Harman gagne le Championnat Wells Fargo, Nick Taylor T8

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(Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)

Brian Harman a calé un roulé de 30 pieds pour un oiselet au dernier trou, ce qui lui a permis de remporter le Championnat Wells Fargo et de priver Dustin Johnson d’une quatrième victoire d’affilée.

Harman a raté une approche coupée à partir de l’arrière du vert au 18e trou, une normale-5, alors que sa balle a tout juste atteint le tapis. La table était mise pour une prolongation à trois avec Johnson et Pat Perez, mais Harman a fermé la porte avec un superbe roulé pour la victoire.

Il a remis une carte de 68 (moins-4) pour terminer le tournoi à moins-10 et mettre la main sur un deuxième titre en carrière sur le circuit de la PGA.

Johnson, qui s’était blessé au dos en chutant dans les escaliers avant le début du Tournoi des Maîtres, en avril, avait tout juste respecté le couperet. Il a enchaîné avec deux rondes de 67 au cours du week-end et il était en tête avant de voir Harman inscrire des oiselets à ses deux derniers trous.

Perez a bouclé sa ronde en 68 coups.

Nick Taylor, d’Abbotsford, en Colombie-Britannique, a inscrit un score de 71 pour conclure le tournoi à égalité au huitième rang à moins-6. Mackenzie Hughes, de Dundas, en Ontario, a joué 73 et a terminé à égalité au 31e rang à moins-2. Brad Fritsch, d’Ottawa, a bouclé sa ronde en 78 coups pour aboutir à égalité au 71e rang à plus-8.

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PGA TOUR

Harman denies Johnson 4th straight win, Nick Taylor T8

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(Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)

Brian Harman made a 30-foot birdie putt on the final hole Sunday to win the Wells Fargo Championship and deny Dustin Johnson the chance at a fourth straight victory.

Johnson, in his return from a freak back injury that knocked the world’s No. 1 player out of the Masters, went from making the cut on the number to a 67-67 weekend at Eagle Point and appeared headed for a playoff with Harman and Pat Perez.

Harman won it with a birdie-birdie finish, none bigger than the par-5 18th.

After going so long on his second shot that he needed relief from behind a corporate tent, Harman hit a heavy chip that barely got onto the green. From just under 30 feet away, the putt dropped into the centre of the cup and set off a wild celebration, with Harman repeatedly shaking his fists and leaping to share a hard hug with his caddie, Scott Tway.

Harman closed with a 4-under 68 for his second PGA Tour victory.

“It’s surreal,” Harman said. “I three-putted that 15th hole, knew it was going to be tough to birdie those last couple. But I stuck to my game plan and just did it. Did the best I could.”

And it was just enough.

Johnson was playing for the first time in six weeks because of his slip down the stairs the day before the Masters that led to him pulling out. A quick start allowed him to lurk behind the leaders all day, and he holed a 15-foot birdie putt on the 18th that gave him a share of the lead.

Then, he was alone in the lead when others started to stumble – Perez with a double bogey on No. 14, Harman with the three-putt bogey on the 15th and Patrick Reed, the 54-hole leader who made four bogeys in a six-hole stretch on the back nine.

Perez bounced back strong with birdies on the 16th and smart play on the 18th, taking on the water that runs along the right side of the hole and laying up to trust his short game. He hit a pitch up the slope to 4 feet for birdie and a 68.

Perez headed upstairs to the clubhouse to hang out with Johnson, and when Harman left himself a long birdie chance on the 18th, they were gearing up for a playoff. And then they weren’t.

Canadian Nick Taylor finished T8 at 6-under par, his second top-10 finish of the season. His first was a T10 at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. Taylor was under par in all four rounds this weekend.

Jon Rahm of Spain, one of five players who had at least a share of the lead on the back nine, was the last player with a chance if he were to make eagle on the final hole, like he did when he won at Torrey Pines in January. But his approach sailed over the green, and his chip never had a chance.

Rahm closed with a par for a 71 to finish alone in fourth.

