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Crane captures BellSouth Classic

DULUTH, Ga., April 6 (UPI) -- Second-year player Ben Crane staged a dramatic charge to capture his first career title as the 27-year-old Texas native carded a 9-under par 63 Sunday at the TPC at Sugarloaf to erase a six-shot deficit and post a four-stroke victory over Bob Tway at the BellSouth Classic.

After two rounds, Crane was tied for 59th at 1-over, but he played the final 36 shots in 17-under, posting a 64 on Saturday, and completed 72 holes at 16-under 272. The victory was worth $740,000, pushing Crane over $1 million this year. He entered the event ranked 68th on the money list.

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Crane had a successful rookie season in 2002, earning just over $900,000 with seven top-25 finishes and two top-10 efforts, including a runner-up showing at the Byron Nelson Classic.

Defending champion and former U.S. Open champion Retief Goosen of South Africa carded a 7-under 65 and tied for third with Hank Kuehne and Jay Williamson at 277. John Rollins, Stewart Cink and Tom Pernice Jr. tied for sixth at 278.

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Lee Janzen, who was seeking his first victory in five years, took a two-shot lead into the final round, but ballooned to a 5-over 77 and fell to a tie for 13th at 280. He remained winless since claiming his second U.S. Open title in 1998.

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