Jason Bohn wins with record score

Jason Bohn's sojourn is finally over.

After bouncing around for years on mini tours and spending five years on the Canadian Tour, Bohn closed with a second straight 6-under 66 on Sunday for his first PGA Tour victory, a one-stroke victory and a tournament-record total at the B.C. Open.

``You don't really expect when your first win is going to come,'' said the 32-year-old Bohn, who finished at 24-under 264. ``I hadn't played that well this year. I missed a lot of cuts, and I haven't seen that many great things come out of my game. And then this week I kind of got turned around.''

Bohn, in only his second year on tour, had six birdies in a bogey-free round and won $540,000 in becoming the 13th player to make this tournament his first triumph.

``It's just amazing,'' said Bohn, who made birdie at Nos. 16 and 17 to take a one-shot lead. ``I couldn't have asked for it to come out in a better scenario, my best friend on tour with me all day.''

The previous tournament record in relation to par was 22 under, set in 2001 by Jeff Sluman and Paul Gow. The tournament record score was 265, by Calvin Peete in 1982. He finished 19 under when the course at the En-Joie Golf Club played to a par 71.

Bohn edged his playing partner, Ryan Palmer (67), and J.P. Hayes (66), John Rollins and Australian rookie Brendan Jones (68). Jones, who held a one-shot lead entering the final round, rallied with three straight birdies at the finish, but his erratic play -- he had three bogeys -- cost him a shot at the title.

Ben Crane (64), Michael Allen (64) and Mathias Gronberg (66) of Sweden were in a group two shots back.

The victory was not devoid of drama. Fresh from the birdies that had given him a one-shot lead, Bohn watched Palmer drive into the trees on the right side of the 18th fairway, and promptly followed suit.

``The tee shot at 18 was really important for me. I really wanted to step up and hit a good tee shot,'' Bohn said. ``I hit it left one day into the water. I kind of gassed it at the end.''

Palmer's ball kicked back to the edge of the fairway, and although Bohn was under the trees, he had a decent shot at the green.

``I thought maybe when Jason hit in the trees that I had a chance,'' said Palmer, who won the Funai Classic last year as a rookie in his 34th start.

Palmer, who had made four straight birdies to storm into contention, hit to within 16 feet of the pin to set up a birdie try, and Bohn followed by hitting just short of the green. Bohn chipped to 7 feet and then stood back and watched.

``I thought, 'This putt could mean me winning the golf tournament,' `` Palmer said after missing a 16-footer. ``If I make that, he has to make his to stay in it.''

Bohn, who practices each week with Palmer, calmly stepped up and made the putt to save par and win.

It was a bittersweet moment for both.

``It's the first time I've ever been in that situation. It's hard,'' Palmer said. ``You want him to do well, you obviously want to win. We started feeding off each other. When I started making the birdies, it made it a little easier. I'm proud of the way I hung in. It just wasn't my time.''

``We kept each other loose. I give a lot of credit to him,'' said Bohn, who won a million-dollar shootout at age 19 with a hole-in-one and never was able to play in college at Alabama. ``He kind of kept me loose out there. That was a big advantage for me.''

Nine of the previous 10 B.C. Opens had been decided by one shot -- three in playoffs -- and this one figured to follow form at the soft course, which gave up birdies by the bunch.

A dozen players began the day within four shots of the lead, and by mid-afternoon six players were at 20 under and four more were just a shot back. As the day wore on, only the names changed. When the final pair had five holes left, Hayes was at 23 under with two holes to play and one shot ahead of Crane, Allen, Gronberg, and Bohn.

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