Reed shot 40 on the back nine for a 75 and fell out of the top 10. He played in the final group with Alex Noren of Sweden, who closed with a 77.

Harman’s only other victory was the John Deere Classic in 2014 that sent him to the British Open. This victory gets him back to the Masters, which he has played only one time, along with other perks of winning.

Johnson watched someone else leave with the trophy for the first time since Feb. 12, when he finished third behind Jordan Spieth at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. Johnson ran off three straight victories against the strongest fields of the year to date, including a pair of World Golf Championships.

And then came the mishap at the Masters, when he suffered a deep bruise on his lower back from the tumble down the stairs while still wearing only socks. This was his first time playing in six weeks, and while there were signs of rust, he looked like the same old Johnson over the weekend as he tried to make up ground and almost did.

“I didn’t have a lot of time off, so I didn’t really know what to expect this week because I didn’t really get to practice leading into this tournament, either,” Johnson said. “Not much has changed. The first couple days I didn’t play that great, but really played nicely on Saturday and Sunday and so I’m happy with where the game is going into next week.”

Johnson had three birdies in six holes to lurk behind the leaders the rest of the day, and he kept pace with birdies on the 12th and 13th. His second shot on the par-5 12th hit the front of the green and was rolling back toward the water, stopping 8 inches away. He got up-and-down for birdie, the kind of break winners need.

Harman had other ideas.

The full leaderboard can be seen here here.

Korn Ferry Tour

Canadian Adam Svensson finishes T6 in Punta Cana

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(Steve Dykes/Getty Images))

Canadian Adam Svensson, of Surrey, B.C fell short in his bid for his first Web.com Tour victory Sunday, finishing T6 at the Corales Puntacana Resort and Club Championship.

Svensson finished at 17-under, three shots back of winner Nate Lashley. Svensson’s T6 finish is his best ever result on the Web.com Tour.

His top finish prior to this weekend was a T9 at the 2016 LECOM Heath Challenge.

Svensson birdied the first hole to move into a tie for the lead, but didn’t make another until the 12th hole, recording 10 straight pars.

After another birdie on 15, he was two shots back at 18-under. That was as close as he got, before bogeying the par-3 17th.

This is Svensson’s third career top-10 finish on the Web.com Tour.

The full leaderboard can be seen here.

PGA TOUR

Patrick Reed leading after three rounds at Wells Fargo, Nick Taylor T8

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(Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)

Patrick Reed birdied his final two holes for a 5-under 67 to surge into the lead Saturday at the Wells Fargo Championship, but not by much.

With one round remaining at Eagle Point, the tournament remains wide open, even for Dustin Johnson.

Reed stuffed a short iron into 4 feet on No. 17 and reached the 580-yard 18th hole in two for a two-putt birdie, giving him a one-shot lead over John Rahm of Spain and Alex Noren of Sweden.

Noren missed a 5-foot birdie putt on the last hole that would have tied Reed at 8-under. Noren and Rahm each shot 69.

Seventeen players were within four shots of the lead. That includes Phil Mickelson (69) and Johnson, who had a 67 despite missing a half-dozen chances from inside 15 feet on pure greens. Mickelson and Johnson are both 4-under.

Canadian Nick Taylor sits T8 after a 1-under round of 71. He started strong on the front nine pouring in two birdies and no bogeys.

On the back nine, Taylor was up-and-down, recording three birdies and two bogeys. He’s three strokes behind Reed. Fellow Canadian Mackenzie Hughes is T19 at 3-under.

The second-round was finished this morning due to a three-hour rain delay Friday. 36-hole leader Franceso Molinari is part of a group of four at 6-under.

The full leaderboard can be seen here.

LPGA Tour

Michelle Wie outlasts Angel Yin in Lorena Ochoa Match Play

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(Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)

 

Michelle Wie rallied to beat Angel Yin on Saturday in the Lorena Ochoa Match Play to join Ariya Jutanugarn, Sei Young Kim and Mi Jung Hur in the semifinals.

