2014 FedEx St. Jude Classic results: Ben Crane wins, Phil Mickelson struggles in final round

It wasn’t especially pretty in the final round, but Ben Crane pulled off a wire-to-wire win in Memphis to take the FedEx St. Jude Classic. Crane is a veteran of the PGA Tour, but his profile in recent years has risen more for his membership in the Golf Boys videos (and other oddball Internet video) than his play. He’s got four PGA Tour titles in his career, but had not won since 2011.

Crane started Sunday just six holes into his third round with a four-shot lead, and while he came back down to 10-under, he still walked off with a one-shot victory. Crane made just his second bogey of the week on the 10th hole of his third round Sunday morning, but then lost that form and leaked oil when he went back out for the fourth round. He posted a 3-over 73, and struggled to find the fairway and hit greens-in-regulation throughout that final 19. That underwhelming wrap-up, however, still put him ahead of Troy Merritt, who got into the clubhouse just ahead of Crane at 9-under.

Phil Mickelson was once again in attendance at TPC Southwind, and started the fourth round in contention. At one point, it looked like he would make a run at Crane and got within a few shots before making back-to-back bogeys with adventures in the sand trap and water at Nos. 13 and 14. The 2-over final round notwithstanding, this T11 finish was still one of his better, if not his best, week of the year heading into his most important week of the year.

Crane’s birdie-less round was, unfortunately, a fitting way to end a rough week stunted by significant weather delays through the first three rounds. The St. Jude Classic is one of the longest running stops on the PGA Tour, holding a 40-year association that obviously benefits an awesome and important cause. It also often draws a pretty good field of players looking to get some reps the week before the U.S. Open.

But they got a bad hand this week, when storms disrupted the first three days and the scheduled TV coverage from the annual stop in Memphis. Then, on Sunday, the Tour hustled them out at 7 a.m. and opted not to re-pair the players for the fourth round -- they just went right back out and kept rolling, hustling to beat more potential late afternoon storms. The tape-delayed finish was a tough way to end it, but Crane is an above-average name now on the Tour and a solid champion.

Here are the final results from the FedEx St. Jude Classic: