PGA TOUR

Ryan Moore takes lead in Valspar Championship

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Ryan Moore (Mike Lawrie/ Getty Images)

PALM HARBOR, Fla. – Ryan Moore had no trouble explaining how, after 12 consecutive pars to start the third-round of the Valspar Championship, he birdied four of the final six holes Saturday.

“I just hit it closer,” he said.

The result was a 4-under 67 that pushed Moore to a 54-hole total of 9-under 204 and a one-shot lead over Jordan Spieth on Innisbrook Resort’s Copperhead course.

Spieth shot 68. Derek Ernst was another stroke back after a 69.

The field was like a crowded freeway early before Moore finally opened up some space. When the final pairing of Brendon de Jonge and Spieth reached its fifth hole, they were part of an eight-way tie for the lead at 5 under. Another seven players were a shot back. Twenty-seven were within three.

While de Jonge, who led by one after 36 holes, shot 75 and fell off the pace, Moore, seeking his fifth career win, moved steadily along in the swirling wind until sprinting to the finish.

“Any day around this golf course with no bogies is pretty good especially the spots where I hit it,” Moore said. “I was able to save par really low in the middle of my round, made some good putts but had some good chip shots. Was able to get it rolling there and make some birdies coming in.”

The first birdie, coming on the 200-yard par-13th with a 6-iron to 8 1/2 feet, was the springboard.

“It was not an easy par 3 especially with that wind,” Moore said. “It was hard to figure out whether it was really helping or more across. Obviously, you don’t want to get that wrong with water short and with trouble long, you don’t want to go long of that green.

“Stepped up and hit a great iron shot there, left myself nice 8-, 9-footer right below the hole and knocking that in kind of got me going there on the backside.”

Spieth was tied for the lead until Moore’s birdie at 18. Spieth saved par at that hole with a one-putt from 6 feet.

“I got a lot of confidence at the end right there with my putter,” Spieth said. “I had those 6-, 7- footers that, you know, when I’m close but not quite there those are the ones that slide by the hole because I just kind of baby it a little bit and hit confident putts coming in. Hopefully, that does a lot of good for me tomorrow.”

Nine players are within five shots, all aiming at Moore.

Six shots back of Moore is Canada’s Nick Taylor, who is 3-under and tied for 10th after his third straight 70.

Brantford, Ont.’s David Hearn (+1) is tied for 44th and Abbotsford, B.C. native Adam Hadwin (+5) is tied for 63rd.

PGA TOUR

Brendon De Jonge takes lead at Innisbrook

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Brendon de Jonge (Sam Greenwood/ Getty Images)

PALM HARBOR, Fla. – Brendon de Jonge rolled in a pair of long putts on his way to a 2-under 69 and the 36-hole lead Friday in the Valspar Championship. Based on the holes remaining, he is halfway home to his first PGA Tour title.

Considering how many players are still in the mix – essentially everyone who made the cut – the weekend might feel even longer.

Only seven shots separated de Jonge from the players who made the cut on the number, the first time the first-to-worst gap has been that small since the 2011 British Open at Royal St. George’s.

“Obviously, gives you a good chance for the weekend,” de Jonge said. He was at 6-under 136, the highest score to lead after 36 holes at Innisbrook in six years.

De Jonge said that after he finished his round in the morning, uncertain how hard the wind would blow and who might get hot with the putter. The wind died, no one could sustain a great round without a few mistakes and he had the 36-hole lead for the fourth time in his career.

But not by much.

Jordan Spieth made a birdie putt from the fringe on the 18th for a 4-under 67 to match the best score of the round. Henrik Stenson, playing the Copperhead course for the first time and apparently enjoying it, made eagle on his first hole and wound up with a 70.

They were one shot behind, along with Ryan Moore (68), Kevin Streelman (69) and Derek Ernst (70).

Ernst, who had only one round in the 60s this year, ran off five straight birdies around the turn to reach 8-under par until he started missing greens, missing putts and making bogeys to fall one shot behind de Jonge.

“Starting the day if you told me I would have shot 1 under I would have been very happy with it,” Ernst said.

Lucas Glover had a 69 and joined Moore and Streelman as the only players to break 70s for both rounds. He was two shots behind, along with Sean O’Hair (72), Ricky Barnes (72) and Ian Poulter (70). Poulter hasn’t been to Innisbrook since 2010, and he was asked what had kept him away.

“Because I’m a buffoon,” Poulter said. “I mean, stupid. This golf course I can compete on because it’s fiddly, it’s position off the tee, small greens, need to chip it well, good pace putting when you’re above the hole. All those things I do well.”

Poulter recalls the greens being sloppy the last time he played, and so he instructed his caddie to never allow him to return. Seven holes into his pro-am round, he said he told his caddie, “What the … was I doing not being here?”

Justin Thomas (72) and Vijay Singh (70) were in the group at 3-under 139, with Luke Donald (68), Matt Kuchar (70) and Patrick Reed (68) among those four behind.

