Appleby Uses Wedge to Get Edge and Win

Stuart Appleby holed a wedge from the thick rough for eagle on the par-five 14th hole, part of a strong finishing kick that won him the Honda Classic in what turned out to be a 36-hole marathon Sunday at Coral Springs, Fla.

Appleby shot a five-under-par 67 in the morning for the third-round lead, then overcame a bogey-bogey start to shoot 71 and win by one stroke over Payne Stewart and Michael Bradley.

Appleby, a 25-year-old Australian who had to go through qualifying school last year, finished at 14-under 274 over the TPC at Heron Bay and won $270,000.

Bradley, four strokes back going into the final 18 holes, had a chance to send it into a playoff but missed a 22-foot birdie putt on the last hole.

After the second round was washed out by rain, officials decided to play the final two rounds on Sunday. It was the first 36-hole finish since Fred Couples won the Buick Open in 1994.

“Today was a struggle, but I kept saying to myself I didn’t want to lay down,” Appleby said.

Appleby won for the first time on the PGA Tour, and it came at the expense of Stewart, who needs a victory to get into the Masters.

Stewart, the former PGA and U.S. Open champion who hasn’t won since the 1995 Houston Open, appeared to be in control of the tournament with a two-stroke lead until he missed a 2 1/2-foot par putt on No. 12.

The tournament turned on the 573-yard 14th hole, which played downwind but is guarded by clover-leaf bunkers and ankle-deep rye grass that makes it difficult to control the ball.

Without much green to work with, Appleby flopped a wedge into the fringe and rolled it into the cup for an eagle, pulling him into a tie with Stewart at 13 under.

On the 534-yard 16th hole, Stewart was 20 feet away in the thick collar in two, but stubbed his chip and missed the 10-foot birdie putt. Appleby, who had to lay up after driving into a fairway bunker, made a six-footer for birdie that gave him the lead.

Stewart fell two strokes behind with a three-putt from 40 feet off the fringe at No. 17, so his birdie on No. 18 was meaningless.

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Donna Andrews, aided by the rare collapse by Annika Sorenstam, shot a four-under-par 68 to win the LPGA Welch’s-Circle K Championship by one shot over late-charging Tina Barrett on Sunday at Tucson.

Andrews, who also won here in 1994, finished with a 15-under 273 total, one shot shy of tying Chris Johnson’s 1984 tournament record.

It was the fifth win for Andrews, and the winner’s purse of $75,000 represented more money than she made in three of her previous eight years on the tour.

Sorenstam, who was off to the LPGA’s best start in 28 years with two wins and a second-place finish in three events, never recovered from a triple-bogey on the ninth hole. She shot 71 to share third place with Dale Eggeling, who had a final-round 69.

Barrett also shot 69, with three birdies in the last five holes.