One of the greatest four-hole stretches in recent times led to the longest 10 minutes of Rich Beem's life. An also-ran on the PGA Tour, Beem survived a phenomenal series of shots by Steve Lowery on Sunday, to win The International, at Castle Rock, Colorado, for his second title in four seasons.
In an event that employs the modified Stableford scoring system, not even a late 10-point lead was stable for Beem, who gained 19 points to finish one off Phil Mickelson's single-round record. Lowery picked up 14 points in a four-hole stretch on the back nine, making birdie from the water at the par-five 14th, draining an eagle from the fairway at the par-four 15th and sinking a double-eagle at the par-five 17th.
Beem finished with a total of 44 points with Lowery in second with 43 points, 10 more than playing partner Mark Brooks, who ended up alone in third.
British Open champion Ernie Els of South Africa and Greg Norman of Australia tied for fourth with 27 points, one more than Lee Janzen. Spain's Sergio Garcia placed 18th with 19 points.
:quality(70)/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/YVIRIOZQ35EWRPZXR27KGMO6YU.png)