Henderson closes LPGA opener with tie for sixth
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. – Eun-Hee Ji of South Korea left the mistakes to everyone else down the stretch in the LPGA Tour season opener.
Ji managed a strong wind and temperatures in the 50s on Sunday by making three birdies on the back nine to pull away and close with a 1-under 70, giving her a two-shot victory in the Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions.
Ji got her mistakes out of the way early, opening with two bogeys to fall behind Lydia Ko. The 32-year-old South Korean took the lead for good with a birdie on the 10th hole at Tranquilo Golf Club at Four Seasons, and she stayed in front the rest of the way.
“It was a little bit chilly for me today. My body was a little bit tight on first tee, so I just pulled a little bit, and I made a bogey,” she said. “I made a bogey again second hole. I was like, ‘OK, wait a minute. I need to play this.’ But I have like 16 more holes, and I just trust my swing after that.”
Ko was one shot behind when she pulled her tee shot on the par-5 13th and never found it, and then compounded the error with a three-putt for a double bogey. Ko made double bogey on the closing hole for a 42 on the back nine and a 77.
Ji finished at 14-under 270 to win by two over Mirim Lee, who made only one bogey in her round of 68. Nelly Korda (71) finished third.
“I just enjoyed my game with my celebrity partners,” Ji said. “It makes it more fun and I relaxed more. So I didn’t get nervous.”
Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont., started the day a shot behind the leaders but struggled on Sunday, shooting a 4-over 75 on the round. That put her into a tie with Stacy Lewis for sixth at 8 under for the tournament.
“I actually hit it great today,” said Henderson.
“I gave myself a lot of great opportunities and just the putter, you know, wasn’t working, which sort of sucks. But overall I feel like I hit it really well and I battled, which is nice.”
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The LPGA opener was limited to winners over the last two seasons. It also included a celebrity field of athletes and entertainers who competed for a $500,000 purse using the modified Stableford scoring system.
Former Atlanta Braves pitcher John Smoltz had 33 points in the final round for a three-point victory over former pitcher Mark Mulder. Smoltz was busy doing math with the Stableford system, trying to hold on for the victory.
“I played really defensively knowing I could get two points for par,” Smoltz said. “I never thought the bogey I made at 17 would be the difference.”
Lewis, in her first competition as a mother, shot 70 and tied for sixth.
Ariya Jutanugarn, the No. 1 player in women’s golf who captured every major award last year, went into the weekend two shots out of the lead and closed with a pair of 75s to tie for 18th. Her sister, Moriya Jutanugarn, managed a bogey-free round for a 69 to tie for fourth with Shanshan Feng (70).
Ko says her problems on the 13th started with thinking she had to hammer her tee shot.
No one could find it in the marsh area left of the fairway, though Ko was at least consoled to see “like a million balls in there, so it makes me feel better that I wasn’t the only one that hit there.”
She hit another tee shot and easily carried the bunker, and then hit a stock 3-wood onto the green.
“I was like, ‘Well, that was stupid.’ Because I could have just hit a normal driver, and I probably wouldn’t have duck-hooked it and it would still be able to be in play,” Ko said. “I guess there’s moments I thought it was necessary, but then it wasn’t. But, hey, you’re always going to have some of these failures along the way.”
The LPGA is now off for two weeks before resuming in Australia for the Vic Open. The tour returns to the United States on March 21-24 for the Founders Cup in Arizona.
Canadian Adam Hadwin finishes tied for second at Desert Classic
LA QUINTA, Calif. – Adam Long bounced around golf’s backwoods for years, winning only a lone Hooters Tour event. Now, he’s headed to the Masters as a PGA Tour winner.
Long won the Desert Classic on Sunday at PGA West, beating Hall of Famer Phil Mickelson and Canadian Adam Hadwin by a stroke with a 14-foot birdie putt on the final hole after a 6-iron approach from an awkward stance.
“In some ways it’s been a little bit of a roller-coaster, but it’s been a steady improvement throughout my career,” Long said. “I’ve played in pretty much most tours around the world that there are and just kind of steadily progressed.
“It kind of can seem like it came out of nowhere, but my game’s been trending in the right direction for really the last two years now.”
Long closed with a 7-under 65 on the Stadium Course, holing the winning putt after Mickelson’s 40-foot birdie try curled left at the end.
“I got a pretty good read off Phil’s putt,” Long said. “It was one of those putts that you just stand over you just know you’re going to make. And you can’t control that, but when you have that feeling it’s a good one. I’m in pretty disbelief right now. I don’t really know what happened.”
Mickelson, the leader after each of the first three rounds, shot 69.
“I had a terrible putting day – one of the worst I can recall in a while,” Mickelson said. “Started right on the first hole with a little 4-footer uphill and three-putting that green. And I missed a bunch of short ones on the front and some birdie opportunities, but it felt awful with the putter. I hit a lot of good shots today, but just couldn’t get the ball to go in the hole.”
Long set up with the winning putt with the 6-iron approach from 175 yards with the ball below his feet in dormant grass on a mound to the right of the fairway.
The 31-year-old former Duke player earned his PGA Tour card with a 13th-place finish last year on the Web.com Tour’s regular-season money list. In five previous PGA Tour starts, he had made only one cut – a tie for 63rd in October in the Safeway Open.
Hadwin, from Abbotsford, B.C., finished with a 67, losing a three-stroke lead on the back nine.
“It’s golf,” Hadwin said. “I made a bunch of putts all week and then honestly I was kind of battling it a little bit swing-wise, didn’t quite have it like I did the first three days. … It just kind of flat-lined on me there in the last few.”
The Canadian had his fourth straight top-six finish in the event. He was second in 2017 after a third-round 59 at La Quinta Country Club and tied for third last year.
Strong effort from #TeamRBC‘s @ahadwingolf down the stretch @Desert_Classic with a T2 finish! We have a feeling 2019 is going to be a good one ??⛳️ pic.twitter.com/Mg5Y25VQdZ
— RBC Canadian Open (@RBCCanadianOpen) January 21, 2019
Long finished at 26-under 262 and earned $1,062,000. He chipped in twice on the back nine to remain in contention.
“Those chip-ins were huge and some putts on the front nine as well to just kind of hang in there,” Long said,
He opened with a 63 on PGA West’s Nicklaus Tournament Course, shot 71 on Friday at the Stadium layout and had another 63 on Saturday at La Quinta to get into the final group with Mickelson and Hadwin.
“It was a huge thrill to play with Phil,” Long said. “I looked up to him my whole life and big fan of his and he couldn’t have been greater to me out there and he was awesome to play with, a lot of fun.”
The 48-year-old Mickelson was making his first tour start since the Safeway and first competitive appearance since beating Tiger Woods in Las Vegas in November in a made-for-TV event.
Adam Hadwin (Getty Images)
Mickelson entered the day two strokes ahead of Hadwin and three ahead of Long. The tournament winner in 2002 and 2004, Lefty matched his career-low score with an opening 60 at La Quinta.
“It’s a weird game how sometimes if you haven’t played for a while it just can click and come right back,” Mickelson said. “But usually you need a little bit of a foundation there coming down the stretch. When you get to feel the pressure you need to have that foundation of practice and seeing the shots that you want to hit, seeing the ball go in on the greens and so forth and I didn’t really have that today.”
Talor Gooch was fourth at 24 under after a 64, Dominic Bozzelli followed at 22 under after a 66, and Jon Rahm, the 2018 winner, shot 67 to get to 21 under.
Top-ranked Justin Rose closed with a 70 to tie for 34th at 14 under. He’s the first No. 1 player to play the tournament since the world ranking began in 1986.
Canadians Roger Sloan (Merritt, B.C.) and Adam Svensson (Surrey, B.C.) finished inside the top 20 at T12 and T18, respectively. Nick Taylor of Abbotsford, B.C., rounded out the Canadians in action with a share of 40th.
Canada’s Brooke Henderson vaults in front at LPGA Tour season opener
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. – Canada’s Brooke Henderson kept out of trouble and kept bogeys off her card Friday on her way to a four-under 67 and a two-shot lead in the Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions, the winners-only start to the LPGA Tour season.
The 21-year-old native of Smiths Falls, Ont., had the only bogey-free round at Tranquilo Golf Club at Four Seasons and is now 10 under for the tournament.
Ariya Jutanugarn, the No. 1 player in women’s golf who captured every major award last season, made two bogeys, including the par-3 closing hole. The Thai is not sure how she didn’t make more, considering how she hit the ball.
She mixed in six birdies over an 11-hole stretch and it added up to a 67, leaving her two shots back and tied for second along with Lydia Ko (68) and Eun-Hee Ji (67).
