Watney wins New Orleans title

Nick Watney recovered from a pair of early bogeys to claim victory in the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, his first PGA Tour title.

An eagle at the fifth helped him to a three-under-par 69 and a three-shot victory over Ken Duke at TPC Louisiana.

The leader by two shots entering the final round, Watney lost the advantage after 10 holes before regrouping with birdies at 11 and 14 to win comfortably and give himself an early birthday present.

Watney, who turns 26 on Thursday, finished at 15-under 273, pocketing $1.098m (€1.61m) and a coveted two-year exemption. His previous best finish was a fifth-place tie last season at both the Reno-Tahoe Open and the FUNAI Classic.

Duke, who also was seeking his first tour title, carded four birdies over the first eight holes and grabbed a one-shot lead at 14-under when Watney bogeyed the 10th.

The 38-year-old, whose best PGA finish is a ninth-place tie, could not register another birdie and fell off the pace with bogeys at the 14th and 18th.

Anthony Kim had the day’s best round, a seven-under 65, and finished tied for third with John Mallinger at 11-under 277.

Second-round leader Mark Calcavecchia managed just a 71 and was another shot back at 278 with Bubba Watson and Chris Stroud.