Mattiace Makes a Comeback

Len Mattiace had played very well at the St. Jude Classic, yet he started the final round so far back he didn’t bother checking a leaderboard Sunday.

Mattiace won for the second time this year as he rallied from a seven-stroke deficit by shooting a seven-under 64 to win the tournament by a stroke.

He pulled off the largest come-from-behind victory since Davis Love III rallied from seven behind in 2001 to win at Pebble Beach.

“I didn’t look at the leaderboard. I didn’t feel like I needed to,” Mattiace said.

“I knew I just needed to keep making birdies, so why look? I looked on the 18th green and saw I had a two-shot lead at that time and just tried to two-putt.”

Mattiace had a mistake-free day and turned in a bogey-free, seven-birdie round that included five birdies on the back nine for an 18-under-par 266 and the $684,000 winner’s check.

Tim Petrovic, who shot a 68, finished second at 267.

With the victory, Mattiace, who won the Nissan Open in February, joined Tiger Woods (three) and Phil Mickelson (two) as the only multiple winners on tour this year.