AMERICAN Brian Gay, helped by a monster eagle putt at the second hole, charged to a scintillating 10-shot victory at the Heritage Classic in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, on Sunday.
Three ahead of the field overnight, Gay clinched his second PGA Tour title after closing with a sparkling seven-under-par 64 at the picturesque Harbour Town Golf Links.
Gay, who wore his trademark sunglasses all week, birdied three of the last six holes to post a record tournament total of 20-under 264, eclipsing the 265 set by American Loren Roberts in 1996.
“This feels great,” Gay said in a greenside interview after making only two bogeys in four rounds on a narrow tree-lined course. “It was just a phenomenal week, virtually mistake-free. I didn’t see a leaderboard all day. We were just out there doing our thing. I just wanted to stay focused and I kept looking down.”
England’s Luke Donald closed with an eight-birdie 66 to share second place at 10 under with American Briny Baird (68).
Twice former US Open champion Lee Janzen bogeyed the last for a 71 to finish a further stroke back in a tie for fourth with fellow American Todd Hamilton (70).
Gay, widely regarded as one of the best putters in the game, set the tone for his unforgettable day by rolling in a 10-footer to birdie the par-four first.
He eclipsed that by sinking a 60-footer on the second green and picked up further shots at the fifth and eighth to reach the turn in five-under 31, seven strokes clear.
Gay, who had gone 37 holes without making a bogey, surprisingly stumbled at the par-four 12th after missing the green to the left with his approach.
However, he immediately recovered with a birdie at the par-four 13th, coaxing in a curling 10-footer to regain his seven-shot cushion.
It was the first double-digit victory margin on the US circuit since American Phil Mickelson triumphed by 13 shots at the 2006 BellSouth Classic.
LEADING FINAL TOTALS (USA unless stated, par 71): 264 - B Gay 67 66 67 64; 274 - L Donald (Eng) 73 70 65 66, B Baird 69 72 65 68; 275 - L Janzen 65 70 69 71, T Hamilton 68 66 71 70; 276 - JM Olazabal (Spa) 68 71 70 67, T Wilkinson (Nzl) 71 67 65 73; 277 - R Sabbatini (Rsa) 70 68 73 66, T Petrovic 68 70 69 70, M Weibring 70 70 69 68; 278 - P Casey (Eng) 73 70 69 66, Woody Austin 70 73 66 69. Irish: 286 - Rory McIlroy 72 71 72 71.
