Golf: Pavin's wonder eagle helps him snap 10-year drought

WISCONSIN - Former US Open champion Corey Pavin clinched his first PGA Tour title in more than 10 years yesterday, holing a spectacular fairway eagle on his way to winning the Milwaukee Open.

Boosted by his eagle two at the eighth where he holed out with his second shot from 157m, the 46-year-old American fired a three-under par 67 to finish on 20-under 260, two shots clear of Jerry Kelly.

Two ahead at the start of the day, Pavin made his first move with a birdie at the par-three fifth, and effectively put the title beyond doubt after doubling his lead by the turn.

Although he failed to pick up another shot on the back nine and was chased hard by playing partner Kelly, he held on to claim the 15th PGA Tour title of his career.

"That was huge," Pavin said of his play at the eighth. "I had been playing solidly, hitting a lot of greens, but I just couldn't seem to get a putt to go in.

"And then I hole an approach shot - that gave me a nice cushion."

Kelly shot 67 to finish alone in second place, with two-time champion Jeff Sluman another stroke back in third after a round of 64.

Pavin, whose last victory was the 1996 Colonial tournament, had sparked his unlikely victory with an opening-round 61 that included a PGA Tour record front nine of 26.

He followed that with 64 to tie the PGA Tour scoring record for the first 36 holes, matching Tiger Woods (2000 WGC-NEC Invitational), Mark Calcavecchia (2001 Phoenix Open) and Tom Lehman (2001 Las Vegas Invitational).

- REUTERS