Four down after 11 holes at Club Golf Mexico, Wie twice rallied to tie the long-hitting Yin and won with a birdie on the par-5 20th hole.

“I think it was the definition of survival out there,” Wie said. “She played so good. She eagled two and six. I think she was 5 under in seven holes. She played great. I’m really proud of my caddie for motivating me and keeping me in my head. And we fought so hard out there.”

Wie set up a match against Kim, a 5-and-4 winner over Karine Icher in the event that switched from stroke to match play and moved from November.

Wie is winless since the 2014 U.S. Women’s Open. She won the then-Lorena Ochoa Invitational in stroke play in 2009 in Guadalajara for her first tour title.

The third-ranked Jutanugarn lost a 3-up lead to Cristie Kerr before finishing off the 39-year-old American with a par on the 19th hole. Kerr won three weeks ago in Hawaii and lost to Haru Nomura last week on the sixth hole of a playoff in Texas.

“The greens here are really hard to read, the speed, everything,” Jutanugarn said. “Cristie hit some really good putts, but they just didn’t go in. … My tee shot was pretty good all day, I just have to work on my putting.”

Hur had two 1-up victories, knocking off top-ranked Lydia Ko in the round of 16 in the morning and edging Shanshan Feng 1 up in the afternoon.

Yin had a 4-up lead after seven holes, and that was the margin after her birdie win on the par-5 11th. Wie won four of the next five holes – two with birdies, and two with pars – to tie it. Yin rebounded to win the par-5 17th, and Wie took the par-4 18th with a par to force extra holes.

“I knew how quickly things could end, so I just kind fought through,” Wie said.

The 19-year-old Yin, from Arcadia, California, is an LPGA Tour rookie after playing last season on the Ladies European Tour.

In the round of 16 in the morning, Wie topped Marina Alex 5 and 4; Yin beat Sandra Gal 3 and 2; Jutanugarn defeated Pernilla Lindberg 5 and 3; Kim edged Charley Hull 3 and 1; Feng beat Canadian Brooke Henderson 1 up; Icher topped Angela Stanford 1 up; and Kerr knocked out Cydney Clanton 3 and 2.

Ko advanced far enough in the tournament to keep the No. 1 ranking.

“I was struggling with ball-striking today and I was not good with my putt, either,” Ko said. “So, those two combinations, it was obviously not very good.”

The event is the LPGA Tour’s first match-play tournament since 2012. Tomorrow morning’s semi-final matches are listed below.

5 Mi Yung Hur KOR vs. 2 Sei Young Kim KOR

1 Ariya Jutanugarn THA vs. 9 Michelle Wie USA

The consolation match will tee-off at 12:30 CT and the championship match at 12:45 CT.

The full leaderboard can be viewed here

Korn Ferry Tour

Canada’s Svensson T3 after round three in Punta Cana

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(Steve Dykes/Getty Images)

Canadian, Adam Svensson, of Surrey, B.C continued his solid play at the Web.com Tour’s Corales Puntacana Resort and Club Championship Saturday. He fired a three-under par, 69, and is one shot back of leaders, Kyoung-Hoon Lee, and Rafael Campos.

For the second straight day, Svensson was four-under par after the front nine, thanks to four birdies and no bogeys.

A double bogey on the par-4 15th dropped him to 2-under for the day. He rebounded with a birdie on the par-4 18th to finish the day three-under.

Svensson – who will tee off in the penultimate group tomorrow – is looking for his first career victory on the Web.com Tour. He has two career top-10s, his best result a T9 at the 2016 LECOM Health Challenge.

He told the PGA’s Adam Stanley after his round that he’s happy to be in a chasing position heading into Sunday.

The full leaderboard can be seen here

PGA TOUR Americas

Horacio Leon wins Mackenzie Tour Q-School

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(Mackenzie Tour - PGA of Canada)

Santiago, Chile’s Horacio Leon shot a 2-under 70 on Friday at Crown Isle Resort and Golf Community in Comox, British Columbia to earn medalist honours at the Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada’s Canada Q-School.