“I didn’t expect to finish 4 under today at all because I hit everywhere. I keep missing fairways and greens, and I’m at 4 under,” Jutanugarn said. “I’m going to say my short game helped me a lot today because I keep missing the green – and I’m not missing by two yards, I’m missing by like 10, 15 yards.”
No matter. She was poised going into the weekend to get her encore season off to a big start.
Henderson was at 10-under 132 as the seven-time tour winner tries to match Sandra Post, George Knudson and Mike Weir for the most pro titles by a Canadian. Henderson has had at least a share of the 36-hole lead in five of her seven victories.
“It’s always fun to be in the final group and be in contention,” Henderson said. “It’s what we play for pretty much every single week. It’s nice to be here. It’s only the halfway point, but I still need to make a lot of birdies and keep hitting it to win.”
She didn’t make as many birdies as she wanted in the second round, but it was enough. Henderson began the back nine with two straight birdies, and closed with seven straight pars to stay in the lead.
Another round, another lead for @BrookeHenderson ???#DiamondLPGA pic.twitter.com/M9m7uIbWC8
— Golf Canada (@GolfCanada) January 18, 2019
Stacy Lewis, in her first tournament as a mother, followed her opening 66 with a 74. That dropped her to 17th place in the 26-player field limited only to LPGA Tour winners each of the last two seasons.
The field also has a strong celebrity component, with 49 athletes and entertainers competing in a modified Stableford format for a $500,000 purse. Former tennis player Mardy Fish posted 39 points for the second straight day, but with bogeys over his last two holes, his lead was down to one point over former Atlanta Braves pitcher John Smoltz.
Jutanugarn played the second round with former NBA star Ray Allen, and even though she was hitting shots all over the course, she found plenty of time to talk.
“I asked him how to manage when you’re like the best player, like how to manage everything,” Jutanugarn said. “We talked all 18 holes, and he helped me a lot with like how to manage, be like a top player. … It means so much to me. Ray is so nice to me. I kept asking him questions.”
Mirim Lee had a 69 and was alone in fifth place, while Lexi Thompson (69) and Marina Alex (67) were another shot behind.
Henderson won two times last year, including the CP Women’s Open in Regina. She won the KPMG Women’s PGA for her first major in 2016. Despite shutting it down for two weeks over the break while in Canada, she likes the mix she had of rest and practice when she got back to the work.
“Overall, I’m really happy to be in double digits after two rounds. That’s pretty cool, minus 10,” she said. “So I feel like there’s not too much wrong, but just maybe a little bit of inconsistency. Some putts, I wasn’t hitting them quite as well as I would have liked.”
Titleist introduces 718 AP3 and AP2 irons in limited black finish
Golfers seeking the breakthrough technology and proven performance of Titleist 718 AP3 and AP2 irons can bring an extra edge to their game with the introduction of new limited all-black editions.
Available March 1, the new 718 AP3 Black and 718 AP2 Black irons are finished with a sleek, High Polish Black PVD coating to create a look that stands apart.
True Temper AMT Onyx shafts – with a powder coat matte black finish that helps minimize glare – and an all-black Golf Pride Tour Velvet 360 grip complement the technically striking blacked-out setup.
The development of AP3 Black and AP2 Black was inspired by requests from the PGA Tour, where Titleist has been the #1 iron since 2005, and members of Team Titleist.
“Since we added AP3 to our lineup last fall, more and more golfers are experiencing the game-changing speed and forgiveness of this hollow-blade construction, while AP2 continues to set the standard for tour played iron technology,” said Josh Talge, Vice President, Golf Club Marketing. “One request we heard from both tour players and amateurs, particularly those who have gravitated toward our Jet Black Vokey SM7 wedges, was if they could have these same irons in a darker finish. Our team spent a lot of time making sure the aesthetics were done just right. It’s a look that you just have to see.”
The finish on AP3 Black and AP2 Black will wear similar to the Jet Black coating on SM7 wedges. New Titleist 718 AP3 and AP2 Black irons will be available beginning March 1, 2019. MAP $200 CAD per club ($1,999 CAD/set of 8).
Click here to learn more.
Canada’s Brooke Henderson tied for 18 hole lead at LPGA season opener
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. – Canada’s Brooke Henderson is tied for the lead after the opening round of the LPGA Tour’s season-opening Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions.
