Gay romps to St Jude victory

Phil Mickelson, in his first event since announcing wife Amy has breast cancer, and John Daly, returning from a six-month PGA Tour suspension, tied for 59th at 1 over. Mickelson closed with a 75, and Daly shot a 70.

It wasn't as large a victory as in April when Gay won by 10 at Hilton Head. It just felt like that on a day where no one could get close enough on wet fairways that stopped balls with almost no roll. Officials had moved up the start by four hours hoping to beat incoming storms that popped up in the morning to delay the start of the final round - by four hours. It didn't rain again.

Gay needed only 100 putts to become the fourth wire-to-wire winner in the tournament's 52-year history and first since Justin Leonard in 2005.

Gay started pulling away on the par-3 fourth. After his tee shot landed near the pin and rolled 20 feet past, he rolled in the birdie putt to reach 16 under. Molder hit into a bunker and bogeyed - a swing that gave Gay a four-stroke lead. Gay rolled in a 30-footer on No. 6 and a 17-footer on No. 9 for birdies.

The club let him down on his two bogeys.

He found a greenside bunker pin-high on No. 7 and blasted out to 15 feet, but two-putted. He missed a 9-footer for par on No. 10.

But Gay made up for that by sticking an iron a foot away for birdie on the par-3 11th - the island green - for birdie to go back to 17. That's when Molder was convinced this was Gay's tournament.

"I didn't even get close to catching him," said Molder, who had his best finish on tour.

From there on, Gay parred six straight holes before finishing in style. He stuck an iron 163 yards to 5 feet of the pin on No. 18, then stroked in his 27th putt of the round for birdie. He celebrated with a fist pump, a high five with his caddie and hugs and kisses from his young daughters.

Mickelson spent the week trying to figure out how to play golf and deal with all the emotions resulting from his wife's illness. He accomplished that even if the results on course didn't. He started the final round 10 strokes behind Gay and shot the 75 that featured a triple bogey, three bogeys and three birdies.

"I needed to get a little bit of play in, see where my game was at and get back on the golf course in a competitive frame of mind if I was going to have a chance next week," Mickelson said. "I'm looking forward to next week's U.S. Open.

Now he wants to focus on his putting after needing 120 putt this week.

Six children treated at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital met him coming off the 18th green wearing shirts and a banner that read "Thinking of Amy." The hospital is this event's lone charity.

Mickelson talked with the children and signed their shirts.

"These are some pretty cool kids going through something we're going to go through ourselves here in a few weeks," he said.

AP