Leonard Sets a Record and Wins Honda Classic

Justin Leonard shot a five-under-par 67, broke the Honda Classic record with a 24-under 264 and beat Davis Love III and Chad Campbell by one stroke for his eighth career tour victory on Sunday.

And this one came in front of dozens of family and friends at Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.

“There were some new people introduced to the PGA Tour this week, and I was responsible for a few of them,” he said.

“The only problem is that I set the bar pretty high. Now they are going to expect me to come down here and win every year.”

Leonard and his wife, Amanda, were married in February 2002, and with her family being from nearby Juno, this was their first chance to see him play in person.

Leonard, paired in the final round with his close friend Love for the first time since the 1997 PGA Championship at Winged Foot in Mamaroneck, N.Y., rallied from two strokes down over the final 13 holes to win $900,000.

*

Wendy Doolan overcame soggy conditions to shoot a five-under-par 65 and win the Welch’s/Fry’s Championship, the LPGA Tour’s season opener, by three strokes.

Doolan earned $120,000 -- nearly half of her 2002 earnings -- with her score of 21-under-par 259.

Betsy King had a 65 to tie third-round leader Lorie Kane (70) at 262.

Grace Park, hurt by a double bogey on the 17th hole, settled for a 67 and a tie with Christina Kim (70) at 263.

*

Darren Fichardt made a three-foot birdie putt on the first playoff hole to beat James Kingston and win the Qatar Masters at Doha, Qatar.

On the playoff hole, the 581-yard, par-five 18th, Kingston hit his second shot into a greenside bunker. Fichardt landed his second shot on the green, 40 feet from the cup.

After Kingston missed a six-foot putt for birdie and settled for par, Fichardt made a short birdie putt to win.