LEHI, Utah – Patton Kizzire won the Utah Championship on Sunday for first Web.com Tour title, beating South Korea’s Sung Kang with a 3-foot birdie putt on the second hole of a playoff.

Kizzire closed with a 3-under 69 to match Kang at 19-under 269 at Thanksgiving Point. The 29-year-old former Auburn player earned $117,000 to push his tour-leading total to $391,699.

Kang had five back-nine birdies in a 67. He tied for second in the event last year in Sandy.

Kizzire set up his winning putt on the par-4 18th with a wedge shot from 63 yards, after Kang left his 75-yard shot 40 feet short. Kang had birdie chances to win on the final hole of regulation and first playoff hole, but missed 20-foot putts.

Kizzire opened with rounds of 67, 62 and 71 to take a two-stroke lead over Kang into the final round.

Zack Fischer, Garth Mulroy, Tag Ridings, Alex Aragon and Scott Harrington tied for third at 14 under. Harrington shot 66, Mulroy 68, Ridings 69, Aragon 70, and Harrington 71.

Brad Fritsch had a final round 3-under 69 to finish T47. 

CALGARY – Santee, California’s Daniel Miernicki shot a final round 6-under 64 at The Links of GlenEagles on Sunday to win the ATB Financial Classic, his first Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada win.

The three-time All-American at the University of Oregon rolled in a 35-foot birdie putt on the 72^nd hole to finish at 17-under par, then looked on as the final four pairings failed to match his score, giving him the victory by a stroke over Sherwood Park, Alberta’s Danny Sahl and moving him to sixth on the Order of Merit.

“It was moving,” said Miernicki of his winning putt. “It was probably going to go five or six feet by and I was not gonna want to have that putt. When I saw it drop I was just so relived and excited and had all kinds of emotions.”

The second year Mackenzie Tour member, who has split time between Canada and the Web.com Tour this season, began the day four shots off the lead held by Moscow, Idaho’s Chris Williams, but quickly moved to the top of the leaderboard with two birdies and an eagle through his first six holes.

Four more birdies, including his dramatic finisher at the last, offset two bogeys coming in and gave Miernicki a 17-under total. A handful of competitors had opportunities to tie, but when Sahl and France’s Julien Brun were unable to produce eagles at the par-5 finishing hole, Miernicki was in the clear as the champion. Miernicki earned $31,500 for the win.

“At the beginning of the day I thought 18- or 19-under was going to win, but the course was set up tough,” said Miernicki, who admitted the win was a major breakthrough for his young professional career. “It’s been a little bit of a struggle for me. I would have liked to have this success right when I came out of school, but to have it happen now feels amazing. It’s my second year out here, and I’ve played well at times but I really haven’t felt the heat of really coming down the stretch and having a chance to win, so to pull it off feels amazing.”

Now sixth on the Order of Merit, Miernicki said he’ll focus on Mackenzie Tour events for the remainder of the season to try and finish in the top five on the Order of Merit and improve his status on the Web.com Tour for next year.

“[Last year] I had three top-10s but my best finish was fourth and I ended up finishing 36^th on the money list, and you really need top three finishes, let alone a win. Needless to say I’ll be playing the last five events hoping to finish as high as I can,” said Miernicki.

Sahl, a former Mackenzie Tour winner who caddies full-time for Mike Weir on the PGA TOUR, earned $18,900 for his solo second place finish along with Freedom 55 Financial Canadian Player of the Week honours. With the blessing of Weir, who is taking a personal leave of absence from the PGA TOUR, Sahl said he’s all in to resume his playing career and will take it as far as he can.

“I came into the week with low expectations, but I definitely believed in my game and my swing and what I was doing out there, and it paid off. It means I can still compete out here. I’m kind of an older guy and this is a young Tour now. I don’t recognize a lot of the faces, but I’m 35 and I’m in my prime right now so I’m ready to move forward with it,” said Sahl, who won the 2011 Syncrude Boreal Open presented by AECON.

Two shots back in a five-way tie for third was Adam Svensson, who has yet to finish outside the top three in three starts this season, along with Mackenzie Hughes, Julien Brun, Chris Williams and Jonathan Khan, who all posted season-best finishes on the Mackenzie Tour.

