Furyk rallies, edges Singh to defend Canadian title

Jim Furyk successfully defended his Canadian Open title Sunday when Vijay Singh missed a 20-foot birdie putt on the final hole in Markham, Ontario.

The 209-yard, par-three fourth was just as important.

Furyk took the lead there Sunday with a hole in one and played it in five-under par for the week. Singh bogeyed it and was three over in four rounds.

“Eight strokes, that’s a huge turnaround on one hole,” Furyk said. “It’s pretty special to play the hole five under on the week. You usually do that on a par five and rarely or never see that on a par three. A pretty darn good hole too. It’s not like a wedge or a nine-iron shot.”

Furyk, the winner last year at traditional Hamilton Golf and Country Club, finished with a seven-under 64 for a one-stroke victory. He had a 16-under 268 total on Angus Glen’s links-style North Course.

With the victory, Furyk’s 13th on the PGA Tour and first since last September at Hamilton, he guaranteed the big name-starved event will have at least one top player next year at Glen Abbey.

Three strokes behind Singh after the third round, Furyk birdied two of the first three holes -- holing a 35-foot putt on the par-five first and a nine-footer on the par-five third -- before moving ahead at 13 under with his third career ace.

Singh shot a 68. Ryan Palmer and George McNeill closed with 66s to tie for third at 13 under.

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Natalie Gulbis finally earned her first LPGA Tour title, getting a birdie on the first hole of a playoff against South Korea’s Jang Jeong to win the Evian Masters in Evian-Les-Bains, France.

Jang and the 24-year-old Gulbis finished the fourth round tied at four-under 284. Gulbis had a final-round 70, and Jang birdied the last hole to finish with a 72. Jang, the 2005 Women’s British Open champion, birdied three of the last four holes to tie Gulbis.

Top-ranked Lorena Ochoa (68) was one shot behind and tied for third place with Juli Inkster (75). Michelle Wie finished tied for 69th place with a 16-over 304, after a final-round 76.