HARRISON, New York, 24 June 2003 — Jonathan Kaye clinched his maiden PGA Tour title at the rain-affected Buick Classic on Sunday, sinking a 12-foot eagle putt at the first extra hole to edge out John Rollins.
Both players had closed with final rounds of four-under-par 67 to complete the regulation 72 holes at 13-under 271.
Joey Sindelar fired a closing 68 to finish third at 11 under while Spaniard Sergio Garcia (69), champion in 2001 when rain forced a Monday finish, tied for fourth a further stroke back alongside Fred Funk, Jay Haas and Skip Kendall. World number one Tiger Woods, who was bidding for his first title since March, returned a 70 to share 13th place at seven-under 277. World number two Ernie Els carded a 69 to finish joint 12th on 276. The win, worth $900,000, was Kaye’s first in nine years on the tour and came after he birdied the 18th hole to set up the playoff at the Westchester Country Club. Rollins, who earned his first tour victory last season, birdied the 17th and 18th holes.
Kaye had played in 194 events, finishing second five times. “I don’t know if it’s sunk in entirely yet,” the 32-year-old told reporters. Woods was never in contention for the title, playing his last 36 holes in one-under-par after starting the third round only four shots off the lead. Garcia’s joint fourth place was his highest finish of the season on the tour and his first inside the top 10.
Australia’s Teske Wins Second
LPGA Event in a Row
In Pittsford, New York, Australia’s Rachel Teske won her second LPGA title in as many weeks on Sunday, capturing the Rochester LPGA tournament by four strokes over Mexican rookie Lorena Ochoa.
Teske, who also won back-to-back events in 1999, became just the third player since August of 1996 to win consecutive events on the LPGA Tour twice, joining Sweden’s Annika Sorenstam and South Korea’s Se Ri Pak.
Teske carried a four-stroke cushion into the final round and was not threatened in the final round, firing a four-under par 68 to finish at 11-under 277, the second-best 72-hole score at the event in the past decade. The 31-year-old Aussie won $180,000 and jumped from 10th to fourth on the LPGA money list with more than $471,000.
Ochoa fired a final-round 66 to grab second, one stroke ahead of South Korea’s Grace Park. Pak and Brandie Burton shared fourth at 283, a stroke ahead of Norway’s Suzann Pettersen. Teske birdied the par-3 seventh with a 20-foot putt and two-putted from 30 feet to birdie the par-5 eighth.
Teske gave rivals hope with a bogey at the 14th after a poor drive, her lead shrinking to a single shot. But she sank a 12-foot birdie at the par-3 15th and eagled the par-5 17th with a 15-foot birdie putt to secure victory.