MILWAUKEE, Wiss. – Annie Park won the PHC Classic on Sunday for her second Symetra Tour victory in three weeks, beating Lee Lopez with a birdie on the first hole of a playoff.

Park closed with a 72, birdieing the final two holes in regulation to match Lopez at 5-under 211 at Brown Deer Park. Lopez had three back-nine bogeys in a 75.

Park, the 20-year-old former Southern California player from Levittown, New York, earned $15,000 to jump from 15th to seventh on the money list with $42,596 in six starts since turning pro. The final top 10 will earn 2016 LPGA Tour cards.

Park won the Toyota Danielle Downey Classic two weeks ago in Rochester, New York.

Lopez also lost in a playoff in the Volvik Championship in March and has runner-up finishes this season. The former UCLA player made $9,925 to go from sixth to second on the money list with $51,774.

Elizabeth Nagel and Thailand’s Nontaya Srisawang tied for third at 1 under. Nagel shot 76, and Srisawang 73.

In the top 25 were Jessica Wallace with a final round of 75 (T11), Augusta James and Maude-Aimee Leblanc tied for 22nd place.

GAINESVILLE, Va. – Troy Merritt couldn’t miss Saturday in the Quicken Loans National. Tiger Woods couldn’t make anything.

Merritt shot a tournament-record 10-under 61 to top the leaderboard even before the leading contenders teed off. It held up, too, as several players made runs at joining him at 14 under, but only Kevin Chappell, another veteran seeking a breakthrough victory, didn’t fade in the searing heat at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club.

Chappell had a 67. Rickie Fowler (68) was a stroke back, and Jason Bohn (67), Whee Kim (67), Charles Howell III (67) and David Lingmerth (68) followed at 12 under.

Woods, who seemed to signal a return to contending golf Friday with a 66 that moved him within three strokes of the lead, was errant off the tee early and had several birdie putts slide by the hole.

While Merritt had 11 birdies and a bogey on the par-5 eighth, Woods didn’t make his first birdie until a 17-foot putt dropped on the par-4 15th. He hit his tee shot on the 187-yard 16th to inches, flashing a huge smile on the tee box, and then made a bogey at the par-4 18th to finish with a 74. He’ll start Sunday nine shots back.

“I was waiting for the one moment, the one shot. I couldn’t find it,” Woods said, adding that after starting with seven consecutive pars, he thought it might come at the par-5 eighth when his tee shot finally found the fairway.

Instead, his 3-wood approach sailed over the green and he made a bogey.

“I was dead back there, compounding the problem,” he said.

Merritt had long since finished and went into the final round as the leader for the second time this season. He had the lead to himself after the second and third rounds of the RBC Heritage, but finished third.

Merritt had missed five consecutive cuts coming into the week.

“The big thing is we put ourselves into contention for tomorrow and that was the goal,” he said. “I wanted to have a good week this week and I’ve been taking weekends off for two months now.”

Chappell wasn’t as spectacular, but started the day tied for third and more than kept pace with the field.

“You know, I’ve done a really good job of functioning this week,” he said. “‘That’s the grass. That’s the sky. That’s the hole. That’s my ball.’ Shoot the lowest score tomorrow and I win the golf tournament.”

Fowler, starting in the group ahead of the last two, has already won The Players Championship and the Scottish Open this year and hopes to give the leaders something to think about as quickly as possible.

“I’m looking forward to being out in front and making some noise, see if we can chase the guys down early and get things going,” he said.

Charles Howell III, playing with Woods, followed his near-ace at 16 by knocking his tee shot just to just inches, giving them both tap-in birdies, but with larger implications for Howell; the 15-year pro is seeking his first victory since the 2007 Nissan Open.

“I made some birdies and they’re out there,” Howell said. “Got to keep the pedal down tomorrow.”

There was no shortage of players making big moves attacking soft greens and with no wind.

Carl Pettersson and Bill Haas shot 64s to move to 11 under, and Vaughn Taylor had a wild day with 10 birdies and three bogeys in another 64 that moved him into a tie for 15th at 9 under.

No one took greater advantage that Merritt, seeking his first victory in 96 career starts.

“I finally made putts,” he said. “It’s really frustrating the first few days hitting the ball really, really well and having good proximity to the hole and not getting much out of it. Today I hit the ball really well and got a lot out of it.”