The 27-year old, whose older brother is two-time Mackenzie Tour winner Hugo Leon,
cruised to victory by five shots over Bear, Delaware’s Eric Onesi and Camarillo, California’s Johnny Ruiz to secure exempt status for the 2017 season.

“I feel great. I didn’t play my best, but I knew yesterday was good enough to give me
some space to go around and be able to not stress about any putts that didn’t go in,”
said Leon, who built three-stroke lead yesterday with a sparking 65. “All in all, I’m super
happy to have exempt status this year.”

The win completes an arduous journey back from arthroscopic ankle surgery just over
three months ago, with this week’s Q-School representing Leon’s first tournament since
the procedure.

“It’s never good to get any kind of surgery done, but after trying to come back as fast
possible and in the best shape I could, it really gave me something that I didn’t have
before,” said a smiling Leon.

Onesi, who claimed medalist honours at Crown Isle in 2015 and competed in Canada over the past two seasons, carded a 72 to guarantee a return to the Mackenzie Tour this year, while Ruiz returns after having conditional status in 2015.

Three Canadians earned status at Crown Isle this week. The top Canadian, Riley Wheeldon, of Comox, B.C – who grew up playing Crown Isle – finished 6th at 11-under par, earning exempt status for the first four events of the season in the process.

“It wasn’t my best week, but I did what I needed to do. Now my goal is to play as well as
I can early and ideally turn those four events into an entire season,” said Wheeldon.

Former Team Canada National Squad member, Blair Hamilton, finished T22 at -4 under par to earn conditional status in his first full season as professional. Robbie Greenwell also earned conditional status finishing T33 at 1-over par.

Other notable qualifiers include Derek Barron who will be competing at the RBC Canadian Open Qualifier at Bear Mountain Resort on Monday, and fifth place finisher, Max McGreevy, a 3rd-team NCAA All-American at Oklahoma in 2016.

Below is a breakdown of the exemptions won at Crown Isle this week.

1st – Exempt for 2017 season
5th – Exempt for first 8 events, subject to 2nd reshuffle
16th – Exempt for first 4 events, subject to 1st reshuffle
40th – Conditional status.

The full leaderboard can be seen here

PGA TOUR

Hurley, Power share lead in rain-delayed Wells Fargo; Hughes, Taylor T12

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(Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)

Billy Hurley III and Seamus Power of Ireland were atop the leaderboard after a day of wind, rain and a second round at the Wells Fargo Championship that didn’t finish.

A violent storm overnight and into Friday morning dumped nearly 2 inches of rain on Eagle Point Golf Club and forced a three-hour delay. Hurley had a 3-under 69, while Power shot 71 and joined him at 5-under 139.

Jon Rahm of Spain was among those one shot back.

Dustin Johnson, in his first tournament since his slip down the stairs that knocked him out of the Masters, was 2 over for the round, five shots behind. He was through 13 holes.

Phil Mickelson made double bogey on his last hole for a 72 and was at 143.

Canadian’s Nick Taylor and Mackenzie Hughes are both T12 at -3.

See who finished their round and the full leaderboard here.

Korn Ferry Tour

Canada’s Adam Svensson 3rd place after 36 holes at Corales Puntacana

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Adam Svensson of Surrey, B.C recorded eight birdies on route to a 7-under par round (65) at the Web.com Corales Puntacana Resort and Club Championship. He’s 12-under par for the championship and is two shots back after 36-holes.

Svensson rebounded well after dropping four strokes in his final two holes on Thursday. He went out in bogey-free 4-under par 32, thanks to back-to-back birdies on holes three and four, then again on holes seven and eight.

He got as low as 8-under for the day before making his lone bogey on the par-4 16th.

The 23-year-old had two top-10s on the Web.com Tour last year and his best result this season was a T20 at the Chitimacha Louisiana Open presented by NACHER. His round of 65 is one off his career best of 64 on the Web.com Tour.

