LA QUINTA, Calif. – Ben Crane didn’t get off to the most auspicious of starts when he found the fairway bunker and a greenside bunker on the 10th hole at the Palmer Course en route to a bogey.

Turns out, that was a momentary setback as Crane rolled in a 26-footer for eagle at No. 11 and birdied three of his next four holes to take a two-stroke lead at 11 under. Overnight leaders Camilo Villegas and David Toms are among four players tied for second, along with Kevin Chappell and Ted Potter Jr.

Exacting a measure of revenge after his adventure in the sand on the first hole, Crane holed a bunker shot for birdie on the par-3 12th. He added birdie putts of 4 and 8 feet on the 14th and 15th holes.

Crane tied for ninth in his season’s debut at the Hyundai Tournament of Champions. The four-time PGA TOUR champion’s last victory came at The McGladrey Classic last summer, coming from five strokes off the pace in the final round to win -- the day before his third child was born.

KAPALUA, Hawaii – Through the first two rounds, no player in the 27-man field had been able to birdie the opening hole at the Plantation Course.

But Ben Crane finally broke though in Sunday’s third round with the week’s first birdie at the par-4 , 520-yard hole.

Crane hit a 368-yard drive that left him 152 yards from the pin. His approach shot landed inside 18 feet and he rolled in the putt.

Crane followed that with another birdie at the second hole, but has dropped a stroke at the fourth. He’s now 4 under for the tournament.

The opening hole has played as the second hardest of the week, with the par-4 13th ranked as the toughest.

Ben Crane received some good news earlier this week when two different doctors told him there was no tear in the labrum in his left hip.

Crane had tweeted on Dec. 6 that he was going to try and play with the injury in 2012 in hopes of making the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup. He said he expected to have surgery next September -- which put his title defense at The McGladrey Classic, played the week of Oct. 15, in jeopardy. 

Recent visits to different doctors revealed a different diagnosis, though, and Crane expects to play a full PGA TOUR schedule, as a result. Here is how he shared the news on Twitter.

@bencranegolf Great news!!! 2nd and 3rd opinion; no tear in Labrum and expect to play full schedule for 2012!!! Praise God!! #ilikeplayinggolfwmyfriends

Crane, who made a series of highly entertaining fitness videos in which he performs wearing a red wetsuit and helmet, couldn't resist a plug.

@bencranegolf As far as health and fitness: Never underestimate the power of the snake shaker.

Ben Crane announced on his Twitter feed Monday that he has a torn labrum in his left hip but that he was "going to try and play" through September before he undergoes surgery.

By putting off his surgery until September, Crane would at least give himself a chance to make the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup. He added that the recovery process is three months, which means he would likely miss a few golf tournaments.

Should he follow that timetable, Crane might be unable to defend his title at The McGladrey Classic, which is scheduled for the week of Oct. 15 next year. Crane's win at The McGladrey was the fourth of his career and gave him a win in each of his last two PGA TOUR seasons.

During The McGladrey,, Crane was suffering from a sore hip that nearly forced him to pull out of the event. Instead, he stayed in the tournament and ended up winning.

By John Schwarb, PGATOUR.COM

Ben Crane is never going to be included in a discussion about long bombers on the PGA TOUR.

For the season, Crane is 145th in driving distance at 284.9 yards a pop. But he’s found a little more lately

thanks to a new shaft from Titleist, with winning results.

Crane won last week at The McGladrey Classic with his always-solid putter leading the way (his Strokes-Gained Putting figure was 2.023, second-best in the field), but he also was 21st in driving (288.0-yard average), a ranking not often associated with the Oregonian.

Crane’s history of back injuries hasn’t helped his distance, but work with the Titleist Performance Institute has helped him to regain some ball speed. And during a recent fitting session with Larry Bobka, Titleist’s VP of Club Promotion, Ben put a new, lighter Bassara W 50 for Titleist shaft in his 910D2 driver.

Validation came instantly – his first top 10 since April, a T10 at the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open. In the firm-and-fast Las Vegas desert he averaged 313.1 off the tee, tied for 21st in the field. Then last week, with the eye-catching red shaft, he won at Sea Island.

Titleist said the Bassara W, developed by Mitsubishi Rayon and weighing in at 53 grams, is one of the lightest shafts to ever win on TOUR.

"We built this particular driver configuration based on a conversation with (TPI co-founder) Greg Rose and Ben's desire for more distance," Bobka said in the Titleist blog. "Being a straight hitter with a delicate back, Ben needed a driver that created what I call 'easy distance.' "

Crane took loft off his previous driver configuration, going to 7.5 degrees, which combined with the longer (46 inch) and lighter shaft created better launch conditions and more distance.

