PLAYA DEL CARMEN, Mexico – Matt Kuchar had gone four years, six months and three weeks since his last PGA Tour victory.

The last few holes Sunday at the Mayakoba Golf Classic must have felt just as long.

Kuchar started the final round with a four-shot lead and made only two bogeys in the first 67 holes he played at El Camaleon Golf Club. And then he made back-to-back bogeys, Danny Lee holed a birdie putt from off the 16th green, and Kuchar had no margin for error.

He finished with three pars, making nervy 3-footers on the last two holes, to close with a 2-under 69 for a one-shot victory and a big sigh of relief.

“I didn’t want a 3-footer on the last hole,” Kuchar said. “I was hoping to have a three or four-shot lead for some wiggle room. But man, that felt awfully good.”

Lee, the only player to sustain a serious threat against Kuchar, finished with two pars for a 65.

Kuchar still wasn’t entirely in the clear. His 15-foot birdie attempt on the 17th rolled about 3 1/2 feet by the hole, and he had to make that for par to stay in the lead. And on the final hole, he left his 30-foot birdie putt about 3 feet short and had to roll that in for the victory.

“That was some of the best ball-striking I’ve had, and through 60 some holes, awfully good putting,” Kuchar said. “And then the putter kind of went a little bit on the fritz there coming in. Thrilled to be the champion here. It’s been a long time for me. It feels extra sweet right now.”

The 40-year-old Kuchar had gone 115 starts on the PGA Tour since his last victory in the RBC Heritage at Hilton Head in April 2014. It comes at the end of what had been a disappointing year in which Kuchar finished out of the top 70 on the PGA Tour money list for the first time since 2007, and he failed to make the Ryder Cup team for the first time in 10 years.

“My 2018 wasn’t what I wanted,” Kuchar said. “This is a high note. It’s amazing thing to get a win. I go from ‘Hola’ to ‘Aloha.’ I’m pretty excited about that.”

Kuchar qualifies for the Sentry Tournament of Champions to start next year at Kapalua.

He finished at 22-under 262, breaking by one the 72-hole record at Mayakoba previously held by Harris English.

PGA Tour rookie Cameron Champ had a 12-foot eagle attempt on the 13th hole that would have brought him within two shots, but he missed the putt and sent his next tee shot into the mangroves, making double bogey. He had another double bogey on the 17th hole and had to settle for a 69 to tie for 10th.

J.J. Spaun (66) and Richy Werenski (67) tied for third.

Ryder Cup captain Jim Furyk closed with a 67 and was among those who tied for sixth.

Adam Hadwin (68) of Abbotsford, B.C., tied for 10th at 16 under.

Kuchar won for the eighth time on the PGA Tour in a career marked more by consistency than trophies. This year, he had neither. He had only four top 10s – his best finish was a tie for fifth in Phoenix – and was coming off a tie for 57th in Las Vegas.

He added Mayakoba at the last minute, and with his regular caddie having previous plans, Kuchar hired a local caddie from El Camaleon. He referred to the week as a “working vacation” because of the beaches and amenities at Mayakoba, though it felt like work at the end.

“Golf is such a funny game,” Kuchar said. “It’s hard to predict when it’s going to come around.”

PHOENIX – Scott McCarron moved into position to win the PGA Tour Champions’ season points race, birdieing the final two holes Saturday for a one-stroke lead in the Charles Schwab Cup Championship.

McCarron shot a 5-under 66 on another warm and sunny day at Phoenix Country Club. To win the Charles Schwab Cup and a $1 million annuity, McCarron needs to the tournament Sunday and have Bernhard Langer – tied for 19th at 7 under – tie for fourth or worse.

“All I’m trying to do is put myself in position to win this golf tournament,” McCarron said. “Whatever happens with the Schwab Cup, I really can’t control that. That’s up to some other guys.”

The 53-year-old McCarron, fifth in the points standings entering the finale, has eight victories on the 50-and-over tour, winning twice this year. He won three times on the PGA Tour.

“The one thing I’m doing a really good job is I’m not letting the bad shots bother me too much at all this week, which is great,” McCarron said. “Sometimes I’ll let them bother me a little bit.”

Langer had a 66 after shooting two 70s.

“Obviously, I’m out of the running for winning,” Langer said. “So, I’m just trying to sneak up as far as I can and then it’s all up to the other guys, how they finish.”

McCarron had an 18-under 195 total.

Stephen Ames and Tim Petrovic were tied for second.

?COURSE RECORD ?@StephenAmesPGA ??? pic.twitter.com/fuO7wuOHkI

— Golf Canada (@GolfCanada) November 10, 2018

Ames had a 61. He birdied four of the first five holes and closed birdie-par-birdie-eagle.

“I did it with the putter, which is nice because I had a struggle with it this year,” Ames said. “But overall it was fun. I had to look at my score, my scorecard, to actually realize that I needed eagle on the last hole to go to 10 under. So standing over the putt on the 18th, it was a lot more pressure.”

With an eagle on 18, Canada’s @StephenAmesPGA finishes with a 61 to set the course record and take the lead at @SchwabCupFinale ?? pic.twitter.com/jKQha4NE58

— Golf Canada (@GolfCanada) November 10, 2018

Petrovic shot 66.

Second-round leader Paul Goydos had a 69 to drop two strokes back.

“Today was kind of that round as to why I’m not in the running to win the Schwab Cup,” Goydos said.

Season title contender David Toms (65) was at 12 under with Vijay Singh (67), Wes Short Jr. (65), Glen Day (65) and Marco Dawson (67).

Langer and No. 2 Scott Parel (tied for 21st at 6 under after a 68) would take the Cup with a tournament victory, while McCarron, Toms, Miguel Angel Jimenez and Jerry Kelly need a win and help from other players. Kelly (68) was tied for 11th at 10 under, and Jimenez (69) was 32nd in the 35-man field at even par.

PLAYA DEL CARMEN, Mexico – For three days, Matt Kuchar has felt in total control of his game at the Mayakoba Golf Classic.

It shows in his score.

For the second straight day, Kuchar had enough birdies to atone for one rough hole, and it carried him to a 6-under 65 to set the 54-hole tournament record and build a four-shot lead as he tries to end more than four years without a PGA Tour victory.

Kuchar was at 20-under 193, breaking by three shots his personal best on the tour, and by one shot is 54-hole score to par.

“I felt really, really good for three days,” Kuchar said. “I mean, 20 under is my best 54-hole total. I felt in control of my ball striking. I felt in control of driving, the iron play, the putting. It’s been a great three days.”

Kuchar saved par from just off the green at the 18th to keep his four-shot margin over Whee Kim, who had a 66.

The last time Kuchar had a four-shot lead going into the final round was the 2014 Houston Open, and he wound up losing in a playoff when Matt Jones made a 45-foot birdie putt on the last hole and then chipped in from 40 yards in a playoff.

The other two times Kuchar had the 54-hole lead, he won the Memorial in 2013 one week after losing a one-shot lead at Colonial.

“You know the deal, though. You have to go play good golf,” Kuchar said. “I can’t go out there and think a whole bunch of pars are going to get me in the winner’s circle. I’ve still got to make a good number of birdies, and with that, somewhat have the pedal down.”

Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford, B.C. shot a 68 and was seven shots back at 13-under 200.

Richy Werenski and Danny Lee each shot 67 and were five shots back, followed by a group that included PGA Tour rookie of the year Aaron Wise (63) and Cameron Champ (69). Champ, who played in the final group with Kuchar and Lee, already won this season at the Sanderson Farms Championship.

Kuchar has been piling up birdies at El Camaleon Golf Club, and he began to pull away with four birdies on the front nine. Just like Friday, however, one hole gave him stress. It was the 12th hole in the second round, when he had to make a 35-foot bogey putt. On Saturday, it was a tee shot on the 14th. Kuchar took a penalty from the hazard, and dropped in a good lie a few inches next to the cart path.

Instead of taking relief into deeper rough, he hit with his feet on the path and picked it clean so his fairway metal wouldn’t smack into the cement. It came up just short of the green, and he chipped to 5 feet and made the bogey putt.

Kuchar responded with a tee shot to 4 feet on the par-3 15th to restore his margin to four shots, and he caught a break on the last hole when he pulled his approach, but it struck a tree and came down in light rough to set up a simple up-and-down.

