Jason Day lifts US PGA Tour to victory

Jason Day beat Stacy Lewis with birdie on the second hole of a playoff to lift the U.S. PGA Tour past the U.S. LPGA Tour in the Wendy's 3-Tour Challenge on Tuesday. Day's drive stopped on a cart path, and the Australian hit a 95-yard approach to 5 feet to set up the winning birdie. ''Actually, I had no idea where it finished,'' Day said. ''And I was very fortunate to finish on the cart path.'' Lewis missed an 8-foot birdie putt. ''I thought it was pretty straight,'' said Lewis, the U.S. LPGA Tour player of the year and a four-time winner this season, ''but it kind of moved a little left on me.'' After the teams finished at 19 under in regulation at Rio Secco Golf Club, Nick Watney and Cristie Kerr - coming off a victory in Mexico in the Lorena Ochoa Invitational on Sunday - parred the par-4 18th hole to force a second extra hole. Watney holed a 45-foot birdie putt on the final hole in regulation to force the playoff. Davis Love III also played for the U.S. PGA Tour, and Natalie Gulbis completed the U.S. LPGA Tour lineup. The Champions Tour trio of Bernhard Langer, Fred Funk and Tom Lehman finished six strokes back. Only the two best scores on a hole from the three-player teams counted in the total. Kerr helped the women rally, birdieing Nos. 14-17. ''The women went 14 under on the back nine, but Nick holed a great, great putt to tie it,'' Day said. ''Nick and I birdied the 18th and Davis birdied the 17th. Everybody won this as a team.'' Day led all players with nine birdies, while Watney and Lewis each made eight, and Kerr had seven. Lewis and Kerr each had five of their birdies on the back nine holes for the women, who trailed the U.S. PGA Tour team by five shots after nine holes. Gulbis had the lone eagle, holing a 30-yard chip on the par-5 15th. ''Stacy started making a lot of birdies and Natalie had that chip-in on the 15th, and that got them going,'' Love said. ''They got hot on the back nine.'' The men earned $500,000, the women got $270,000, and the seniors $230,000. The U.S. PGA Tour won for the ninth time in the 21-year event. The Champions Tour has seven titles and the U.S. LPGA five. The event raised $3,442,300 for the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption.