D.J. Trahan charged from four shots behind with a sparkling 7-under-par 65 yesterday to overtake faltering Justin Leonard and win the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic at Palm Desert, Calif.
Leonard stumbled after the turn and finished with a 72 that left him three shots back in second. One shot behind heading into the final hole, Leonard hit into the water on 18 at the Classic Club and took a bogey 6.
Trahan birdied the last hole to finish the 90-hole tournament at 26-under 334 for his biggest payday, $918,000, and the right to play in this year's Masters.
Kenny Perry, the 1995 Hope champion, and 22-year-old Anthony Kim, who played high school golf in nearby La Quinta, shot 69s to tie for third at 338.
The 27-year-old Trahan, who had won just once before on the tour, was steady down the stretch while the 35-year-old Leonard, a former British Open champion who has won 10 times, had his problems.
Trahan turned what had threatened to be a runaway into a race when he picked up four shots over three holes beginning at No. 9.
Trahan birdied the ninth and 10th holes, then parred No. 11 while Leonard got a par on 9 and bogeys on both 10 and 11.
Each parred the next two holes, then Trahan moved a shot in front with a birdie on No. 14 that put him at 25 under. He rolled in a 5-footer for birdie on the final hole to cap his round.
Champions - Fred Funk won the season-opening MasterCard Championship, birdieing the final two holes for a 7-under 65 and a two-stroke victory over former Norwood resident Allen Doyle at Kaupulehu-Kona, Hawaii.
The 51-year-old Funk, coming off a 10th-place tie last week in the PGA Tour's
Funk chipped in from 20 feet on No. 17. He then holed a 7-foot birdie putt on the 54th hole, after hitting a spectacular shot out of the white-sand bunker from 149 yards.
Jay Haas, seeking a record third straight money title and player of the year award, closed with a 67 to tie for third with Bernhard Langer (65) at 17 under.
LPGA - Jennifer Rosales and Dorothy Delasin of the Philippines shot a 7-under 65 to beat South Korea by two strokes at the Women's World Cup at Sun City, South Africa.
Ji-Yai Shin and Eun-Hee Ji were comfortably in the lead after nine holes, but Rosales and Delasin had five birdies and finished at 18-under 198.
Taiwan and Japan shared third place at 203.
Juli Inkster and Pat Hurst of the United States had six birdies and a bogey for a final round 67. Their 208 gave them a share of 10th with Scotland.
European - Martin Kaymer won the Abu Dhabi Championship by four strokes despite struggling to a 2-over 74.
The 23-year-old German, who led by six going into the final round, had three straight bogeys early in his round. But he still managed to win his first European Tour title at 15-under 273 overall.