Champ was trying to get into the final group for Sunday with a par on the last hole, but his wedge came out hot from the rough and rolled through the green, his chip came out heavy and he three-putted for double bogey.

Ryder Cup captain Jim Furyk had a 66 and was at 13-under 200. Also seven shots behind was Anirban Lahiri of India, who was tied with Kuchar early on the front line and still in the mix until a double bogey on the 14th hole and a bogey on the 16th. He had to settle for a 69.

Kuchar’s last PGA Tour victory was at Hilton Head in 2014. He won the Fiji International with his dad caddying for him late in 2015, but struggled to contend this year and failed to reach the third FedEx Cup playoff event for the first time in nearly a decade. He also did not make the Ryder Cup team for the first time in 10 years.

“So 2018 has not been my best year, has not been a highlight for me, been a disappointing year,” Kuchar said. “But it’s got signs now of righting the ship and turning into a great start to … maybe it’s a great finish to ’18, great start to ’18-19, however you want to classify the calendar.”

HAINAN ISLAND, China – Gaby Lopez won her first LPGA Tour event with a 1-over 73 to finish one shot ahead of Ariya Jutanugarn in the Blue Bay tournament in China.

Lopez had bogeys on the last two holes at the Jian Lake Blue Bay Golf Club on Saturday and almost let the title slip away. She finished at 8-under 280.

Playing in a group with Lopez, No. 1-ranked Jutanugarn had a birdie on the final hole to also finish on 73.

Celine Boutier shot a 66 and finished two shots off the lead.

Lopez is the first winner from Mexico since Lorena Ochoa, a driving force for the game in that Latin American country.

“I mean, she’s been my inspiration my entire life,” Lopez said of Ochoa. “That’s why I’m actually a professional golfer.”

Ochoa was the LPGA’s top-ranked golfer for several years until she retired in 2010. She won 27 LPGA Tour events.

Lopez said she was also thinking of her grandfather, Jose Lopez, who died recently.

“I always told him that I was going to give him my first trophy,” Lopez said. “Sadly I didn’t, but he was with me all week long and I couldn’t be more lucky, more fortunate to have him still alive in me.”

Jutanugarn played the last two rounds with Lopez and was happy for her – even in defeat.

“She did a great job last two days,” Jutanugarn said, knowing Lopez was “nervous sometimes.”

Lopez turned 25 on Friday and had a hole-in-one in the third round, which turned out to be the difference.

Alena Sharp (75) of Hamilton tied for 33rd place while Brittany Marchand (78) of Orangeville, Ont., was 61st.

The tournament wrapped up five straight weeks of play for the LPGA in Asia.

PHOENIX – Paul Goydos birdied the par-5 18th for a 6-under 65 and a one-stroke lead in the PGA Tour Champions’ season-ending Charles Schwab Cup Championship.

Tied for the first-round lead with Tim Petrovic after a 63, Goydos had six birdies in the bogey-free round in warm, sunny conditions at Phoenix Country Club.

“I was very, in a sense, for lack of a better word, simple,” Goydos said. “I hit a lot of fairways, hit a lot of greens and I made six putts for birdie. A couple of them short and a couple of nice mid-range ones. I think what I take out of it is I didn’t put a lot of pressure on myself.”

The 54-year-old Goydos won the 2016 event at Desert Mountain. He has five victories on the 50-and-over tour after winning twice on the PGA Tour.

“The weather’s supposed to be good, the scores are going to be good this weekend,” Goydos said. “Should be exciting.”

Scott McCarron, one of six players left in the season-long Charles Schwab Cup points race for a $1 million annuity, was a stroke back at 13 under after a 64. He birdied the final two holes.

“I drove the ball pretty well, hit a lot of fairways, gave myself a lot of opportunities, and then hit it close on 17 and 18,” McCarron said. “Always nice to be able to finish the round hitting it close.”

Petrovic was 12 under after a 67.

“Just a little shaky out of gate,” Petrovic said. “Just kind of chunked a chip on the first hole and three-putted on the second hole. That’s not the way you want to start. … I got myself back into it, for sure.”

Wes Short Jr. had a 63 to match Duffy Waldorf (65) at 9 under. Vijay Singh (67) and Marco Dawson (65) were 8 under, and Cup contender Jerry Kelly (67), Stephen Ames (67) and defending champion Kevin Sutherland (68) were another stroke back.

