on the par-3 17th and won the Mississippi Gulf Resort Classic on Sunday when Tom Lehman missed a 4-foot birdie putt on the last hole.

Frost finished with a 4-under 68 at Fallen Oak for a one-stroke victory over 2011 winner Lehman and second-round leader Kevin Sutherland.

Frost was penalized after the coin marking his ball on the green moved when he accidentally dropped the ball on it. That left him with a bogey and cut his lead to a stroke.

Lehman closed with a 70, and Sutherland had a 72.

Joe Durant was fourth at 8 under after a 69. Hall of Famer Colin Montgomerie and Woody Austin each shot 70s to finish at 7 under.

Sports on 03/30/2015

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