 

 

NEW OLD PUTTER: Trevor Immelman finished fifth at The McGladrey, leading the field in putts per round (27.5 average) and putts per GIR (1.667) with a belly version of the Odyssey White Hot 2-Ball. It was his third different Odyssey model in as many weeks, though he also won with the same model at the Deutsche Bank-SAP Open in Germany in 2004.

RUNNING AWAY: Fred Couples won the Champions Tour’s AT&T Championship by seven shots, the largest margin on Tour this year. He wore his familiar Ecco Golf Street Premier hybrid shoes – without socks.

RUNNING AWAY II: Last week’s Nationwide Tour event also featured a seven-shot rout, by Jason Kokrak at the Miccosukee Championship. He plays the Srixon Z-Star XV ball, and in moving up to fourth on the money list gives Srixon two top representatives of the Z-Star. Nationwide money leader J.J. Killeen also plays it.

NEW CLASSIC: Cleveland Golf has released an updated version of its popular 588 wedges, and David Toms was spotted with them in the bag at The McGladrey. Read more here.

WINNER’S BAG: Crane at The McGladrey Classic:
Driver: Titleist 910D2 (7.5°) with a Mitsubishi Rayon Bassara W 50 shaft
Fairway woods: TaylorMade V Steel (15°) Titleist 910F (17°) with Mitsubishi Diamana Blue Board 93 shafts
Hybrid: Titleist 910H (21°) with a UST Mamiya ProForce AXIVCore 100 shaft
Irons: Titleist AP2 (5-PW) with True Temper Dynamic Gold S400 shafts
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design (51°), Spin Milled C-C (55°, 59°) with True Temper Dynamic Gold S400 shafts
Putter: Odyssey White Hot #5
Ball: Titleist Pro V1x

Ben Crane walks up the 18th fairway Sunday after hitting his 181-yard approach shot within 6 feet of the pin on the first playoff hole against Webb Simpson. Crane would go on to win the playoff, and the McGladrey Classic for his fourth career victory on the PGA TOUR. Leave your captions below for what Crane was thinking as he strolled toward the 18th green. After you submit your caption, click here to check out all of our favorite photos from last week at the McGladrey Classic and Portugal Masters.

With a par on the second playoff hole, Ben Crane defeated Webb Simpson to win the McGladrey Classic. Leave a comment below to sent your note of congratulations to Crane after he picked up the fourth victory of his PGA TOUR career.

ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. -- Ben Crane and Webb Simpson are headed back to the 18th tee for a playoff at the McGladrey Classic. The playoff will begin on hole No. 18 and, if necessary, move back to 17, then 18 again if necessary. Keep checking below for play-by-play updates as the playoff develops. Webb Simpson will tee off first. Playoff Hole #2: 186-yard par-3 17th 5:42 p.m. ET: Simpson's putt lips out and Ben Crane claims the victory at the McGladrey Classic. 5:40 p.m. ET: Crane calmly rolls in his 5-footer. Simpson needs this 3-and-a-half foot putt to extend the playoff. 5:38 p.m. ET: Simpson's birdie putt rolls by the cup, just missing to the left. He's got a 3-foot, 5-inch par putt. Crane's birdie run slides 5 feet past the cup. A couple knee-knockers ahead. 5:34 p.m. ET: Simpson's tee shot settles 35 feet short, below the hole. Crane hits his shot 22 feet beyond the pin. 5:31 p.m. ET: Simpson has four pars on this hole this week. Crane has gone par-par-par-birdie with the birdie coming today. Playoff Hole #1: 474-yard par-4 18th 5:29 p.m. ET: Crane rolls his putt just off the left edge, a foot past the cup. Both players tap in and we go to the par-3 17th to continue this playoff. 5:27 p.m. ET: Simpson drops his bunker shot inside 2 feet. Crane still has a 6 footer for the win. 5:24 p.m. ET: Simpson hits a 5-iron into the fairway bunker, short and right of the green. He's 37 yards from the pin. Crane counters with a shot right on line that settles 6 feet from the flag. 5:18 p.m. ET: Simpson tees off first, hitting a 272-yard tee shot into the first cut, right of the fairway. He's 207 yards from the pin. Crane finds the left-center of the fairway with a 291-yard tee shot and is 183 yards out.

ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. -- We're headed to a playoff on St. Simons Island. Ben Crane and Webb Simpson head to the 18th tee at Sea Island’s Seaside Course to decide a winner in the second annual McGladrey Classic. Michael Thompson had an opportunity to make it a three-man playoff, but his 27-foot par putt on the 72nd hole missed low and left. Crane entered the final round five shots off the pace and took pars on his first seven holes Sunday. He birdied eight of his final 11 holes and was the first player to reach the clubhouse at 15 under. Simpson came into Sunday two back and his 4-under 66 was enough to tie Crane. Stay with the TOUR Report for play-by-play updates from the course as things develop.