Andrade wins Boeing Classic for 2nd Champions Tour title
SNOQUALMIE, Wash. – Billy Andrade won the Boeing Classic on Sunday for his second Champions Tour victory and first in an individual event, overcoming trouble early in the final round for a one-stroke victory.
Andrade closed with a 1-over 73 to finish at 9-under 207 at TPC Snoqualmie Ridge. He opened with rounds of 69 and 65 to take a three-stroke lead into the final round.
The 51-year-old Andrade teamed with Joe Duran to win the Legends of Golf in April for his first Champions Tour title. Andrade won four times on the PGA Tour.
Andrade never lost the lead and held off a large chase pack that included Bernhard Langer, Fred Couples and Mark O’Meara.
Langer was second after a 71. Couples (69), O’Meara (68), Guy Boros (68) and Fran Quinn (69) tied for third at 7 under.
Andrade’s 73 was the highest final-round score by a tour winner since Roger Chapman had a 1-over 71 in the 2012 Senior PGA Championship.
Andrade was at 11 under until he got to the fourth where he made triple bogey on the par 4. Andrade’s tee shot went out of bounds, he later needed to take a drop out of the woods and chipped in from off the green to make seven.
Andrade had a bogey on the seventh hole and fell into a tie for the lead, but birdies at Nos. 8 and 12 gave him a three-shot lead and he parred the final six holes to hang on.
Langer started the day in second place, but went 15 holes between birdies before dropping a short putt at the 17th to get back to 7 under. He reached the par-5 18th in two, but his eagle putt slid past the hole and Andrade two-putted to complete the victory. Langer finished in the top three for his fifth straight event and his third straight second place finish.
Couples, the hometown favorite, moved into contention after making eagle on the par 5 eighth, but bogeyed the 11th after his tee shot found the thick rough left of the fairway. He recovered with birdies on Nos. 13 and 14 to reach 6 under but missed a short birdie putt at the 15th and bogeyed the 17th. Couples and O’Meara both eagled the 18th to finish at 7 under.
Patton Kizzire wins Web.com Tour’s News Sentinel Open
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Money leader Patton Kizzire won the News Sentinel Open on Sunday for his second Web.com Tour title of the season.
Kizzire closed with his second straight 7-under 64 to finish at 20-under 264 at Fox Den, four strokes ahead of South Korea’s Si Woo Kim and Canada’s Brad Fritsch.
The 29-year-old former Auburn player earned $99,000 to push his season total to $512,553. He also won the Utah Championship last month.
Kim finished with a 66, and Fritsch had a 67.
Sam Ryder wins National Capital Open to Support Our Troops
OTTAWA – Longwood, Florida’s Sam Ryder prevailed in a sudden-victory playoff over Richmond Hill, Ontario’s Taylor Pendrith on Sunday at Hylands Golf Club to win the National Capital Open to Support Our Troops, his first Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada victory.
The win moves Ryder to second position on the Order of Merit with four events to go in the 2015 season, in position to earn status on the Web.com Tour for next season.
“I’m at a little bit of a loss for words right now, but it feels really good,” said Ryder.” I was already in great shape and had some really solid finishes this year. This feels really good and I think it solidifies myself as one of the contenders out here for sure.”
Ryder and Pendrith began the day tied for the lead, and went back-and-forth for much of the day, trading birdies, with both players shooting bogey-free rounds of 5-under 66. After returning to the 18th hole for a sudden-victory playoff, Pendrith had a 10-foot birdie putt to win, but hit it through the break and missed a short comebacker to make bogey.
A four-foot par putt was all that separated Ryder from his first Mackenzie Tour win, and the Stetson University grad poured it in to secure the title.
“It was hard to watch the [Pendrith’s] birdie putt. Honestly, I just wasn’t expecting him to miss that second one. I didn’t really want it to end like that, but I’ll take it,” said the 25-year old Ryder, a second-year member on the Mackenzie Tour. “You couldn’t really draw it up better than the way we went back-and-forth all day with no bogeys through 18 regulation holes. It was just a lot of good golf from both of us, and a lot of pressure and a lot of fun.”
“It’s unfortunate that the first bogey of the day had to come in a playoff, but that’s the way it goes,” said Pendrith, a member of Golf Canada’s Young Pro Squad. The 24-year old moved to seventh on the Order of Merit with his second playoff loss of the season. “I take a lot of positives away. Played really good and made a lot of putts. I’m feeling really confident with my game. It’ll be good moving forward. Anytime you’re in a playoff or in contention on Sunday you’re always happy, it’s just unfortunate.”
