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Rollins Cruises To Victory

August 08, 2009
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Rollins up and down final round included three bogeys and a double

RENO, Nev. (AP) --John Rollins overcame an early double bogey with a chip-in eagle, then survived a string of bogeys to shoot an even-par 72 and win the Legends Reno-Tahoe Open on Sunday for his third career PGA Tour victory.

Rollins, who tied the course record with a second-round 62 and led by six strokes at the turn Sunday, won by three strokes, finishing at 17-under 271 on the Montreux Golf & Country Club course.

Martin Laird made a 5-foot birdie putt on the 18th to shoot a 66 and tie for second with Jeff Quinney, who also shot a 66 on the strength of six birdies. Joe Ogilvie (71) was fourth at 13 under.

It was the first time in six attempts Rollins has won after leading through 54 holes.

"It was a hang-on kind of day. I'm proud I managed to come out on top," said Rollins, who tied for second at Reno last year. "I had to battle a lot of emotions."

Ryan Palmer, who started the day four off the pace in the final group with his friend Rollins, had four bogeys and two birdies on the front nine. He shot a 73 to join Alex Cejka (67) and Kevin Na (68) at 12 under.

Rod Pampling finished another stroke back after a 67 on Sunday that included an eagle on the par-5 11th, where he holed out from a bunker in the third round for a quadruple-bogey 9.

Rollins, who won the 2002 Canadian Open and the 2006 B.C. Open, was the runner-up earlier this year at the Buick Invitational and the Honda Classic. The $540,000 winner's check pushed his season earnings beyond the $2 million mark for only the second time in nine years on tour for a career total of more than $12 million.

Rollins sank an 18-foot birdie putt on the par-3 second hole, but he double bogeyed the par-5 fourth after he had to take a penalty stroke for an unplayable lie in the right rough off the tee and missed a 9-foot put for bogey.

He chipped within 3 feet from 44 yards out on the 616-yar, par-5 fifth and made the birdie putt to make the turn at even-par 36 -- and six strokes ahead.

On the 584-yard 11th, he drove 351 yards down the right side of the fairway, hit his approach 212 yards to just short of the green and chipped in from nearly 40 feet for the eagle that pushed him to 19 under.

But he followed that with consecutive bogeys, hitting short in a bunker on the par-3 12th and missing a 13-foot put for par, then hitting his approach over the green on the par-4 13th before two-putting from 9 feet.

He hit another drive 348 yards on the 477-yard, par-4 15th but his second shot came up short in a deep bunker on the short side and his next went 25 feet past the hole before he two-putted again for bogey to drop to 16-under -- ahead by only two -- with three holes to play.

Rollins hit over a pond to 16 feet on the par-3 16th but his birdie try slid just past the left edge of the hole. After a 10 minute wait on the tee, he drove the ball 333 yards in the middle of the 636-yard 17th. His second shot landed on the left fringe 34 feet from the hole to set up a two-putt birdie to go up by three.

His approach to the par-4 18th landed 20 feet right of the green in the rough but he chipped it to just inside 3 feet and made the putt for par.