Rollins rolls to victory at final B.C. Open

VERONA, N.Y. – John Rollins shot an 8-under-par 64 Sunday, edging Bob May by one shot to win the final B.C. Open for his second career victory on the PGA Tour.

Rollins, who lost last year’s B.C. Open by one shot to Jason Bohn, rolled in a 7-foot birdie putt on the final hole to beat May and pocket the winner’s share of $540,000. That moved him past $1.2 million for the season and into 10th place in the Ryder Cup standings.

The 31-year-old Rollins, in his sixth year on the PGA Tour, made four birdies on the front side and three straight on the back to surge past third-round leader Gabriel Hjertstedt and finish at 19-under 269.

The 37-year-old May (64), who has battled back problems for nearly three years and is best known for his playoff loss to Tiger Woods at the 2000 PGA Championship, finished second for the third time in his career.

Shigeki Maruyama rallied with a 65 to finish third at 17-under 271, his best finish of the season.

Hjertstedt (71), who became the first Swede to win on the PGA Tour when he took the 1997 B.C. Open, never found his touch and finished at 15 under.

Rollins, who won the 2002 Canadian Open, hit 10 of his first 11 fairways and made 12 of his first 14 greens in regulation on a sun-splashed day that was in stark contrast to the soggy third round. That helped him post a string of seven one-putt greens in eight holes as he charged to the top of the leaderboard.

At the par-5 final hole, May, who played the last three rounds at 19 under after an opening 73, hit a 3-wood from 265 yards to within 30 feet of the pin, leaving him a chance at eagle. But his putt rolled about 15 inches past the cup and he settled for birdie and a tie for the lead.

Moments later, Rollins won it with his clutch putt, which broke slightly left to right.

Named after the cartoon strip B.C., the tournament was a regular PGA Tour stop since 1972. But it struggled financially in one of the smallest markets on tour and never had a corporate sponsor. It is being eliminated from the PGA Tour, a victim of the major modifications to the tour schedule beginning next year.