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Jeff Maggert wins U.S. Senior Open for second major victory of year

Jeff Maggert reacts after sinking the final putt to win the U.S. Senior Open on Sunday in Sacramento.

Jeff Maggert reacts after sinking the final putt to win the U.S. Senior Open on Sunday in Sacramento.

(Harry How / Getty Images)
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Jeff Maggert is moving into an elite class on golf’s senior circuit.

Maggert won the U.S. Senior Open on Sunday for his second major victory on the Champions Tour this year. He closed with a five-under-par 65 at sun-drenched Del Paso Country Club in Sacramento, edging defending champion Colin Montgomerie by two strokes.

The victory makes Maggert more than just a repeat winner on the 50-and-over tour. He and Montgomerie (three) and Bernhard Langer (three) have combined to win the last eight majors.

“It’s satisfying just because the guys out here on the Champions Tour are the same guys that I was trying to beat 20 years ago,” Maggert said.

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The 51-year-old American won his first senior major last month in Alabama in the Regions Tradition.

Maggert had just three wins in more than 20 years on the PGA Tour, the last in the 2006 St. Jude Classic. Now he has matched that total in a little more than a year on the Champions Tour.

Maggert made six birdies and one bogey to finish at 10-under 270. He took home $675,000 and an exemption into next year’s U.S. Open at Oakmont, Pa.

Montgomerie closed with a 66. Grant Waite and Langer tied for third at seven under. Waite had a 67, and Langer, who shared the lead with Maggert after three rounds, shot a 68.

After three days that ended with bunched leaderboards, Maggert made three birdies to start his round to quickly pull away. He hit 12 of 13 fairways and consistently hit greens in regulation.

Maggert also drove the green on the 282-yard, par-four ninth, then converted a birdie putt to move to nine under. He stuck his tee shot within five feet on the par-three 14th before converting another birdie. And he just about sealed his victory by driving the par-five, 550-yard 15th in two, then two-putted for a three-shot lead.

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Watson wins playoff

Bubba Watson made an eight-foot birdie putt on the second playoff hole to outlast Paul Casey and win the Travelers Championship for the second time.

Casey had overcome a three-stroke deficit with five to play at Cromwell, Conn., tying Watson at 16-under 264.

But Casey lost his chance at the title while playing the par-four 18th, when his third shot from a greenside bunker flew over the green and landed on the cart path.

Watson, meanwhile, hit his 160-yard approach just to the right of the hole.

LPGA’s Choi triumphs

Na Yeon Choi eagled the par-four 16th hole from the fairway to take the lead and won the NW Arkansas Championship at Rogers, Ark. by two strokes for her ninth LPGA Tour title.

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Choi closed with a two-under 69 to finish at 15-under 198 at Pinnacle Country Club.

Choi’s eight-iron from 142 yards on the 16th one-hopped into the hole to give her a one-shot lead over Stacy Lewis, the defending champion and local favorite. The South Korean player followed with another eight-iron to a foot on the par-three 17th, and closed with a par.

Mika Miyazato finished second at 13 under after a 67. Lewis bogeyed the par-five 18th for a 68 that left her tied for third with Azahara Munoz (66) and Anna Nordqvist (70) at 12 under.

Second-ranked Lydia Ko had a 63 to tie for sixth at 11 under.

Munich event won by Larrazabal

Pablo Larrazabal won the BMW International Open at Munich by one shot for his fourth European Tour title.

The Spaniard, who also won the tournament in 2011, closed with a bogey-free six-under 66 to finish with a 17-under 271 on the Eichenried Golf Club course.

Sweden’s Henrik Stenson shot five birdies and an eagle for a 65 but finished a stroke back after Larrazabal seized the lead with his sixth birdie on the par-four 16th hole.

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Chris Paisley was in contention until a bogey on the 17th left him two shots behind in third with a 71. It was a career-best finish for the Englishman.

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