Adam Scott is about the only guy who doesn’t have a chance because he didn’t make the cut. Scott missed four putts from inside 5 feet on his way to a 75 and missed the cut by three shots. It’s the first time he had the weekend off at a golf tournament since the 2012 Byron Nelson Championship.

What makes Innisbrook so mysterious is that players are irritated by the shots they left out on the course, only to realize they’re not in bad shape. Such was the case of Stenson, who made a 25-foot eagle on his opening hole, a 20-foot birdie putt on his final hole and nothing but pars and two bogeys in between.

“I didn’t get it close enough to give myself too many birdies,” Stenson said. “All in all, pretty pleased.”

Spieth rammed in a 20-foot birdie on the third hole that he said left a ball mark on the back of the cup. So that was a good break. He made a 30-foot birdie on No. 6 and rolled it in from 18 feet on the final hole. That was enough to put him in the final group, even if he’s not sure how he got there.

“This is one of those random places where you feel like you should have shot better than you did, but you’re not out of it,” he said. “You can make birdies. The problem is there is trouble around every corner.”

There was even trouble in the fairway. Early in the round, Charley Hoffman stopped when he saw a 10-foot alligator walking across the third fairway.

“We weren’t going anywhere fast,” Hoffman said. “And neither were we.”

Leading the Canadian contingent into the weekend is Nick Taylor, who is sitting at 2-under 140 after matching 70s.

David Hearn (70-73) and Adam Hadwin (68-75) have a share of 57th at 1-over.

PGA TOUR

Woods skipping Arnold Palmer Invitational, won’t rule out Masters

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Tiger Woods (Scott Halleran/ Getty Images)

PALM HARBOR, Fla. – Tiger Woods will not be at Bay Hill for the Arnold Palmer Invitational, the second tournament he has missed since stating a month ago that he would not return to golf until his game was ready.

Woods still wasn’t ruling out the Masters in a brief statement Friday on his website.

“I’ve put in a lot of time and work on my game and I’m making strides,” Woods said. “But like I’ve said, I won’t return to the PGA Tour until my game is tournament ready and I can compete at the highest level.”

He said he spoke to Palmer on Friday to tell him he would not be at his tournament.

Woods is an eight-time winner at Bay Hill. This will be the second straight time he has missed the Arnold Palmer Invitational. A year ago, he had a back injury that led to surgery a week after the tournament, causing him to miss the Masters for the first time.

“I hope to be ready for the Masters, and I will continue to work hard preparing for Augusta,” Woods said in his statement.

Woods has fallen to No. 79 in the world, his worst ranking since the week before he won his first PGA Tour event as a 20-year-old in 1996. If he does not play leading up to the Masters, he will be out of the top 100 when _ or if _ he gets to Augusta.

Two tournaments remain before the Masters – the Valero Texas Open and the Shell Houston Open. Woods has not played the Texas Open since 1996. He has never played the Houston Open, and he has never played the week before the Masters.

The decision ramps up speculation on the state of Woods – his mind and his game – leading to Augusta.

He has played only 47 holes this year. Woods missed the cut in the Phoenix Open with a career-high 82 in the second round. A week later, he withdrew after 11 holes at Torrey Pines for tightness in his lower back.

He said on Feb. 11 that his scores were not acceptable and that he would not return until his game was up to his standards.

Since back surgery on March 31 of last year, Woods has completed only two 72-hole events. He finished 69th in the British Open, 23 shots behind Rory McIlroy. And he tied for last in an 18-man field at the Hero World Challenge at Isleworth, a course he has played more than any other.

Most shocking about his debut in 2015 was his short game, a collection of bladed shots and chunks that have led to debate over whether he has the yips.

PGA TOUR

Adam Scott misses first cut in nearly 3 years

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Adam Scott (Sam Greenwood/ Getty Images)

PALM HARBOR, Fla. – Adam Scott packed up his bags and headed to the next tournament, a common sight except for one tiny detail.

This was only Friday.

Scott missed four putts inside 5 feet in the second round and shot a 4-over 75 to miss the cut at the Valspar Championship, ending the longest active streak on the PGA Tour. Scott had gone 45 straight PGA Tour events – and 57 events worldwide – without missing a cut.

“It had to happen eventually,” he said.

Even so, Scott raised his cap and scratched his head when asked the last time he had a weekend off at a golf tournament. He finally remembered the Byron Nelson Championship in May 2012.

Scott used a conventional putter for the second straight week after having used a long putter anchored to his chest the previous four years, including his Masters victory. He tied for fourth in his 2015 debut – and his debut with a short putter – last week at Doral.

“It was pretty scrappy out there,” Scott said. “Some loose shots, and some loose lag putts and some loose short putts. There’s not many courses we play you can get away with that. I’ve got to tighten it up a little bit. Overall, I feel pretty good. There’s a lot of good stuff in there.”

