Parry plays like world champ in first victory

SAMMAMISH, Wash. -- Winless in 235 previous starts on the PGA Tour, Craig Parry played like a world champion Sunday to win the NEC Invitational.

The stocky Australian birdied three straight holes early in the final round at Sahalee Country Club and never gave Tiger Woods, Robert Allenby or anyone else a chance in closing with a 6-under 65 for a four-stroke victory.

"I'm just very lucky at the moment," Parry said. "Hopefully, I'll have a little more confidence with my golf game, knowing I can finish the job off."

Parry finished at 16-under 268, four strokes ahead of Allenby (69) and Fred Funk (68), and became the only player besides Woods to capture the NEC Invitational.

Woods was trying to become the first player in 75 years to win the same tournament four years in a row. Starting the final round two strokes behind, he couldn't keep pace with the Australian and closed with a 68 to finish fourth.

Woods ended a three-week stretch with a victory at the Buick Open, a second-place finish in the PGA Championship and fourth at Sahalee.

"Any time you win one, and you put yourself in contention to win two others, you're doing all right," Woods said.

It wasn't enough to stop Rich Beem at Hazeltine, or Parry, another unlikely winner.

The 5-foot-6 Australian with powerful forearms -- one of his nicknames is "Popeye" -- Parry became the second player this year to win his first PGA Tour event at one of the $5 million World Golf Championships.

Kevin Sutherland won his first tour event at the Match Play Championship in February with a 1-up victory at La Costa.

Only this final round wasn't even close.

Parry, a 19-time winner overseas, made sure of that with birdies on three straight holes, starting at No. 2, that quickly gave him a three-stroke advantage. He made two crucial par saves before rolling in a bending, 20-footer for birdie on No. 9.

Parry was so dominant that he didn't make a bogey after the sixth hole of his second round Friday, playing the final 48 holes at Sahalee with pars or better.

Despite playing in the final group, with the pressure of a $1 million prize and finally proving he can win against the best, Parry matched the best score of the day. David Duval also had a 65.

Twelve players were separated by four strokes going into the final round, and Allenby said it would take a round of 5 under to win. He also figured Woods might be among those poised to make a charge.

PGA: Former UNLV star Chris Riley won the Reno-Tahoe Open for his first PGA Tour title, beating Jonathan Kaye with a par on the first hole of a playoff.

Riley, coming off a third-place finish in the PGA Championship, two-putted from 8 feet on the playoff hole -- the 429-yard 18th -- to claim the $540,000 first-place prize.

Tied for the lead with Steve Flesch at 12 under after three rounds, Riley and Kaye shot matching 5-under 67s to tie the tournament record of 17-under 271 set last year by John Cook.

Charles Howell III, who held the first-round lead at 65 but followed with a pair of 73s, shot a 64 -- the best round of the day -- to tie for third with J.J. Henry (68) at 13-under 275.

LPGA: South Korea's Se Ri Pak birdied the final four holes for a 9-under-par 63 and tournament-record 21-under 267 total in the Betsy King Classic in Kutztown, Pa.

Pak earned $180,000 for her third victory of the season and 16th in five full seasons on the LPGA Tour.

Angela Stanford closed with a 66 to finish second at 18-under 270. Karrie Webb had a 69 to finish third at 16 under.

SENIORS: Morris Hatalsky won his first Senior PGA Tour title, using seven final-round birdies to finish with 42 points in the Uniting Fore Care Classic in Park City, Utah. Hatalsky earned $225,000.

Jay Sigel had six final-round birdies to place second with 30 points under the modified Stableford format. Hale Irwin, Mike McCullough, John Bland and Jerry McGee tied for third with 29.

U.S. AMATEUR: Ricky Barnes used a dazzling combination of power and finesse to beat Hunter Mahan 2 and 1 in the 102nd U.S. Amateur Championship at Oakland Hills Country Club in Bloomfield Hills, Mich.

Barnes, 21, who will be a senior at Arizona, won the final three holes in the morning round of the scheduled 36-hole final, building a 2-up lead he never relinquished.

Mahan is a 20-year-old junior at Oklahoma State.

SCOTTISH PGA: Australia's Adam Scott had an eagle-birdie-eagle finish for a 9-under 63 and a 10-stroke victory at the Scottish PGA Championship.

The 22-year-old Scott had a tournament-record 26-under 262 total,

Scotland's Raymond Russell shot a 68 to finish second.

--From wire reports