The 21-year-old native of Smiths Falls, Ont., carded a six-under 65 to put her on top along with Korean Eun-Hee Ji.
Henderson overcame a slow start with a bogey on the second hole and a par save on No. 3 at the Tranquilo Golf Club at Four Seasons. She birdied five of her last eight holes for a 65 to tie Ji, who had a bogey-free round.
The tournament – the first season-opener in Florida for the LPGA since 2015 – is only for LPGA winners each of the last two years.
The event had the feel of a pro-am because of all the celebrities and athletes, although it wasn’t all hits and giggles. Along with the 26-player field from the LPGA Tour competing for a US$1.2 million purse, 49 entertainers are competing for a $500,000 prize fund using the modified Stableford scoring system.
Tennis player Mardy Fish led that field with 39 points for a two-point lead over a group that included retired pitcher Mark Mulder.
But it was a different vibe from most LPGA events.
“I had to remind myself it wasn’t Wednesday afternoon, it was Thursday, and I had to get a good score together,” said Henderson, who was in a group with former NBA star Ray Allen. “I think that’s when things kicked in on the front nine. I started getting a couple of birdies to recover from that bogey, and then from there I was ready to go and made a lot of birdies.”
The leaders are one stroke ahead of Lydia Ko of New Zealand and American Stacy Lewis, who was playing her first tournament since giving birth to her first child last year.
.@BrookeHenderson’s first swing of the 2019 @LPGA season ????♀️ pic.twitter.com/3UuBvRB52s
— Golf Canada (@GolfCanada) January 17, 2019
Nearly three months after Lewis became a mother, and six months after she last played on tour, she opened with seven birdies on Thursday.
“Pleasantly surprised,” Lewis said. “Had pretty low expectations going into the day. Just really made a lot of putts. I had some weird shots, which I knew was going to happen having not played in a while. I don’t know where it came from, but I’m going to take it.”
Ariya Jutanugarn, the world’s No. 1 player who captured every major award last year, opened with a 67. Shooting the same score were Lexi Thompson and Mirim Lee.
Jutanugarn started the year with a new caddie, who previously worked for his fiancee, ANA Inspiration winner Pernilla Lindeberg. She opened with a 77, the highest score among LPGA players.
The Thai said she had some nerves from not having played in two months. And not being used to celebrities in her group also required an adjustment.
“Because I didn’t play for so long – especially playing with them – I feel upset. He hit like 60 yards past me,” said Jutanugarn, who played in the same group with retired baseball players Josh Beckett and Kevin Millar. “Every hole he has a chance to make eagle, so I thought, ‘Maybe I’m not that good.”’
She was referring to Beckett on the long tee shots. She didn’t know much about either, though she figured one thing one quickly.
“I know they are baseball players. I know both of them are really famous,” she said. “And nobody asked me for an autograph. They all asked them.”
Lewis had not played on the LPGA Tour since a 66 to tie for 39th on July 12 at the Marathon Classic in Ohio. She gave birth to her first child, a daughter named Chesnee, on Oct. 25.
The biggest difference was her routine.
She now has to remember where to find daycare, to get out the door a little earlier and making sure she has all the bags for her game and her daughter.
“You’ve got to take three trips to the care to get out the door every morning,” she said. “So it’s a new normal.”
Her game looked like the old Stacy Lewis, at least for the opening round. She was 1 under at the turn until rolling in five birdies to offset one bogey on the back nine.
Twenty of the 26 players were at par or better.
Henderson finished fourth on the LPGA money list last year after winning two events.
Canada’s Conners on his way to full PGA TOUR card with fast start to 2019 season
Corey Conners was working on his putting last Friday when fellow Canadian Mackenzie Hughes offered some advice.
Hughes pointed out that if Conners tucked in his right elbow a little bit, it would improve his setup.
Conners listened to his longtime friend and went on to shoot a 64 in the third and fourth rounds of the Sony Open in Hawaii to finish at 17-under 263 and tie for third after having to qualify for the PGA Tour event at the start of the week. The high finish has helped Conners climb the FedEx Cup standings and given him momentum heading into this week’s Desert Classic in La Quinta, Calif.
“It gave me some confidence and I told him on Friday afternoon ‘thanks to you, you’re going to see my name rocketing up the leaderboard this weekend.’ I was able to putt a little bit better and do just that,” said the 27-year-old Conners on Wednesday. “He sent me a text after the round on Sunday saying nice work and I thanked him for giving me the tips. I owe him one.”