Points leader Bernhard Langer (70) and No. 2 Scott Parel (69) were tied for 20th at 2 under.

Langer and Parel would take the Cup with a tournament victory, while Miguel Angel Jimenez, Kelly, McCarron and David Toms need a win and help from other players. Langer has won the season-long competition four times, three straight from 2014-16.

Toms was 6 under after a 67, and Jimenez 2 over after a 75.

PLAYA DEL CARMEN, Mexico – Matt Kuchar knew he was in trouble when his tee shot sailed so far to the right that he hit a provisional in case the ball was out-of-bounds.

He found the ball, and somehow never lost the lead.

Kuchar escaped his only big mess Friday with a 35-foot bogey putt on the 12th hole, and he rode eight birdies to a 7-under 64 that gave him a two-shot lead over PGA Tour rookie Cameron Champ going into the weekend at the Mayakoba Golf Classic.

Champ, going after his second victory in three weeks, played in the morning and shot 62 with a bogey on his final hole.

Kuchar was at 14-under 128 as he tries to end more than four years without a PGA Tour victory.

“Yesterday was kind of a bogey-free day and just easy, and everything else today was about the same,” he said. “I just had that one challenging hole.”

The challenge was figuring out what to do once he found it.

The ball was under a cluster of trees and bushes with rocks scattered everywhere. Even taking a one-shot penalty for an unplayable lie was not an easy option. If his drop settled between rocks, he would have to play that or take another penalty.

Finally, he found a spot and the drop landed in enough soft soil for him to pitch out of trouble, through the fairway and into the rough. He got his fourth shot onto the green and made the long putt to escape with bogey.

“That was great,” Kuchar said. “I knew I had a par 5 following it, and I figured I was probably going to make double there and birdie on the next. I ended up making bogey there and par on the par-5 13th, so still felt like I was very much in control.”

What put Kuchar in good shape were the five straight birdies on the front nine, and then he took the lead for the first time with a birdie on No. 11 before his wild adventure on the 12th hole. Tied again for the lead, he added two birdies coming in for his two-shot cushion.

Champ already is the talk of the tour for the speed of his swing and how far he hits the ball, though there is more to his game than length. El Camaleon Golf Club is all about location – preferably the fairway – more than smashing it as far as possible.

Two weeks after winning the Sanderson Farms Championship in Mississippi, he worked on a few tweaks in his swing and was in full control of where the ball was going. For the second straight day, Champ missed only two fairways, key to good scoring at Mayakoba.

“It’s not a bomber’s course,” Champ said. “You have to place it off the tee, and some holes the rough is very thick and you’ve just got to whack it out. This course I feel like is very suitable for everyone. Just to be able to place my ball right in the fairways and on the greens and make the putts when I needed is great.”

Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford, B.C., was the only Canadian to make the cut after firing a 4-under 67 to tie for 10th at 10 under. Roger Sloan of Merritt, B.C., Nick Taylor of Abbotsford, Adam Svensson of Surrey, B.C., Mackenzie Hughes of Dundas, Ont., and Corey Conners of Listowel, Ont., all exited the tournament.

An area renowned for its wild weather – rain out of nowhere, plenty of wind – has seen sunshine and calms for two days, and it’s reflected in the scoring.

The cut was at 4-under 138. The weekend will not include Jordan Spieth.

The three-time major champion missed the cut in his final event of the year after a 69. Spieth managed only eight birdies in good scoring conditions and will have the weekend off for the seventh time this year. Next up is his wedding over Thanksgiving weekend.

Kuchar, meanwhile, has more than Champ to worry about the next two rounds.

The seven players at 11-under 131 included defending champion Patton Kizzire, past Mayakoba champion Brian Gay and Anirban Lahiri of India, who has played in the last two Presidents Cups. Eighteen players were within five shots of the lead.

Rickie Fowler (68) and Tony Finau (65) were at 8-under 134, along with their Ryder Cup captain, Jim Furyk, who had a 65.

HAINAN ISLAND, China – How’s this for a birthday present?

Gaby Lopez turned 25 on Friday and celebrated with a hole-in-one that helped her to a 6-under-66 and a one-stroke lead over Ariya Jutanugarn after the third round of the Blue Bay LPGA tournament.

