Chad Campbell shot a scrambling 71 on Sunday to outlast Scott Verplank and Jesper Parnevik and win the Bob Hope Classic.
Campbell's 1-under closing round put him at 25-under 335, three shots in front of Verplank and 2000 Hope champion Parnevik.
Verplank, one stroke off Campbell's lead to start the day, had a 73 and Parnevik made a charge with a 67 during a round when gusty wind made the new Classic Course at Northstar tricky at times.
PHOTO: AP
John Huston finished fourth with a 68 and 339 total. Former Hope winners Phil Mickelson and Mike Weir tied for fifth with John Senden.
Mickelson, the tournament champion in 2002 and 2004, shot a 71 to finish at 19 under along with Weir (70) and Senden (73).
It was the sixth time Campbell had entered the closing day of a tour event either tied for the lead or alone at the top -- and only the second time he came out with a victory.
He had stumbled a week earlier in Hawaii after being tied for the lead with David Toms to begin the final round. Toms won it with a 65, while Campbell had a 70 to drop into a second-place tie with Rory Sabbatini.
Campbell's closing round in the Hope bore little resemblance to his steady play the first four days, when he shot 63-66-68-67 and had only two bogeys.
His final round included a double-bogey, two bogeys, three birdies, an eagle and several scrambling pars.
After coaxing in a 32-foot eagle putt on No. 9 to go to 26 under and open a four-shot lead, Campbell hit into rocks and high grass alongside the fairway on the par-4, 474-yard 10th.
After a drop, he hit to the fringe, then chipped 15 feet beyond the cup. He missed the putt for a 6, losing the two shots he picked up with his eagle a hole earlier.
After pars over the next two holes, Campbell "salvaged" a bogey on No. 13 after hitting his tee shot into the water and his next shot into a bunker. He recovered by hitting his sand wedge within 6 feet of the pin, then making the putt for a 5 on the par-4, 399-yard hole.
Verplank, meanwhile, was having troubles of his own and, after being tied with Campbell on No. 7, never caught him again.
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was