For Ryder, who entered the week 11th on the Order of Merit, the win affirms what has been a breakthrough season, with three prior top-10 finishes.
“Until you win, you don’t know for sure. You assume your game’s good enough and you get yourself in contention, but until you actually finish it off and close the deal, you don’t really know. It’s nice to get a little monkey off my back,” said Ryder.
Otsego, Minnesota’s Clayton Rask briefly tied the lead at 19-under with a birdie on the 14th hole before finishing solo third at 18-under.
Horsey completes 2-shot victory at Made in Denmark
AALBORG, Denmark – David Horsey overcame a late stumble to win Made in Denmark by two shots on Sunday despite a 2-over 73 in the final round.
The Englishman, who led from the first round, bogeyed the 14th and 16th holes but finished with two pars for a 13-under total of 271. Four players tied for second, including Kristoffer Broberg of Sweden who surged up the leaderboard with a course-record 62.
Terry Pilkadaris of Australia joined Horsey atop the leaderboard briefly during the round but also finished two shots back, along with David Gaunt (66) and home favorite Soeren Kjeldsen (68).
Broberg made nine birdies in a bogey-free round at the Himmerland Golf & Spa Resort.
Team Canada’s Papineau and St-Germain capture titles at Graham Cooke Junior Invitational
BROMONT, Qué. – Team Canada Development Squad members Étienne Papineau of St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Qué., and Grace St-Germain of Ottawa each took home titles on Sunday at the Graham Cooke Junior Invitational hosted at Golf Château-Bromont.
Papineau, 18, notched his third victory in his home province this season after shooting 9-under par (68-67) for the one-stroke win over Félix Normand of Mont-St-Hilaire, Qué. in the boys division.
With the win, the West Virginia University commit marked the end of his junior career in great fashion—adding to an impressive season highlighted by wins at the Québec Amateur Championship and the Alexander of Tunis. The two-time provincial junior champion finished in a tie for third in last year’s Graham Cooke Invitational.
In the girls division, 17-year-old Grace St-Germain repeated as champion for the second consecutive year to win the title for a third time. St-Germain posted an even-par score (70-74) for the tournament, fending off a charge from Céleste Dao of Notre-Dame Ile Perrot, Qué., to defend her title with a one-stroke victory.
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Ko and Kung share lead heading into final round of Canadian Pacific Women’s Open
Coquitlam, B.C. (Golf Canada) – Lydia Ko and Candie Kung share the 54-hole lead heading into the final round of the Canadian Pacific Women’s Open.
“Overall I played really solid today, so I’m happy with the way I’m hitting it and the way I’m putting it,” Ko said. “I think every round, unless I shoot 18-under par, I’m probably going to say, hey, I knew it could have been better. But no, I’m playing solid, and that’s the mind-set I’ve got to have and just have fun out there tomorrow.”
Ko recorded four birdies against a lone bogey on 18 to shoot a 69. Kung’s play was more up-and-down with four birdies and three bogeys.
“Feeling pretty good today,” Kung said. “I hit the ball good and it was actually one of the best ball-striking days I had all week. Just missed a couple putts here and there. Those were all wrong reads. But I’m hitting it good, putting it good.”
Ko will be looking to become just the third golfer to win three Canada’s National Women’s Open Championship titles, joining Meg Mallon and Pat Bradley.
Kung, a four-time winner on the LPGA Tour, is coming off of her best finish of the year with a tie for second at the Cambia Portland Classic last week and will be looking for her first victory since the 2008 Hana Bank-KOLON Championship.
“I’m actually very relaxed,” Kung admitted. “After what I went through last week, I’m actually feeling quite comfortable where I’m at right now.”
Chasing Ko and Kung in the penultimate group will be Alison Lee, who shot a third-round 65 to sit two shots back and Karine Icher who is three back at 9-under.
Alena Sharp remains the top Canadian after a 1-under 71 has her tied for 28th at 2-under for the championship. The Hamilton native will look to go even lower Sunday.
“I want to go out and have a good Sunday here,” Sharp said. “I didn’t look at the scoreboard out there, but a 67 or 68 tomorrow would be nice.”