Even better, Lopez will be after her first career U.S. LPGA Tour victory in the final round on Saturday and will play in the last group with Ariya, the No. 1-ranked golfer. They also played together on Friday at Jian Lake Blue Bay Golf Club.

“I have been waiting for this moment,” the Mexican said. “I’m very lucky to share the course with the best player in the world. You know, I had fun. I enjoyed today.”

Lopez aced the 17th, knocking in a 7 iron from 181 yards. She also had six birdies including three to open the round. She said it was her eighth hole-in-one.

“As soon as the ball left the club I knew it was a good shot, but I couldn’t see because the sun was in my face,” Lopez explained. “I turned around and my caddie goes, ‘It went in.’ I couldn’t give myself a better birthday present.”

Alena Sharp of Hamilton, Ont., is 4 over for the tourney and 13 shots off the lead. Brittany Marchand of Orangeville, Ont., is 8 over.

Jutanugarn, of Thailand, led by four strokes after the second round but slipped to a 71, which included a bogey on the final hole.

Sung Hyun Park shot a 67 and fellow South Korean Sei Young Kim had a 68 to put them both five strokes behind the leader.

The tournament wraps up five straight weeks of play for the tour in Asia.

PHOENIX – Paul Goydos and Tim Petrovic shot 8-under 63 on Thursday to share the lead in the Charles Schwab Cup Championship, leaving points leader Bernhard Langer seven strokes back in the PGA Tour Champions’ season finale.

In sunny, 80-degree conditions at Phoenix Country Club, Langer parred the final nine holes for a 70. The 61-year-old German star opened with a chip-in eagle on the par-5 first, but had two front-nine bogeys.

Goydos also eagled the first and closed with a birdie on the par-5 18th. He won the 2016 event at Desert Mountain.

“The problem you have is the golf course is in perfect condition, the weather’s perfect. It’s going to be hard to keep the scores down,” Goydos said “Eight-under par’s going to finish 15th and 20th maybe, so you need to kind of keep going. And you don’t really kind of worry about too many things until – it’s a cliche – but the back nine on Sunday, you start making decisions.”

Petrovic eagled the 306-yard, par-4 fifth and rebounded from a bogey on the par-4 17th with a birdie on 18.

“A lot of greens, hit a lot of shots in what I call the ‘Petro range,”’ Petrovic said. “These greens are just rolling so good, you get it on line, it’s going to go in.”

Canadian Stephen Ames carded a 3-under-par 68 to share 12th place, five strokes off the lead.

Scott Parel, No. 2 in the standings after winning two weeks ago at Sherwood, made a double bogey on 18 for a 71.

Langer and Parel would take the Cup with a tournament victory, while Miguel Angel Jimenez, Jerry Kelly, Scott McCarron and David Toms would need a win and help from other players. Langer has won the season-long competition four times, three straight from 2014-16. He has two victories this year.

McCarron topped the six contenders for the $1 million annuity, closing with an eagle for a 65.

“I just missed a short putt on 17, so I really wanted to have a chance to make eagle on 18 and I just absolutely killed the driver down there,” McCarron said. “I don’t know how far it was, but I only had 181 yards to the front and just ripped a 6-iron. I wasn’t trying to hit it right of the hole location there, I was trying to hit it a little bit left of it. I pushed it just a tad, but I hit it really hard, so it was good and it came out great, just about 15 feet below the hole.”

Kelly had a 68, and Jimenez and Toms shot 69.

Glen Day shot 66, and defending champion Kevin Sutherland was at 67 with Vijay Singh, Joe Durant, Billy Mayfair, Lee Janzen, Kent Jones and Jeff Maggert.

PLAYA DEL CARMEN, Mexico – Matt Kuchar decided at the last minute to play the Mayakoba Golf Classic and made it look like a smart move Thursday.

Kuchar missed only two fairways at El Camaleon Golf Club, key to good scoring, and kept bogeys off his card for a 7-under 64 that gave him a share of the lead with Dominic Bozzelli and PGA Tour rookie Kramer Hickok.

Kuchar has gone more than four years since his last PGA Tour victory. His 64 was his lowest opening round on tour since a 64 in the 2017 Phoenix Open.