Conners, from Listowel, Ont., earned a partial PGA Tour card last season by finishing 130th in the FedEx Cup standings with 353 points. The top 125 players on that list get a full card, with American Harris English earning the final spot with just 50 points more than Conners.
But Conners’s third-place finish on Sunday, coupled with a second-place finish at the Sanderson Farms Championship and a tie for 23rd at the RSM Classic, has him sitting 19th early in this season’s FedEx Cup standings with 331 points. In other words, he’s already closing in on his point total from last season and is a virtual lock to earn a full PGA Tour card for 2020.
“I was in a position last year where I was trying to fight for my card all through the summer and toward the end of the year,” said Conners. “It takes a lot of pressure off. Something that I don’t have to worry about as much going forward, I can just focus on having good weeks instead of feeling the pressure to have a certain finish.”
Given his quick rise up this season’s FedEx Cup standings, Conners will likely be asked to play in more invitational tournaments, helping him earn even more points toward next year’s card.
“It was a bit unknown what events I would get into at the beginning of the year, but having this good start there will be some of the invitational tournaments that I’ll be able to get into, which is awesome, and there will be a couple of new events I’ll get to add, which is really exciting,” said Conners. “It’s really helpful to have a good start like I’ve had to set up the rest of the year.”
Conners was joined by seven other Canadians as the Desert Classic teed off on Thursday. Mike Weir of Brights Grove, Ont., David Hearn of Brantford, Ont., Adam Svensson of Surrey, B.C., and Ben Silverman of Thornhill, Ont., joined Conners on the LaQuinta course. Adam Hadwin and Nick Taylor, both from Abbotsford, B.C., and Roger Sloan of Merritt, B.C., were on the Stadium Course.
It’s the third time this season eight Canadians are in a PGA event, marking the highest number for a non-domestic tournament since the organization began keeping track in 1970.
Despite the name of the Desert Classic, there has been a lot of rainfall in the days leading up to the event.
“Hopefully they get some sun the next few days,” said Conners. “The golf courses here in the desert are awesome, so lush. The grass is perfect. They’re beautiful courses.
“The greens are rolling really nice so I’m real excited to get going. I like the golf courses a lot. It’s hard not to enjoy when yourself when you get to play in such beautiful places.”
Golf Canada names 2019 Team Canada Young Pro Squad
Golf Canada is pleased to announce the 10 athletes—six female and four male—who have been selected to the 2019 Team Canada Young Pro Squad.
Comprising the 2019 Women’s Young Pro Squad is Brittany Marchand (Orangeville, Ont.) , Anne-Catherine Tanguay (Quebec City), Maddie Szeryk (London, Ont.) Augusta James (Bath, Ont.), Jennifer Ha (Calgary) and Jaclyn Lee (Calgary). Lee, 21, makes the transition from the Amateur Squad after turning professional in December.
The Men’s Young Pro Squad will be represented by Jared du Toit (Kimberley, B.C.), Hugo Bernard (Mont-Saint-Hilaire, Que.), Taylor Pendrith (Richmond Hill, Ont.) and Stuart Macdonald (Vancouver).
The Team Canada Young Pro Squad—now in its sixth year—helps bridge the gap for top-performing amateurs transitioning into the professional ranks. Since the inception of the Young Pro Squad in 2014, current and former team members have accounted for 35 wins across various professional golf tours including LPGA Tour and PGA TOUR wins by Young Pro graduates Brooke Henderson, Mackenzie Hughes and Corey Conners, respectively.
“The quality of talented athletes is a strong representation of the future of Canadian golf competing on the world’s major tours in the years to come,” said Jeff Thompson, Golf Canada’s chief sport officer. “Golf Canada continues to support athletes who are demonstrating the capacity to compete at the highest levels of golf in an effort to cultivate heroes for our sport. We are proud to extend the world-class services of the Team Canada program which include coaching support, sport science and financial assistance as this group strives for success in the professional ranks.”
Men’s and Women’s National Squad coaches Derek Ingram and Tristan Mullally—both PGA of Canada members and Ben Kern Coach of the Year past recipients—will provide coaching to their respective Young Pro athletes. In addition to funding and coaching support, the athletes will have access to Team Canada’s sport science staff which includes Psychologist Dr. Adrienne Leslie-Toogood along with Physiotherapist and Strength Coach Greg Redman.
