American Justin Leonard claimed his 12th PGA Tour title with a playoff victory over Australia's Robert Allenby and South African Trevor Immelman at the St Jude Championship yesterday.
Leonard, who had previously triumphed at the TPC Southwind in 2005, rolled in a 19-foot birdie at the second extrahole to trump the pars recorded there by Allenby and Immelman.
Allenby, who had won all 10 of his previous playoffs in tournaments worldwide, missed his birdie attempt from 22 feet before Immelman failed to sink his from 11 feet.
The trio had finished the 72 regulation holes at four-under-par 276 on a difficult day of scoring with hot, swirling breezes and tight pin positions.
* Jeev Milkha Singh of India parred all 18 holes of his final round yesterday to win the Austrian Open by a stroke in Vienna. A closing 71 for a 15-under 198 three-round total in the weather-shortened event left Singh one shot better than Britain's Simon Wakefield.
An even par 71 left New Zealand's Mark Brown equal 13 on 203. The result left Brown 22nd on the European order of merit with income this season of ¬434,570 ($894,000).
* New Zealand amateur James Gill yesterday finished in a tie for 26th at the St Andrews Links Trophy event in Scotland. He shot rounds of 74 and 77 on the St Andrews Old Course for a four-round tournament card of 294 to end the event 11 shots behind the winner, Keir McNicoll, of Scotland.
* Taiwanese Tseng Yani birdied the fourth playoff hole against Sweden's Maria Hjorth to win the LPGA Championship yesterday for her first major title victory.
Tseng, 19, became the first rookie in 10 years to win a major, shooting 4-under 68 to finish tied at 12-under 276 with Hjorth.