“It’s an amazing resort, Mayakoba. So to be able to bring the family to enjoy some vacation time, it’s a bit of a working vacation,” Kuchar said. “I had a good time at the office, as well.”

Most players did, with more than half of the 132-man field in the 60s.

Canadian Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford, B.C., was in the group after carding a bogey-free 66 highlighted by an eagle on the par-5 13th hole. Fellow B.C. product Nick Taylor is T42 at 3 under par.

Jordan Spieth was not among them. Playing his second straight week in the fall – and his last tournament before his wedding – Spieth traded birdies and bogeys and had to settle for an even-par 71, leaving him in need to a good round Friday just to stick around for the weekend.

One of his former roommates had no such issues.

Hickok also played college golf at Texas and lived with Spieth in Dallas until a few months ago, when all the roommates had to find other arrangements as Spieth prepares for his marriage to Annie Verret.

Spieth had his first PGA Tour victory seven months after leaving college early. Hickok toiled on the Mackenzie Tour in Canada, then the Web.com Tour before finally making it to the big leagues. But he says he learns plenty by playing with Spieth at home.

“I’m reaching out when I’m home and trying to pick his brain a little bit here and there, but really just watching him play, what he does at practice,” Hickok said.

Among those in the large group at 65 was Abraham Ancer, whose tie for fourth last week in Las Vegas moved him to No. 98 in the world. That made Ancer the first Mexican golfer to crack the top 100 in the world ranking, and he carried that to his native soil and kept moving in the right direction.

Also at 65 were Bud Cauley as he returns from a car accident at the Memorial in early June, and defending champion Patton Kizzire, who made back-to-back eagles on the par-5 fifth hole and by holing out on the par-4 sixth.

Rickie Fowler was among those at 66.

Kuchar has slipped to No. 40 in the world, failed to reach the third round of the FedEx Cup playoffs for the first time in a decade and did not play in the Ryder Cup for the first time in 10 years. He still keeps upbeat on and off the golf course, and decided while in Las Vegas (a tie for 57th) to play Mayakoba.

His caddie already had other plans, so Kuchar hired a local caddie from El Camaleon.

His wife, Sybi, also got in on the act. Kuchar was playing with Zach Johnson, whose caddie (Damon Green) became ill from the heat with four holes to play. Kuchar’s wife was following along in the gallery and carried Johnson’s bag the rest of the way.

“I knew she had caddied for me before and was friendly with Zach Johnson, and figured she would be good to handle it, and Zach would go easy on her,” Kuchar said.

Kuchar and Johnson live at Sea Island on the Georgia coast.

Spieth was 2 under through eight holes until he dropped three shots over the next eight holes. Going back to an old driver didn’t help as he hit only six fairways, making it tough to score for anyone out of the rough.

“If you’re not driving it well, this course is extremely hard,” Kuchar said. “If you’re driving it well, you can make some birdies, which I was able to do today.”

HAINAN ISLAND, China – Top-ranked Ariya Jutanugarn shot a 4-under 68 to take a four-stroke lead at the halfway point of the Blue Bay LPGA tournament.

Jutanugarn had birdies on the final two holes – and four of the closing seven – on Thursday to take command over the rest of the field at 7-under 137.

Jennifer Song, Moriya Jutanugarn, and Gaby Lopez shot 71s and were in a tie for second at 3-under.

The leader is likely to play in a group on Friday with her older sister.

“I haven’t played with her for so long,” she explained. “We have so much fun. At the same time we didn’t talk much when we played … especially when there are three players in the group.”

She said all the talk would distract the other player.

Jutanugarn said the sisters have played together before, but never in the same group on the final day. She said they are sharing the same living quarters this week. But she went on to explain they are very different characters.

“I think we are very nice to each other when we’re on the golf course, but off the golf course I think we not nice to each other,” she joked.

Between siblings, old habits die hard.

“You know, she’s really professional,” Ariya said of her sister. “So her room is so clean. I throw everything. She yells at me every day.”

First-round leader Thidapa Suwannapura carded a 75 and fell six strokes behind the leader.

Canadian Alena Sharp of Hamilton, Ont., slipped in the second round with a 4-over 76 to fall into a tie for 11th after holding 2nd place in the first round.

The Blue Bay tournament is the last of five on the LPGA Tour’s Asian swing.