Funding for this program, in large part, comes from the Golf Canada Foundation with generous contributions from founding partners Canadian Pacific and RBC, as well as supporting partners Citi Canada and Bear Mountain Resort—the Official Training Centre of Golf Canada’s National Team program.
“The Young Pro program has achieved tremendous success with Canada’s up-and-coming stars and their ascension through the pro ranks,” said Martin Barnard, CEO of the Golf Canada Foundation. “Fundraising for Canada’s top athletes will remain a priority for the Foundation as we continue to mold and support the future of Canadian golf.”
Throughout the season, Golf Canada will closely monitor the performance of elite Canadian amateurs transitioning to professional golf with the possibility of program expansion.
Click here to read Team Canada Young Pro Squad player bios.
Scotty Cameron introduces new Select Fastback 2 and Squareback 1.5 putters
Scotty Cameron has added two new mid-mallet models to his flagship line of Select putters – the Select Fastback 2 and Select Squareback 1.5 – developed through feedback from the game’s best players.
Available in golf shops worldwide beginning Feb. 15, the new Select models provide additional mid-mallet options for players seeking Scotty’s popular Fastback and Squareback head styles with specific neck configurations and performance characteristics:
Select Fastback 2: Following the introduction of the 2018 Select Fastback model on the worldwide professional golf tours, players immediately asked Scotty for one option – a plumbing neck. The familiar, confidence-inspiring setup, which provides one shaft of offset, has been incorporated into this rounded mid-mallet. In addition to the new neck, subtle refinements have been made to the topline for a slightly thinner look, as well as a reduction of face height.
Select Squareback 1.5: Scotty’s new Squareback 1.5 incorporates a new mini-slant neck that further squares off the overall shape and look at address for the player seeking clean, distinct visual cues. Additionally, the draft angle has been updated to accommodate the new neck, which also produces slightly more toe flow than its mid-bend counterpart, the Select Squareback. Similar to the Fastback 2, Scotty shaved some topline thickness for a thinner appearance from address, and reduced the overall face height.
Both models adopt the Select line’s tour-proven multi-material construction with a precision milled, MOI-enhancing 6061 aircraft aluminum face-sole component expertly designed into the 303 stainless steel putter head.
“Extending the Select line was all about taking the feedback we got from players and incorporating it into new offerings. Shortly after we introduced the 2018 Fastback and Squareback models on tour, players began asking for them with prototype necks,” said Scotty Cameron. “We are seeing more and more players gravitate to these nice, compact head shapes. They’re not blades and not exactly mallets. We call them mid-mallets. By creating the Fastback 2 with a plumbing neck, and the Squareback 1.5 with our mini-slant neck, we’re giving players everything they asked for and more.”
Canadian Corey Conners ties for 3rd in Hawaii
HONOLULU – Corey Conners notched his second top-5 PGA Tour result this season — but it didn’t come easy.
The Listowel, Ont., native got into the field via Monday Qualifying, going on to finish in a tie for third at 17 under par. Conners made his most significant move on the weekend, firing matching scores of 64 to rocket up the leaderboard.
With the finish, the 27-year-old Team Canada alumnus sits 19th in the FedEx Cup rankings and moves into the top-200 (No. 181) on the Official World Golf Rankings for the first time in his career. Conners finished five strokes back of champion Matt Kuchar.
He shot 74 on Labor Day and failed to advance out of the second round of the FedEx Cup playoffs for the first time in 10 years. He was never in serious contention all year. The captain’s picks for the Ryder Cup were announced the next day. Kuchar wasn’t even considered, left off a U.S. team for the first time since 2009.
Four months later, the view is so much different.
The rainbow that stretched across the Oahu sky on Sunday looked magical when Kuchar turned to raise his arms after one last birdie for a 4-under 66, which gave him a four-shot victory in the Sony Open.
Kuchar, a member of Team RBC, had gone 115 starts on tour without winning. Now he has won two of his last three.
“Crazy to comprehend,” he said.
This was much harder than reading the fine print that he won by four shots over Andrew Putnam with the third-lowest score in Sony Open history.
Kuchar’s two-shot lead going into the final round was gone in four holes, and when he missed the green on No. 5 with a wedge, he was trailing for the first time all weekend. At the par-5 ninth, Kuchar and Putnam were in the same bunker short of the green. Putnam went first and blasted out to a few inches. Kuchar left his 10 feet below the hole and was in jeopardy of falling two behind.