He started with five consecutive birdies and six in the first seven holes, and had four birdies in a row and five in six holes in another stretch on the back nine. He closed with a par on the par-4 18th.

Starting fast isn’t unusual, Merritt said, but sustaining it has been challenging.

“Making birdie at No. 12 was a huge momentum gain,” he said, speaking of the 490-yard par 4, that hardest hole on the course through three rounds. “Then went on to birdie 13, 14 and 15 making good putts.”

Defending champion Justin Rose shot a 65 and was among four tied at 11 under. With conditions expected to be similar in the final round, “It’s going to take something I would imagine in the realm of 63” to win, Rose said.

Canadian Adam Hadwin sits at 7-under for the tournament, tied for 21st place after a third-round of 69. Nick Taylor signed for 1-over 72.

TURNBERRY, Scotland – There’s a Ko atop the leaderboard after three rounds of the Women’s British Open.

Just not the one many were expecting.

Jin-Young Ko, a 20-year-old South Korean with no links experience and playing in her first major championship, shot a 3-under 69 on Saturday to share the lead with Taiwan’s Teresa Lu heading into the final round at Turnberry. They have an 8-under total of 208.

Ko’s story is all the more remarkable considering she met her temporary caddie for the week – a locally born, 27-year-old digital advertiser called Jeff Brighton – for the first time on Tuesday. She said she is taking advice from Brighton on every stroke, and hasn’t been adapting her usual game for the links despite the wind and rain that has lashed the Ailsa course.

“I give her a number and a line and she just hits it,” Brighton said after the round. “We’re working well. She trusts my numbers.”

Lydia Ko, the No. 2-ranked golfer looking to become the youngest winner of a major at 18, started the third round in a four-way tie for second place, alongside her namesake on 5 under.

The New Zealander recovered from a double-bogey at No. 1 to shoot a 72 and was three strokes off the lead, with top-ranked Inbee Park (69) and Minjee Lee (70).

Park, who has been acting as a mentor for Jin-Young Ko in her compatriot’s start to her career, is bidding to complete a career Grand Slam.

“Having somewhat of a chance on the last day is just a great opportunity,” said Park, who would be the sixth woman to sweep the majors. “You just keep cracking and someday it’s going to crack.”

Second-round leader Suzann Pettersen was a stroke off the lead after shooting 72 on another day of changeable weather in western Scotland. Mika Miyazato of Japan shot 70 to lie on her own in fourth place.

Jin-Young Ko took the lead outright for the first time when she birdied No. 6 and went two shots clear after another birdie on No. 7. She lost the lead when she bogeyed No. 16 after missing the green with her approach from the middle of the fairway, the only poor shot in her round.

Both Ko and Lu birdied No. 17 and parred No. 18.

“I feel nothing, not even nervous or anything,” said Ko, who has won four events on the Korean tour and played only one event on the U.S. LPGA Tour, in South Korea, where she finished tied for 42nd at the 2014 KEB HanaBank Championship.

Asked if it will be a life-changing experience to be a major champion, the 28th-ranked Ko replied: “If I won, my life will be the same.”

Ko is playing in Scotland for the first time and has been shocked by the weather conditions. She said she has never played in such high winds.

“There are many different seasons in one day – sun, rain, wind,” she said, laughing.

The 30th-ranked Lu shot 69, too, and was also chasing a first major title. She rolled a birdie putt just wide on the 18th hole that would have given her the outright lead.

“I have to try to stay relaxed,” Lu said, “because it’s going to be a tough day tomorrow.”

Rain is forecast all Sunday.

Park has seven come-from-behind victories, including two in major championships – at the 2008 U.S. Women’s Open and 2014 Women’s PGA Championship.

“Three back is not that bad,” Park said.

Alena Sharp shoots a third-round 77 while Brooke Henderson signed for a 79.

BLAINE, Minn. – Thoughts of a 59 crept into Kenny Perry’s mind early in his record-tying round Saturday in the Champions Tour’s 3M Championship.

The defending champion didn’t get that low, but had a hole-in-one and matched the tournament record with an 11-under 61 to take a four-stroke lead into the final round.

Perry has a 14-under 130 total at the TPC Twin Cities. His last 61 came at the Travelers Championship in June 2009 in the last of his 14 PGA Tour victories.

