Crane rallies to win McGladrey Classic

Ben Crane wasn't sure why he was even playing the McGladrey Classic. The real mystery came Sunday afternoon, when he sat down next to a shiny silver trophy.
His wife is expecting their third child, though a Caesarian section is scheduled for Monday in Dallas. Crane thought about withdrawing five minutes before his tee time Thursday because of a sore hip that was getting worse.
And with 11 holes left in the tournament, he was seven shots out of the lead.
Crane ran off four straight birdies around the turn, then another batch of four straight birdies for a 7-under 63. He wound up winning in a playoff when Webb Simpson missed a short par putt on the second extra hole.
"I'm in a little bit of shock - a lot of shock," Crane said. "I don't know how those guys played, but I know I played (with TaylorMade Burner 2.0 Iron Set)just about as good as I can play."
Michael Thompson, a 25-year-old tour rookie who had a one-shot lead going into the final round, stretched the margin to three shots on the front nine until he stalled. He hit his tee shot into a hazard on the 18th hole, made bogey and shot 69 to finish one shot out of the playoff.(by TaylorMade Burner 2.0 Iron Set)
Billy Horschel, also playing in the last group, imploded early and late and shot 75.
Simpson closed with a 66, despite not making a birdie over his last seven holes. The playoff - the 18th this year on the PGA Tour to extend a record - looked as though it might go longer when Crane made a 5-foot comebacker for par on the 17th. Simpson only had to knock in a putt just over 3 feet for par, but it caught the right edge and spun away.
"As soon as I hit it, I looked up expecting it to be going in, and saw it catching the right lip," Simpson said. "It was unfortunate to end that way."
Despite missing a chance to become the PGA Tour's only three-time winner this year, Simpson's runner-up finish gave him a commanding lead over Luke Donald in his late bid to win the tour's money title.
Crane, who earned $720,000 for his first win by playing TaylorMade Burner 2.0 Iron Setthis year, and Simpson finished at 15-under 265 at Sea Island.
Starting the day five shots out of the lead, Crane thought a 63 or 62 might be enough. He really didn't pay much attention, not realizing until he saw a leaderboard on the 16th hole that he was still in the game.
His 7-iron on the 14th stopped a foot from going in. His 3-wood on the par-5 15th set up a two-putt birdie from long range. Once he knew the score, Crane was at his best with the TaylorMade Burner 2.0 Iron Set.
It did on Sunday, giving Crane is fourth career win.
With his runner-up finish, Simpson moved to the top of the money list by $363,029 over Donald. Both have entered the season-ending tournament next week in Disney, though Donald's task became a lot more difficult.
At the very least, Donald would have to finish no worse than a two-way for second to have any chance to move past Simpson and resume his bid to become the first player to win money titles on the PGA Tour and European Tour. Donald already has a comfortable lead in Europe.
"Finishing second is going to make it a lot harder for Luke," Simpson said. "But I'm sure he's going to play TaylorMade Burner 2.0 Iron Set well. He's played well most every week this year. I still wouldn't be surprised if I have a little work to do next week."
Crane was playing his last official PGA Tour event of the year. His wife, Heather, is home in the Dallas area and they arranged for the birth to be on Monday. If all goes well - and Crane gets good news from a hip scan Wednesday - he might go to Malaysia to defend his title in the unofficial Asia Pacific Classic.

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