GOLF ROUNDUP : Gallagher Rallies From Seven Shots Behind to Win

Jim Gallagher Jr.’s impressive comeback Sunday left the rest of the Greater Greensboro Open field stone cold.

His six-under-par 66 in rainy, blustery conditions allowed him to pull off the biggest final-round comeback on the PGA Tour in four years and win the $1.5 million tournament at Greensboro, N.C.

“I felt I needed some weather out there to kind of catch up,” he said. “I got off to a good start early. . . . Then I had a lot of confidence coming down the line.”

Gallagher, who won for the fourth time in his career, made up seven shots on second-round leader Jeff Sluman, mostly with a five-under 31 on the back side to win the $270,000 first-place prize with a 14-under 274.

“When I bogeyed Nos. 6 and 7 I felt I did myself in,” said Gallagher, who has been at his Mississippi home for much of the last two weeks after failing to qualify for the Masters.

But an up-and-down par save on No. 8 helped set up Gallagher’s torrid back nine as he birdied four of his last six holes.

Mark Brooks came back from seven shots to win the 1991 Greater Greensboro Open, and Fulton Allem also rallied from seven shots back that same year at Houston.

It turned out that a par-saving six-foot putt out of a green-side sand bunker on No. 18 was just as key for Gallagher as his eight birdies. He posted his score and then watched as Sluman and playing partner Peter Jacobsen stumbled down the stretch.

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Laura Davies had an eagle and three birdies on the front nine and pulled away to a record-breaking four-stroke victory over Kelly Robbins in the LPGA Chick-fil-A Charity Classic at Stockbridge, Ga.

Davies, the longest hitter on the women’s tour with a driving average of 268 yards, had her third consecutive five-under 67 and finished the rain-plagued tournament at 15 under, four shots better than Dottie Mochrie’s 1992 54-hole record.

Robbins, the tour’s second-longest hitter at 262 yards, had a final-round 66 that included an eagle and five birdies.

Kristy Albers finished third, another stroke back after a closing 70, and became the 51st player in LPGA history to surpass the $1 million mark in earnings.

The tournament was delayed by thunderstorms during all three rounds.

Seventy-two players, including Davies, had to complete their second rounds early Sunday before starting the final 18 holes.