Durant Shoots 66 for First PGA Victory

Joe Durant has had several titles in his career: journeyman golfer, erstwhile insurance salesman, go-fer for a golf distributor, leader for a few holes at the U.S. Open.

Now he can add a new one: PGA Tour winner.

Durant birdied three of his last five holes Sunday to pull away from Vijay Singh and win the Western Open at Lemont, Ill., for his first tournament victory on the PGA Tour.

“I’m a little overwhelmed. I didn’t think I’d ever be sitting here as a tournament winner,” said Durant, whose previous best finish was a tie for fifth at last year’s Honda Classic. “I felt like I was a good player, but I always thought it was going to take something special to win a tournament. Maybe today was something special.”

Durant had a six-under-par 66 to finish with a 17-under 271 total, two strokes ahead of Singh, the third-round leader. Singh was up and down throughout a final-round 72, his first round over 70 in the tournament at Cog Hill’s Dubsdread course.

U.S. Open winner Lee Janzen couldn’t duplicate his magic of last weekend, shooting a 71 and finishing in a tie for third at 277 with Dudley Hart, who tied the course record with a nine-under 63.

Tiger Woods had another strong round, shooting a 69 to finish at seven-under 281. But the defending champion was never in contention after his dismal first round, when he shot a four-over 76 and was in danger of missing the cut.

For Durant, his golfing career has been one continuous struggle. In his early years on the Hogan tour, he would be in the top five in the early rounds, only to fade late.

Frustrated, he quit golf at the end of 1991, selling insurance and working at a golf distributor to make ends meet. But he still wasn’t happy, and his wife Tracey convinced him to give golf another try.

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Annika Sorenstam started the final round of the ShopRite LPGA Classic at Absecon, N.J., with a two-stroke lead over Juli Inkster and ended up winning by four strokes after making birdies on the final four holes for a 65 and a tournament-record 17-under-par 196. . . . Bob Dickson rolled in a 20-foot birdie putt on the first playoff hole to win his first Senior PGA tournament, the Cadillac NFL Golf Classic at Clifton, N.J. Larry Nelson missed a five-foot birdie putt just seconds later to end the three-way playoff. It was Dickson’s first pro victory since the 1973 Andy Williams San Diego Open. . . . Sam Torrance, a last-minute entrant, birdied the final two holes to win the $800,000 French Open at Guyancourt, for his first victory in three years. . . . Mike Burke Jr. won the 31st PGA Club Professional Championship at Pinehurst, N.C. with a 70.