The full leaderboard can be seen here.

LPGA Tour

Henderson advances at Lorena Ochoa Match Play

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Ariya Jutanugarn won a sister showdown Friday in the Lorena Ochoa Match Play, and Lydia Ko, Michelle Wie and Cristie Kerr also advanced at Club de Golf Mexico.

The third-ranked Jutanugarn edged older sister Moriya 2 up in the second round.

“Today we had fun because we are sisters – and we always have fun,” Ariya said. “She plays so good. I can’t believe I beat her today because she’s so good.”

Ariya will face Pernilla Lindberg in the round of 16 in the event that switched from stroke to match play and from November to April.

Ariya never trailed against Moriya.

“We always say, ‘Just have a good day,”’ Moriya said. “We know that we both are going to try our best, play our games. We don’t try to be easy on each other. Hopefully, next time we are not on the same pool and don’t have to see each other so early in the week.”

Ko beat Jennifer Song 1 up to guarantee staying No. 1 in the world.

Wie topped Laura Gonzalez Escallon 3 and 2, and Kerr defeated Jenny Shin 4 and 3.

Wie eagled the par-5 second hole for the second straight day. She made a 20-foot birdie putt on No. 11 to take a 3-up lead.

“I’m happy with how I played,” Wie said. “It was a fun but tough match. I am happy the way I’m playing, and just happy to survive.”

Kerr won three weeks ago in Hawaii and lost to Haru Nomura on Sunday on the sixth hole of a playoff in Texas.

Ko will play Mi Jung Hur, a 20-hole winner over Suzann Pettersen.

Wie set up a match against friend Marina Alex.

“We are already texting each other. We do dinner every night,” Wie said. “It’s going to be fun, it’s going to be a lot of gifs sent tonight or over in the course of the day.”

Alex beat Brittany Lang 5 and 4.

Kerr will face Cydney Clanton, a 19-hole winner over Caroline Masson.

Charley Hull beat Pornanong Phatlum 2 and 1, a day after a fainting spell midway through the back nine in her first-round victory over Nelly Korda.

“It was probably a bug in the morning and it got worse and worse in the afternoon, probably from dehydration,” the 21-year-old Englishwoman said.

Hull will play Sei Young Kim, a 3-and-2 winner over Danielle Kang.

Shanshan Feng outlasted Sarah Jane Smith in 22 holes. She will play Brooke Henderson, a 2-and-1 winner over Ryann O’Toole. Henderson was 2 down after 11.

“I knew I had some work to do,” Henderson said. “I was able to do make four birdies in a row that helped my momentum. I played great today … and she played great too. It was just an awesome match.”

Angela Stanford beat Olympic champion Inbee Park 3 and 2.

Carlota Ciganda, the November winner in stroke play at Club de Golf Mexico in the then-Lorena Ochoa Invitational, dropped out with a 21-hole loss to Karine Icher. Stanford will play Icher.

Lindberg beat Brittany Lang 4 and 3.

The event is the LPGA Tour’s first match-play tournament since 2012.

Below are the match-ups for tomorrow’s round of 16. Click here for full leaderboard.

LORENA OCHOA BRACKET
7:30 a.m. – Lydia Ko, NZL vs. Mi Jung Hur, KOR
7:40 a.m. – Shanshan Feng, CHN vs. Brooke Henderson, CAN

ANNIKA SORENSTAM BRACKET
7:50 a.m. – Ariya Jutanugarn, THA vs. Pernilla Lindberg, SWE
8 a.m. – Cydney Clanton, USA vs. Cristie Kerr, USA

JULI INKSTER BRACKET
8:10 a.m. – Michelle Wie, USA vs. Marina Alex, USA
8:20 a.m. – Sandra Gal, GER vs. Angel Yin, USA

SE RI PAK BRACKET
8:30 a.m. – Angela Stanford, USA vs. Karine Icher, FRA
8:40 a.m. – Sei Young Kim, KOR vs. Charley Hull, ENG