Cejka wins first PGA TOUR title

Alex Cejka of German won his first PGA TOUR title at the Puerto Rico Open after making a 15-foot birdie on the first hole in a five-man play-off. The Black Mountain sponsored player finished with a three-under-par 69 for a seven-under-par 281 total which was matched by Emiliano Grillo, Tim Petrovic, Jon Curran and Sam Saunders in regulation play.

 “I’m speechless,” said Cejka. “I’m glad it’s over. It’s been a grinding week, tough week. The first victory is always the toughest. … These guys are good. I mean this is the slogan. At least I can say I played the PGA TOUR for a long time and I won. So that’s a good sentence I can use when I retire.”

The German, who fired four birdies in his opening nine but dropped one bogey on the back, was surprised to win and had even changed attire!

“The odds were not that good. I changed. I had everything ready to go to the airport and almost was very satisfied with a third finish. And suddenly it changed, and here I am. And I’m very, very pleased. I don’t think I’m going to sleep tonight.”

“I had shorts on and a T-shirt and I had everything packed. Luckily, there was one more group, the final group coming, so I changed. But I didn’t hit balls. Some of the guys were hitting balls in the rain or putting. But I literally just put some fresh clothes on me and some dry clothes and I was ready to go.”