Brooke Henderson recovered from a rough start to shoot an even-par round of 72. The 17-year-old from Smiths Falls, Ont., missed a short birdie putt on her opening-hole, had a bogey on the second hole, and then hit the water on No. 3 for a double-bogey.
Henderson, who had sister Brittany as her caddie Saturday, settled down with birdies on No. 6 and No. 7. and then put together a string of pars before ending the day with a birdie to get her round back to even-par.
The final-round gets underway Sunday at 8:40 am PT with the final pairing teeing-off at 2:50pm PT. Tickets are still available at the gate and kids 17 and under are free.
Billy Andrade leads Champions Tour’s Boeing Classic
SNOQUALMIE, Wash. – Billy Andrade made a 10-foot birdie putt on the par-5 18th hole for a 7-under 65 and a three-stroke lead Saturday after the second round of the Champions Tour’s Boeing Classic.
The 51-year-old Andrade had eight birdies – three in a row on Nos. 13-15 – and a bogey to reach 10-under 134 at TPC Snoqualmie Ridge. The four-time PGA Tour winner teamed with Joe Duran to win the Legends of Golf in April for his first Champions Tour title.
Bernhard Langer and Jeff Freeman were tied for second. Langer, the 2010 winner, had a 66, and Freeman shot 68.
Langer, who turns 58 Thursday, birdied five of the final six holes. The German star is trying to tie Gil Morgan for third place on the tour’s career victory list with 25.
Freeman got into the tournament as an alternate. He has three top-10 finishes in 33 Champions Tour starts.
Fred Couples, from Seattle, was tied for fourth at 4 under after a 71.
Rod Spittle of St. Catharines, Ont., leads the Canadian contingent with a share of ninth-place. The 60-year-old carded a 3-under 69 and is part of an eight-way tie. Stephen Ames sits tied for 32nd following a 74 while Jim Rutledge finished the day with a 79.
Pendrith, Ryder share 54-hole lead in Ottawa
OTTAWA – Richmond Hill, Ontario’s Taylor Pendrith and Longwood, Florida’s Sam Ryder reached 15-under par through 54 holes at Hylands Golf Club on Saturday to share the lead heading into the final round of the Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada’s National Capital Open to Support Our Troops.
The 24-year old Pendrith held a two stroke lead playing the 18th hole before finding the water with his approach and making double bogey, leaving him in a tie with Ryder with one round to go at Hylands.
Uniontown, Ohio’s Ross Beal and Otsego, Minnesota’s Clayton Rask, who holed his 82-yard approach on the 18thfor eagle, were one shot back at 14-under in a tie for third.
“I played solid, hit the ball really well and made a lot of putts, so I can’t be too disappointed. It would have been nice to hit it in the fairway on 18 and a make a par, but that’s alright. It’s nothing that can’t be fixed tomorrow,” said Pendrith, a member of Golf Canada’s Young Pro Squad.
“I played well all day and had a nice little stretch on 13 through 16. I was hitting it in the fairway and my irons were pretty good today,” said Ryder, a second year Mackenzie Tour player who sits 11th on the Order of Merit. The Stetson University grad shot a 7-under 64, including four straight birdies on the back nine.
Pendrith began the day playing in the final group with Beal, the 36-hole leader, with the pair of long bombers ranking among the longest hitters on Tour. Pendrith said the back-and-forth battle off the tee spurred both competitors on Saturday afternoon.
“It was fun. We both hit it really far and we were both swinging very hard on almost every tee ball. He made five or six birdies and an eagle and I made nine birdies, so it was a lot of fun,” said Pendrith, a graduate of Kent State University.
Ryder, meanwhile, played with current Mackenzie Tour Order of Merit leader J.J. Spaun, who shot his third straight 4-under 67 to sit tied for fifth. Ryder said the amicable atmosphere in their pairing was the perfect tone-setter for his round of 64, which included four straight birdies on the back nine on holes
“We had a good time. J.J.’s a buddy of mine. We talked before the round and said ‘Let’s go out here and get it, feed off each other a little.’ It’s nice when you both can start making some birdies and get it going, it definitely helps you and gets the juices going,” said Ryder.
Three shots back of the lead were Spaun and Zimbabwe’s Nyasha Mauchaza at 12-under. 12 players were within five shots of the lead at 10-under or better heading into Sunday.
NUMBERS YOU NEED TO KNOW
82: Clayton Rask’s yardage to the hole on his second shot at the par-4 18th, which he holed for eagle.
