Eger wins Boeing Classic

David Eger once was responsible for setting up golf courses – locating pins and marking tee boxes – for PGA Tour pros.

Now, he’s a two-time winner on the Champions Tour.

The 53-year-old Eger, a former PGA Tour and USGA administrator, won his second Champions Tour title, shooting a final-round 67 Sunday in the inaugural Boeing Greater Seattle Classic in Snoqualmie, Wash.

“I’ve always said there are a handful of stars out here, but there are also 70 or so very good players who could always win,” Eger said. “If you’re good enough to play out here, you’re good enough to win.”

Eger finished at 17-under 199 for the 54-hole tournament, taking a $240,000 paycheck from the $1.6 million purse. He was three strokes ahead of runner-up Tom Kite, whose final-round 67 put him at 14 under.

Eger is a three-time Walker Cup member and two-time U.S. Amateur semifinalist. He won his only previous Champions Tour victory on another first-time course at the 2003 MasterCard Classic in Mexico City.

John Harris and Brad Bryant tied at 13 under, while Morris Hatalsky was next at 12 under. Then came Craig Stadler at 11 under after his final-round 73, while Hale Irwin and Bruce Summerhays tied at 10 under.

Eger was unfazed by the deep bunkers protecting the greens and fired at the pins to post four front-side birdies on the spectacular Jack Nicklaus-designed TPC at Snoqualmie Ridge.

He began the day tied atop the leaderboard with Stadler and Hatalsky and didn’t waste time building a substantial lead.

Eger reeled off four front-side birdies. He made a 20-foot putt at No. 3, then a 15-footer on the next hole, a 12-footer on the par-3 No. 6 and a 6-footer on No. 8. Twice he birdied holes after drives strayed into the ankle-deep second cut.

“When I didn’t birdie the first hole, that was a little disappointing,” he said. “But making a birdie on probably the two hardest par-4s on the course – Nos. 3 and 4 – that laid the groundwork.

“It wasn’t very exciting, I suppose.”

LPGA

Birdie Kim and Grace Park welcomed compatriot Soo-Yun Kang into the winner’s club with a shower of champagne.

Kang won for the first time on the LPGA Tour, shooting a 3-under 69 on Sunday for a four-stroke victory in the Safeway Classic at Portland.

She bogeyed the final hole but had built such a lead that it didn’t matter. She punched the sky in victory before she was sprayed by her pals at the end of a sunny day at Columbia Edgewater Country Club.

Only one thing was missing for Kang.

“I wish my parents were here. They following me around for a lot of years,” she said. “But they weren’t here when I finally won. I thought about them a lot.”

Kang, who led by three strokes after the first two rounds, finished with a 15-under 201. Jeong Jang shot a 70 to finish second, and Gloria Park was five strokes back after a 71.

Kang is in her third full season on the LPGA Tour. Wearing flashy black-and-white capri pants, she frequently smiled and laughed – comfortable in the final group that included Jang and Gloria Park.

Rosie Jones, who finished in a group at 6 under, was treated with a warm ovation when she putted for par on No. 18. The 45-year-old says she will retire from full-time play at the end of this year.

“I love this golf course. I was coming around the 15th hole and I saw those big trees out there and I thought, ‘This might be the last time I see this,’ ” Jones said. “And that’s sad.”

Wendy Ward of Edwall, Wash., closed with a 75 to finish with a 1-over-par total of 217. She earned $4,942.

Tracy Hanson of Rathdrum, Idaho, carded a final-round 77 to finish at 218. She pocketed $4,060.

PGA

Vaughn Taylor became only the third player on the PGA Tour to successfully defend a title this year, breaking the Reno-Tahoe Open scoring record in a three-stroke victory over Jonathan Kaye in Reno, Nev.

Taylor, in his second year on tour, closed with an even-par 72 and became the fifth wire-to-wire winner of the season.

Taylor opened with rounds of 64, 67 and 64 en route to a 21-under 267 total, four better than the previous tournament record set by Kirk Triplett in 2003. The winner also broke the tournament’s 36- and 54-hole marks.

Kaye shot a 67 Sunday – his fourth round in the 60s – but missed three birdie putts from within 15 feet on the last three holes to finish at 18 under on the 7,472-yard Montreux Golf and Country Club on the edge of the Sierra Nevada. He started the day at 13-under.

Todd Fischer, who lives next to the course, had a 70 to finish third at 17 under.