Franco again takes Milwaukee by storm

CARLOS FRANCO’S two favourite places in America are Milwaukee and New Orleans, where he’s won twice at each stop for his only PGA Tour wins.

The Paraguayan, who spent his free time fishing for bass at a friend’s pond during the week rather than practising his golf game, shot a 3-under-par 67 on Sunday to win the US Bank Championship, which was known as the Greater Milwaukee Open when he won it in 1999.

Franco’s 13-under 267 beat Fred Funk (66) and Brett Quigley (69) by two strokes each on a cool, breezy day at Brown Deer Park.

Patrick Sheehan (70), Billy Andrade (67) and Olin Browne (67) finished three shots back, tied for fourth place.

Franco is the seventh two-time winner in Milwaukee.

He began the final round tied with Quigley and Sheehan atop the leaderboard, his first 54-hole lead since the 2000 COMPAQ Classic of New Orleans, which he won in a playoff to defend his ’99 title. Neither Sheehan nor Quigley, who teed off last, had ever led going into the final day of a tournament on the PGA Tour and the inexperience proved costly.

Sheehan made the turn a stroke ahead of Franco at 3-under for the day, but posted a bogey on No 11, a double-bogey on 12 and a bogey on 13 to fall off the pace.

Quigley, who also tied for second at the 2001 Greater Greensboro Chrysler Classic, shot a steady but unspectacular round, never making a charge for what would have been his first win on Tour. He had one bogey and one birdie.

Defending champion Kenny Perry, one shot back to begin the day, shot a 70 and finished in a tie for seventh, his worst finish in five tries at Brown Deer, where he had been in the top five the last four years.

Franco’s first-place share of the$3.5 million purse was $630,000, his largest career paycheck.

He won $612,000 at New Orleans in 2000.