Late birdies seal victory for Jim Thorpe

Jim Thorpe won his 10th career Champions Tour title Sunday, birdieing four of the final five holes for a four-stroke victory over Dana Quigley in the FedEx Kinko's Classic.

The 56-year-old Thorpe, a three-time winner on the PGA Tour, closed with a 4-under 68 for a 10-under 206 total. He earned $247,500.

Quigley, part of a late four-way tie for the lead, could only muster a string of pars during Thorpe's birdie flourish en route to a 70.

It was an up-and-down round for Thorpe, who twice held and lost leads on the first 11 holes before making the late charge to win.

Thorpe and Wayne Levi started the day tied at 6-under. Thorpe grabbed the lead on No. 1 only to give it away with a bogey four holes later.

Quigley made a charge on the front nine with an eagle on No. 2 and briefly held the lead at 7-under but finished the front nine with two bogeys.

Thorpe held a two-stroke lead at the turn but lost it with a shaky putter and consecutive bogeys on Nos. 11 and 12. The first came when his a short par putt spun out of the right edge of the cup.

For about 20 minutes, it was anyone's tournament.

Quigley birdied, and perhaps sensing the chance to make a run, lit up a fat cigar. One hole ahead of him Mark Johnson, known as "Beer Man'' on tour because he spent 18 years driving a Budweiser truck before turning pro, made it a four-way tie with consecutive birdies on Nos. 14 and 15.

That's when Thorpe made his move, taking his putter out of the equation by nestling his iron shots close to the pin.

A birdie on the 14th and another on 15 gave him some breathing room at 8-under. On the 16th, he squeezed his tee shot on the tough par 3 on the narrow side of the green between the cup and a cliffside dropoff into water.

So shaky with the putter three holes earlier, he calmly rolled in an 11-footer for his third straight birdie. Teeing off the par-5 18th with a three-stroke lead, he nearly eagled the final hole but left his putt 3 inches short.

Johnson (70) and Levi (73) tied for third at 5-under.

Two-time U.S. Open champion Curtis Strange had his best showing in his first season on the Champions Tour, closing with a 71 to tie for fifth with Brad Bryant (72) and Bruce Fleisher (73) at 4-under.

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