He made the putt, one of several key moments the rest of the way. And right after Putnam’s lone mistake, a 9-iron into a deep bunker left of the 14th green that led to his only bogey in a round of 68, Kuchar answered with back-to-back birdies and was headed to another victory.
Matt Kuchar (Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)
“Thrilled to have won two events this early in the year,” said Kuchar, the first multiple winner on the PGA Tour this season. “It absolutely sets up the year to be in great position for the FedEx Cup. There’s a lot of year left, and a lot of great things that are out there to be done.”
It was only the second time in his career that he had multiple victories. The other was in 2013, when he won the Match Play Championship in February and the Memorial in early June, with three majors still to be played.
Extra special to Kuchar was going up the 18th fairway with a comfortable margin. Winning was never this easy in his previous eight victories.
Then again, part of him likes it that way, whether he’s trying to recover from a bad start on Sunday or even a bad year.
“I love playing golf. I love how hard it is,” he said. “Golf is addictive that way, in that if you’re not playing well you can’t wait to figure it out and make it better. If you’re playing well, shoot, it’s great. It’s awesome. You want it to never end. It’s a cycle of whether it’s good or bad that you have this quest to continue to play, to improve, to fix, whatever it is.”
He goes to No. 22 in the world ranking and No. 2 in the FedEx Cup. He already has earned over $2.5 million in January, $800,000 more than all of last season.
Kuchar turned 40 last summer, which might have added to the anxiety of going so long without a win.
He never saw it that way. This run began with a visit to his swing coach, Chris O’Connell, right before he began this season. He didn’t score well in Las Vegas and stayed the course. He won in Mexico at the Mayakoba Classic the following week, and then he won again.
“I’m not sure I’m into making a statement, but it is interesting to see how young the tour has gotten,” he said. “But thankfully, golf requires so many different things to be going right. It’s not just power game, a putting game. There are so many facets to the game that it allows people to play for a long time and play competitively and play great for a long time.”
Putnam’s consolation was cracking the top 50 in the world for the first time at No. 45. He won the Barracuda Championship last summer, a month after he played better than anyone except for Dustin Johnson at the FedEx St. Jude Classic.
“I’m feeling a little let down right now,” Putnam said after closing with a 68. “I’m sure when I think about it … a lot of good things have happened. Just needed to make some better swings. Kuch was making birdies and played great coming down the stretch. I just couldn’t keep up with him.”
Kuchar had the gold trophy, the winner’s lei around his neck. He was in no hurry to leave, and plans to stay in Hawaii for another two weeks with his wife and two sons. Even better? He already has earned a spot at Kapalua next year, the tournament reserved only for winners.
“Trust me, getting in the field at Kapalua is a real treat,” Kuchar said.
Roger Sloan (Merritt, B.C.) finished T33 ahead of first-round leader Adam Svensson (Surrey, B.C.) at T43 and Adam Hadwin (Abbotsford, B.C.) at T57.
Team Canada’s Crisologo defends South American Amateur title in playoff
CHILE – Canadian Chris Crisologo escaped with his second consecutive South American Amateur title on Sunday at Los Leones Golf Club in Santiago de Chile.
Crisologo successfully defended his title, obtained a year ago in Argentina after he defeated the Costa Rican Luis Gagne on the second extra hole. A crucial birdie on the par-5 hole 18 gave moved Crisologo into a tie for the lead at 281 (-7), with players like the Colombian Iván Camilo Ramírez and the Argentinean Leandro Correa climbing to the top during the round.
“This is a different victory, it’s a very different course,” said Crisologo. “It was a privilege to be here and it was a very fun week at the end.”
Reunited ?
And it feels so goooood ??? pic.twitter.com/FGYljQC5Wy
— Golf Canada (@GolfCanada) January 14, 2019
Team Canada teammate Brendan MacDougall of Calgary finished T26 at 5 over par.
In the women’s division, Team Canada Junior Squad standout Céleste Dao of Notre-dame-de-lÎle-Perrot, Que., cracked the top 10 in a tie for 9th at 4 over par. She was chasing champion María Fernanda Escauriza of Paraguay, who closed well clear of the pack at 12 under.
Dao’s teammate Ellie Szeryk finished in 46th place at 31 over par.
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