Fred Couples made a 10-foot birdie putt on the final hole to win the Mississippi Gulf Resort Classic yesterday in Saucier, Miss., capping an impressive showing at the Champions Tour event just two weeks before his annual trip to Augusta.
Couples, 52, shot a 3-under 69 in the final round to win $240,000. It is his seventh career victory on the Champions Tour and first this season.
“I want to go into [the Masters] after winning a tournament like this feeling some confidence and I did get a lot today,” Couples said. “I hit a lot of good shots. I would say I’ve got a lot to work on, but if I can drive it like that, the course will be easier.”
Couples started the day tied for the lead with Jeff Sluman, but moved ahead with a birdie on the first hole. He led the rest of the day until the 17th, when his bogey dropped him into a tie with Michael Allen.
Allen, who carded a 66, finished one shot back. Sluman and Tom Pernice Jr. tied for third.
* Top-ranked Yani Tseng won the Kia Classic for her second straight LPGA Tour title and third in five events this year, closing with a 2-under 70 for a six-stroke victory in Carlsbad, Calif.
The 23-year-old Taiwanese star became the second-youngest player to reach 15 LPGA Tour victories. Nancy Lopez was 22 when she reached the mark. Tseng led wire-to-wire and finished at 14-under 274 on La Costa’s Legends Course.
South Korea’s Sun Young Yoo had a 71 to finish second. Shanshan Feng shot a 67 — the best round of the day — to tie for third with South Korea’s Jiyai Shin at 7 under. Shin had a 74.
* Michael Hoey of Northern Ireland shot a 67-under 65 to win the Hassan II Trophy by three strokes in Agadir, Morocco, ending Matteo Manassero’s bid to qualify for the Masters.
Manassero, 18, needed to win to enter the top 50 in the world rankings to make the Masters. He entered the final round tied for the lead but shot a 72 for 276. He bogeyed No. 1 and double-bogeyed No. 8.
Damien McGrane of Ireland, who either led or shared the lead for three rounds, shot a 70 and was runner-up.