“I thought I needed a low round to get back in the tournament,” said Perry, who began the day five behind Minnesota native Tom Lehman.

Kevin Sutherland and Scott Dunlap are tied for second. Sutherland had a 65, and Dunlap shot 67.

Lehman followed his opening 64 with a 71 to drop into a tie for fourth at 9 under with Bernhard Langer and Marco Dawson. Langer and Dawson each shot 67. Langer won the event in 2009 and 2012 and has two second-place finishes in his previous six appearances. Dawson won the Senior British Open last week in England.

Perry played the first eight holes in 7 under, making an ace on the 188-yard fourth hole, had two birdies on the back nine and closed with an 18-foot eagle putt on the par-5 18th.

“To start out 5 under through four, I had an idea it might be a special day,” Perry said. “I started thinking, `You know what, what is it like to shoot a 59?'”

Perry, who once shot 59 on a par-70 municipal course in a mini-tour event in Nashville, needed just 23 putts.

“That was kind of the story of the day. I had great touch and feel,” he said.

Perry made a 15-foot birdie putt on final hole to beat Langer by a stroke last year, finishing at 23 under. Since the 3M Championship began in 1993, no player has repeated as champion.

“If I can putt like I did today I’m going to like my chances,” Perry said.

Seeking his first win in 24 career Champions Tour starts, Sutherland birdied the first five holes and shot a front-nine 30, but had just one birdie on the back nine when he couldn’t make key putts, including a three-putt on No. 18.

“I’m a little disappointed at the end of the day,” said Sutherland, who shot the tour’s first 59 last August at the Dick’s Sporting Goods Open. “You know that Kenny is kind of running away from you, so you know you have to make some coming in to close the gap a little bit. I wasn’t able to do that.”

Lehman birdied three straight holes early in his round to maintain a three-stroke lead at 11-under, but he tweaked his back on a bunker shot while bogeying the short par-4 seventh and had a double bogey on the par-3 eighth. He recorded par on nine straight holes, until a birdie on the final hole.

“It’s hard to get any kind of rhythm, hard to hit the ball solid,” Lehman said. “I had a hard time bending over to putt.”

The wind that wreaked havoc Friday was absent Saturday, allowing players to be bold and aim for the pins. Saturday’s average score was 69.11; Friday it was 71.99. The wind is expected to increase just a bit for Sunday’s final round.

Larry Nelson shot a 66, bettering his age by one stroke.

ABERDEEN, Scotland – Marc Warren of Scotland holed an approach shot from 59 yards for eagle on the 19th to beat Tyrrell Hatton in an action-packed quarterfinal at the Paul Lawrie Match Play on Saturday.

Warren was 3 down after five holes and needed on-course treatment by the European Tour physio for a back problem. Hatton chipped in for birdie on No. 18 to take the match to extra holes.

“It was one of the most bizarre games I have ever been involved in,” Warren said.

Warren will face Thailand’s Kiradech Aphibarnrat in the semifinals after the third seed came from 3 down after four holes to beat Northern Ireland’s Michael Hoey, 2 and 1.

David Howell of England will take on former Ryder Cup teammate Robert Karlsson of Sweden in the other semifinal.

SANTO DA SERRA, Madeira Islands – Pontus Widegren of Sweden will take a one-shot lead into the final round of the Madeira Islands Open, and hope of a first win on the European Tour.

Widegren offset two bogeys with two eagles before the turn, and finished the third round with a 5-under-par 67 to sit on a total of 16-under 200.

Widegren said he struggled on the greens, and was able to overcome a tough start by hitting “a nice eagle at No. 3” and building momentum.

Tied for second were Scott Henry of Scotland and Roope Kakko of Finland. Henry enjoyed a flawless round of 65 with seven birdies, and Kakko finished his round of 64 with three straight birdies.

Brandon Stone of South Africa (66) was two back, and Bjorn Akesson of Sweden (68) bogeyed his last two holes to drop into fifth on his own, four shots off the pace.

CALGARY – Moscow, Idaho’s Chris Williams fired a course record 9-under 61 on Saturday at The Links of GlenEagles to take the 54-hole lead at the Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada’s ATB Financial Classic.

The former No. 1-ranked amateur and 2013 Ben Hogan Award winner at the University of Washington will take a one stroke advantage over Tucson, Arizona’s Jonathan Khan into Sunday’s final round, sitting at 15-under through three rounds.

