Golfer Tim Conley, winner of more Bermuda tournaments than any other overseas player, finally made his mark on the big stage yesterday.

Watched by millions on CBS-TV, Conley strung together four sub-par rounds as he blazed to a fifth place finish in the FedEx St. Jude Classic on the TPC course at Southwind outside Memphis, Tennessee.

It was his best-ever performance in a PGA Tour event and it also reaped his biggest-ever pay cheque -- $72,000.

Conley, who's won the Bermuda Open, the Belmont Invitational (three times) and the Lobster Pot Pro tournament as well as a host of local Pro-Ams, had made little impression on Tour this season after regaining his PGA card at qualifying school last fall.

In fact, he'd pocketed little more than $50,000 in winnings, most of it on the Nike Tour.

But it all came good over the weekend as the Akron, Ohio resident fired identical opening rounds of 68 to make the cut and then temporarily moved into the outright lead early in the third round on Saturday with four straight birdies on his way to a 67.

He ended the day on 10-under par in a tie for second place behind joint leaders Bob Estes and Nick Price and was paired yesterday with Jeff Sluman who eventually lost in a sudden-death play-off with Price.

Conley's hopes of a first PGA Tour title evaporated early in yesterday's round as he played the front nine in one-over par while his rivals continued to shoot low.

But he finished strongly with three birdies on the back nine, including a superb effort on the tough par-four closing hole which was captured by the CBS cameras.

His 69 left him with a 12-under 272 total, alone in fifth place, four behind Price and Sluman, two behind Glen Day and just one adrift of Estes, all of them well established Tour players.

Price wins, see Page 24 .

TIM CONLEY -- best-ever Tour finish.