Sutton Mounts Another Comeback

Hal Sutton’s comeback from rock bottom was completed Sunday, when he put together a comeback at the Tour Championship at Atlanta to defeat Vijay Singh in a playoff.

Sutton saved par from a bunker on the 72nd hole to force the playoff, then hit a four-wood within six feet and made birdie on the par-three 18th on the first extra hole to win $720,000 from the richest purse on the PGA Tour.

The victory also gave Sutton enough points to move into eighth place in the Presidents Cup standings, earning him a berth on the U.S. team for the biennial matches against an international team next month in Australia.

It also erased any doubts that Sutton, once dogged by expectations of becoming the next Jack Nicklaus, is still capable of defeating the best.

“Where I’m coming from and where I’m sitting now is so far apart,” said Sutton, who defeated Nicklaus in the 1983 PGA Championship but had to use a one-time exemption just to stay on tour 10 years later.

Sutton, who played the final five holes in one-under and finished with an even-par 70, and Singh (71) both finished at 274 at East Lake Golf Club, where only four players finished under par.

Jim Furyk took a bogey from the greenside rough on the last hole and finished one stroke out of the playoff at 275, tied for third with Jesper Parnevik.

Defending champion David Duval shot a 31 on the back nine for a 68. He tied for eighth but, more importantly, defeated Tiger Woods for the Vardon Trophy, awarded for the lowest scoring average on tour. Duval also won the money title.

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Colin Montgomerie finished atop the European PGA Tour money list for an unprecedented sixth consecutive year after a third-place finish at the Volvo Masters at Jerez, Spain, which was won by Northern Ireland’s Darren Clarke with a nine-under 63.

Montgomerie started the final round one stroke behind his main rival and joint tournament leader Lee Westwood.

Montgomerie shot a four-under 68 at the Montecastillo course to give him a 14-under 274 to finish behind Clarke and fellow Scot Andrew Coltart.

Westwood shot a 75 to slip to 12th.

Montgomerie earned $1.66 million this year, including a $284,000 bonus for finishing on top of the earnings list.

Clarke, the only other player capable of overtaking Montgomerie and Westwood on the money list, tied a course record with a nine-under 63 for a 17-under total of 271.

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Pat Hurst shot a seven-under 65 as the U.S. LPGA team won 12 of 18 singles matches and defeated Japan, 24-12, in the Nichirei International tournament at Ina, Japan.

The Americans won the three-day tournament for the 14th consecutive time and are 18-2 overall since the competition with the Japan LPGA began in 1979.

The Americans defeated Japan, 5-4, in the first round, 6 1/2-2 1/2, in the second and, 12 1/2-5 1/2, in the final round.

Hurst was selected the tournament’s most valuable player.

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Se Ri Pak’s status for next week’s Japan Classic is in doubt after she was hospitalized in Seoul, South Korea, because of a cold.

Pak, 20, developed symptoms late Saturday after playing in rainy conditions in the Korea Ladies Professional Golf Championship.

She shared the lead with compatriot Yeon Yong-nam at even-par 144.