“Every time you play a course you get more comfortable. I just had a good vibe feeling after yesterday. I finished really well on the back nine. I knew there were a lot of birdies out there and hit a lot of good shots and made a lot of good putts,” said Williams, who shot 29 on the front including a hole-in-one from 144 yards at the fifth hole.

Williams, a second year Mackenzie Tour player with eight top-25s in 16 career starts, flirted with 59 after going 6-under for his first seven holes and 8-under for his first 14.

“Oh yeah. Definitely,” said Williams of whether golf’s magic number was on his mind. The 24-year old missed a short birdie putt on the 17^th and an eagle putt of about 20 feet on the 18^th that might have secured the sub-60 score. “I thought about it all day. I made the turn in 29 and knew the back nine isn’t tough and I could make some birdies.”

With a chance for his first Mackenzie Tour win on Sunday, the former University of Washington Husky will look to follow in the footsteps of The Players Cup champion C.T. Pan and Syncrude Boreal Open presented by AECON winner Kevin Spooner as former Huskies to win on Tour this season.

“It was just kind of flowing,” said Williams of his round, adding that it was one of the best he could recall of his already strong young career. “This course was playing tough today. The greens are firming up and it was windy. It was a great round, and I can’t take anything bad away from it.”

Khan, who tied the previous course record at GlenEagles with a 62 on Friday, was one back after a 66, with Athens, Georgia’s Mookie DeMoss and France’s Julien Brun two further behind at 13-under. Sherwood Park, Alberta’s Danny Sahl, who caddies for Mike Weir on the PGA TOUR, shot his second 64 of the week to sit three back.

SASKATOON, Sask. – Pearl City, Hawaii native Mariel Galdiano captured the 2015 Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship by one stroke after a final-round 3-under 69 at Riverside Country Club in Saskatoon, Sask.

The 102^nd edition of the championship came down to the final hole between Galdiano and Bethany Wu of Diamond Bar, Calif., with both at 5-under par for the tournament. The 17-year-old Galdiano made par to claim the title as Wu carded a bogey.

“For tournaments, I don’t really focus on ‘I have to win’ or ‘I need to do this or I need to do that,” explained Galdiano, who held the opening-round lead, but needed a strong final day to secure the victory. “Having the lead after the first round was nice, but I knew it was far from over. My mind set was just staying focus and doing well.”

The UCLA commit carded 16 birdies throughout the 72-hole tournament, including three on her last nine holes to close out the competition. The victory earned Galdiano exemptions into the 2015 Canadian Pacific Women’s Open and the U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship.

Galdiano was at a loss for words when asked to reflect on competing in Canada’s National Women’s Open Championship. “Wow, I don’t know. I usually just qualify for the U.S. Open, but being able to qualify for the Canadian Pacific Women’s Open, that’s pretty awesome.”

The No. 29-ranked player on the World Amateur Golf Rankings was the youngest golfer to qualify for the 2011 U.S. Open at 13. She has now competed in three editions of the LPGA major championship (2011, 2013 and 2015) and earned a T42 result this year.

Finishing in solo-second was No. 5-ranked Bethany Wu. The 18-year-old entered the final round in a four-way tie for first and put up a valiant effort, carding three birdies on the back-nine. The Californian finished one-shot short at 4-under 284 for the championship.

Peru’s Lucia Gutierrez, Lauren Greenlief of Reston, Va., and Maple Grove, Minn., native Sarah Burnham completed the tournament in a three-way tie for third at 1-under 287.

Team Canada National Amateur Squad member Maddie Szeryk of London, Ont., completed the competition with a 4-under 68 to mark her low round for the tournament. The 19-year-old moved up nine spots into a three-way tie for sixth and finished as low Canadian.

“I knew I had to shoot really low to get it even close, so I just went for everything,” said Szeryk. “It means a lot to me to be able to come in the Top-10 and be the low Canadian, especially in the Canadian Amateur.”

Galdiano will now turn her attention to the 2015 Canadian Pacific Women’s Open, to be played at The Vancouver Club in Coquitlam, B.C. The 43^rd playing of Canada’s National Women’s Open Championship is set to take place August 17-23.

Additional information and full results are available here.