20: Taylor Pendrith’s number of birdies through 54 holes.
12: Players within five shots heading into Sunday.
QUOTABLES:
“Last year was my first year out here and this year has been steady. I’ve put myself in some good positions. Hitting the shots under the most intense pressure you can get out here. It’s just about being patient and waiting for your time, and when it comes, it comes.” – Sam Ryder on the value of a year’s experience on the Mackenzie Tour.
“I was five yards short of the green and he was like seven yards short. It was a good way to start the day and keep the crowd in it. I saw him swing and he went at it, so I couldn’t let him hit it by me.” – Taylor Pendrith on he and Ross Beal’s drives on the 365-yard first hole.
“I hit it good. It was funny, [Rask and caddie Don Constable] just got done saying ‘how fun would it be to hole out?’ and sure enough it happened. It’s just ironic. For all the good putts that I hit today that lipped out, some good wedge shots that didn’t do it that I thought would, to hit one and it actually do exactly what we wanted it to do, it’s exciting.” – Clayton Rask on his hole out from the fairway on 18.
Notes:
- Weather: 24 degrees Celsius (27 with Humidex). Mostly sunny. Winds 4 km/h.
- Sam Ryder can move as high as no. 2 on the Order of Merit with a win. He needs at least $10,695 and a solo third finish to pass no. 5 Michael Letzig, who sits T22 through 54 holes.
- National Capital Open Golf Ambassador Brad Fritsch sits T6 at the Web.com Tour’s News Sentinel Open through 54 holes.
- Taylor Pendrith is a member of Golf Canada’s Young Pro Squad along with fellow Mackenzie Tour members Mackenzie Hughes, Albin Choi, Corey Conners and Adam Svensson.
- Pendrith is also a member of Freedom 55 Financial’s Team Freedom, along with fellow Mackenzie Tour members Matt Hill, Albin Choi, Mackenzie Hughes and Adam Svensson.
- Pendrith can move as high as No. 2 on the Order of Merit with a win and needs at least a solo second place finish to get inside The Five.
Woods 2 strokes behind Gore after 3rd round at Wyndham
GREENSBORO, N.C. – Tiger Woods couldn’t have asked for much more at his first Wyndham Championship.
He’s playing with confidence. His scores show it. And now he’ll play a Sunday round that matters.
Woods shot a 2-under 68 in the third round Saturday, leaving him two strokes behind leader and longtime friend Jason Gore in a three-way tie for second.
Gore had a career-best 62 to reach 15-under 195 at Sedgefield Country Club.
“I need to go out there tomorrow and make a run and get myself up there and make some birdies,” Woods said. “There’s a bunch of guys … at 13 (under). There’s a whole slew of guys at 12, 11, 10. Anybody can make a run and shoot the score Jason and Jonas (Blixt) did.”
Woods – whose streak of 28 holes without a bogey ended on the 18th when his 6-foot par putt lipped out – reeled off 10 straight pars before briefly moving within one stroke of Gore with a birdie on the par-3 16th.
“I felt very steady from the word `go,'” Woods said.
Blixt and Scott Brown joined Woods at 13 under. Blixt shot a career-best 62, and Brown had a 66.
Former Wyndham winners Webb Simpson (64) and Brandt Snedeker (67) were three strokes back along with Paul Casey (66), Jim Herman (66) and Cameron Percy (67).
Woods was poised to make a run at his first win in more than two years – one that would earn him enough points to clinch a spot in the FedEx Cup playoffs opener next week in New Jersey. Depending on the math, a solo second-place finish also might be enough for Woods, who’s at No. 187.
“I think it’s awesome to see him playing well again, to see him playing like Tiger Woods,” Gore said, “because that’s what we all want to see.”
He also moved one step closer to his 80th PGA Tour victory – and first since the 2013 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational.
Playing the Wyndham for the first time in an effort to hone his game and earn a spot in The Barclays, Woods is attempting to win a tournament in his first try for the first time since 1999 – when he won the WGC-Cadillac Championship in Spain.
For him, this day was about consistently making pars – 15 in all, including a remarkable save on the 10th with a 24-foot putt.
“The putter just felt really good. My pace, I felt like I could be aggressive,” Woods said. “I took a few runs at putts and ripped them past the hole, but I never felt like I was going to miss any of them. I took a rip at them. Some I made, some I didn’t.”
