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The 23-year-old, who is the son of former world top-10 tennis
professional Jay Berger, served up a three-under-par 67 to
clinch his first PGA Tour victory.
He finished at 13-under 267 at TPC Southwind, with Phil
Mickelson (67), Brooks Koepka (66) and Steve Stricker (67) equal
second on 270.
"It's the greatest feeling," Berger told Golf Channel.
"You work so hard to get here and to finally be able to put the
trophy up ... I'm just thrilled right now."
Berger, who arrived at the event ranked 46th in the world,
credited his sporting family background with helping him cope
with the pressure of leading.
"I'm just a competitor. I got off to a terrible start today
(with a bogey at the first hole) and I just grinded it out and
was able to get some putts to fall."
Berger will head to Oakmont for the U.S. Open that starts on
Thursday brimming with confidence, as will Mickelson after his
joint runner-up finish.
Mickelson was not thrilled with his long game in the first three
rounds, but said he was sharper on Sunday.
"I hit it a lot better today," he said. "It was important for me
to get in contention and feel the heat, and to just get my game
feeling sharp heading into next week."
"It's a course (Oakmont) that will severely punish poorly hit
shots and reward well struck shots, so to have a little bit of
confidence heading into next week is a big thing."
Mickelson, winner of five majors, has finished runner-up six
times at the U.S. Open, the only major he has not won.
He is looking to become the sixth man to win all four modern
majors after Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player
and Tiger Woods.
(Reporting by Andrew Both in Cary, North Carolina; Editing by
Peter Rutherford)
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