Zach Johnson birdied the final two holes to earn the Sanford International title by one shot over Ben Crane on Sunday afternoon in Sioux Falls, S.D.
Johnson posted a 4-under-par 66 in the final round to finish 11-under 199 at Minnehaha Country Club and collect the fifth victory of his rookie year on the PGA Tour Champions. He secured the $330,000 first-prize check and tied Stewart Cink for the most wins this season.
Johnson, 50, had to finish strong because Crane birdied Nos. 15 and 16 to take a one-shot lead. But while Johnson picked up a birdie at the par-3 17th, Crane suffered his third bogey of the day to give Johnson a one-shot edge. Both birdied No. 18 to close out their 66s.
Jay Jurecic — the 56-year-old former teacher who qualified for the tournament on Monday and shared the lead with Johnson entering the final round — managed a 71 on Sunday to share eighth place at 6 under. His previous best on the Champions Tour was a tie for 54th.
Mario Tiziani and Boo Weekley made big runs early in the day to challenge the leaders. Tiziani produced a bogey-free 63 — the best round of the tournament — to finish at 8 under and share third with Weekley (64), Ryan Armour (66) and first-round co-leader Chad Campbell (67).