His only birdie on the back nine was an important one. He plopped his tee shot on 16 about 12 feet from the hole and rolled in the putt to move to 14 under before giving that stroke back on his final hole.
That bogey prevented a final Sunday pairing with Gore – who was instead paired with Blixt. Gore says he’s known Woods “since we’ve been 12 years old” as kids in California.
Gore started the round six strokes off the lead. He took over the top spot at 14 under with a birdie on the 15th, then closed with another on the 18th – hitting his second shot to 7 to set up his ninth birdie of the day.
At No. 166 on the points list, Gore put himself in position for his second career win on tour and his first since the 84 Lumber Classic in 2005. He has just 15 top-10 finishes in the past decade.
“Contrary to popular belief,” Gore quipped, “I’m still a good golfer.”
His big round came in relative anonymity because once again, an overflow crowd followed Woods’ every move.
Woods began the day sharing the lead with rookie Tom Hoge at 11 under, but claimed sole possession for the first time with a birdie on the first hole.
Blixt joined him at 12 under moments later, then jumped ahead with a birdie on the 17th. Woods caught him by rolling in a 5-foot birdie putt on the fifth before Gore shot past them both.
Still, Blixt has given himself a shot to make the playoffs and earn his tour card for next year. He’s at No. 135 on the points list and No. 147 on the money list, and said he’d be “very pleased if I secured my job.
“A win will take care of that,” he added. “Shoot another 62, I should have a good chance.”
Erik Compton, a two-time heart transplant recipient who shared the first-round lead, withdrew before his third round with an injured left ankle but says he’s hopeful of playing in The Barclays.
Had he pulled out a day earlier, the cut line would have moved to 2 under and 19 more players – including bubble players Michael Putnam (No. 134) and Tom Gillis (No. 138) would still be around this weekend.
Abbotsford, B.C., native Adam Hadwin finished the round 4-under 66 on the strength of five birdies and an eagle on the par-5 fifth hole. He is 8-under for the competition and is T27.
Henderson recovers to shoot even par at Canadian Pacific Women’s Open
COQUITLAM, B.C. – Just when it looked like her game was going off the rails, Brooke Henderson recovered to shoot an even par round of 72 Saturday at the Canadian Pacific Women’s Open.
The 17-year-old from Smiths Falls, Ont., who became the centre of attention after her LPGA Tour win last weekend, remains at 1 over heading into Sunday’s final day of the US$2.25-million tournament.
Henderson had a bogey on the second hole, then hit the water on No. 3 for a double-bogey. She settled down with birdies on No. 6 and No. 7. Despite some putting problems. she put together a sting of pars before ending the day with a birdie.
“It was a really rough start,” Henderson sighed after the round. “I am happy to finish with the birdie on 18.
“You feel good about the round even though maybe I shouldn’t be.”
After shooting a respectable 2 under on Thursday’s opening day, Henderson ballooned to a 3-over-75 Friday on the 6,681-yard, par-72 Vancouver Golf Club course. That left her at 1 over and just on the line that made the cut.
Having her older sister Brittany caddie Saturday helped iron out some of the wrinkles in her round.
“She knows me probably better than I know myself sometimes,” said Henderson. “Someone that tells me what to do when I’m not playing well, and tells me what to do when I am keeping it on a roll, that’s really important.”
Henderson and her playing partner Sadena Parks, of Raleigh, N.C., were the first pair to tee off at 8:30 a.m. They still attracted a large gallery, most hoping to see the young, rising star in Canadian golf.
“It was a very early tee time, much earlier than I would have liked,” joked Henderson. “They (the crowd) were there pretty much from the get go, an amazing crowd.
“It makes it exciting being able to play in front of your home crowd. Even though you are not playing your best, you still have the whole country behind you.”
Henderson has been in the spotlight all week. She was granted her Tour card on Tuesday after becoming the youngest Canadian to win an LPGA or PGA event with her victory last weekend at the Cambia Portland Classic.
That produced extra attention from the media and more focus from fans. She attracted large crowds while playing and swarms of autograph seekers when stepping off the course.
The win in Portland moved Henderson to No. 17 in the world rankings and boosted her earnings over US$660,000.
Despite struggling at times Henderson said the week has been a learning experience and she’s looking forward to Sunday’s final round.
“There has been a lot of positives this week, which is always good,” she said. “I know I can take a lot from it and learn from it.
“I will just go out there and shoot a decent number and hopefully climb up the leaderboard a bit.”