Ben Crane posted his worst round of the week, a three-over-par 73, in the final round on Sunday at the FedEx St. Jude Classic, but it was good enough for the win.
His nearest competitor Troy Merritt was not able to apply any pressure to the leader. He carded a one-over-par 71.
Merritt made a bogey at No. 15 that gave Crane a two-shot advantage heading down the stretch. Even though he bogeyed the last, he won by a single shot.
This was the first win for “Golf Boy” Crane in nearly three years. He has struggled with back issues that have affected his ability to perform.
Crane is more famous for his outrageous youtube.com videos which are parodies of his workout routine and a golfer’s erratic mindset.
The win moves Crane up 109 spots to No. 41 in the FedEx Cup ranking. It was his fifth career PGA Tour win and brings his earnings for the year to $1.3 million.
Merritt first played on the PGA Tour in 2010 and 2011 without much success. He missed more cuts than he made and moved back to the Web.com Tour for 2012 and 2013.
His runner-up at Memphis was just his fourth made cut of the year in 13 starts. The $626,000 second-place check is the largest of his career and moves him to No. 111 in the FedEx Cup standings.
Webb Simpson posted a four-under-par 66 on Sunday to move up 13 spots to finish tied for third with Carl Pettersson and Matt Every at eight-under par.
Ian Poulter shot the best round of the day, a six-under-par 64. His round included seven birdies and one bogey.
He improved 29 places to finish T-6 with James Hahn, Andrew Svoboda, Brian Harman and Billy Horschel.
Phil Mickelson just missed collecting his first top-10 finish of 2014. He posted a final round two-over-par 72 that left him T-11 with Camilo Villegas.
The tour next moves to Pinehurst for the U.S. Open, the second major championship of the year.