Scott said no one should be surprised if he used the long putter at Augusta National, adding with a smile that “it’s nice to have options.” But he wasn’t alarmed that he ranked No. 141 out of 144 players at Innisbrook in the key putting statistic.

“I feel fine with it,” he said. “It can happen. You can miss some short ones. Obviously, it’s not what you want and there’s no excuse. But there’s a couple of things I’d like to make an adjustment with on different greens, different green speeds.”

He used the long putter in practice this week, and said it helps as a training aid. “I see myself practicing with it forever,” he said.

Scott couldn’t help but smile when he suggested one problem he faced this week at Innisbrook. He was a little tired, even though he had a three-month break. His wife gave birth to their first child, and he is in the middle of six weeks away from home.

“If you can blame fatigue after a layoff, in fairness, I feel like I’ve crammed more into my last month than I have in a year,” he said. “With the birth, spending nine days at home with a newborn, coming over and practicing and play in an event, all in three weeks … I feel like a lot has happened. I’ve been certainly sleeping soundly this week. I think it’s just getting back adjusted to everything.”

Scott came up just 97 starts short of matching the consecutive cut record held by Tiger Woods from 1998 to 2005.

“Just missed it,” he said with a heavy dose of sarcasm.

He missed the cut, but the Australian didn’t miss a single autograph request for the next 15 minutes as he worked his way along a rail fence, signing Masters flags, golf balls and taking a half-dozen selfies with fans.

The active cut streak on tour now belongs to Steve Stricker at 35. Stricker has not played since the PGA Championship last August.

 

PGA TOUR

Davis chips in to take lead at Valspar Championship

PALM HARBOR, Fla. – Brian Davis takes pride in his short game, which saved him from a rough finish Thursday and gave him the lead in the Valspar Championship.

Coming off back-to-back bogeys, Davis chipped in from 25 feet on the ninth green at Innisbrook for a 6-under 65, giving him a one-shot lead over past champion Sean O’Hair and Ricky Barnes after the opening round.

For the 40-year-old Davis, it was the perfect finish to go with what had been an ideal start. Starting on the back nine of the Copperhead course, he missed three birdie chances inside 15 feet and still went out in 30. There wasn’t a hint of trouble until a three-putt from 45 feet on No. 7 and a poor chip at the par-3 eighth that led to bogey.

And right when he thought he had hit a good approach on No. 9, he heard nothing.

“I expected a clap and nobody clapped,” he said.

His chip came out with more over-spin because of the grain in the grass and might have gone about 6 feet by the hole except that it struck the pin.

“Delighted,” the Englishman said.

O’Hair, the 2011 RBC Canadian Open champion, got even more evidence that his game is turning around by making eight birdies in the morning for a 66. Barnes, playing in the afternoon, was tied for the lead until he three-putted the par-3 17th from 35 feet and missed a 12-foot birdie putt on the last hole.

Henrik Stenson, at No. 3 the highest-ranked player in the field, made his debut at Innisbrook by dressing in the same colors as the volunteers, though it wasn’t intentional, and none of the volunteers had matching pants to go with his periwinkle shirt.

He didn’t like the swing he had on the range, though he hit enough good iron shots early on to get by. Stenson hit wedge into the par-4 ninth for a final birdie and a bogey-free 67. He was in a group that included Justin Thomas and Puerto Rico Open winner Alex Cejka.

Thomas opened with nine straight pars, a bogey on the par-5 first hole, and then five birdies.

Stenson played with Adam Scott, who made four straight bogeys on his back nine that ruined a good round. He had a birdie on the final hole for a 71. Also in the group was Jordan Spieth, slowed by a double bogey in his round of 70.

“Fell asleep out there for about 30 minutes,” Scott said.

The Copperhead course didn’t have a lot of bite with its green, soft conditions. Thomas was among those who had mud on the golf ball, which led to his bogey at No. 1. It still was the sturdy test that makes it so popular. Even without much wind and a mostly overcast sky, the course average was about 71.4

“The golf course was there – no wind and fairly soft – so you have to try to make your score today if you could,” Davis said.

It wasn’t there for John Daly. He opened with a double bogey when he three-putted from 5 feet. He later four-putted for triple bogey on the 14th hole. A birdie on the final hole gave him an 81, but there was a sliver of good news at the end of his long day. He wasn’t selected for drug testing.

“No, that’s tomorrow,” said Daly, with a grin.

He said on his SiriusXM radio show Tuesday that night the PGA Tour didn’t have random testing because he has been picked at Innisbrook the last six years.

O’Hair won at Innisbrook in 2008, though he has fallen on lean times. He has had to earn his card at the Web.com Tour Finals each of the last two years.

“The last two years have been disappointing for me,” O’Hair said. “I lost really everything. I lost my ball-striking and kind of lost my mind, lost confidence as far as how I play the game because I like to hit a lot of different shots and I got very swing-oriented.”

Canada’s Adam Hadwin grabbed a share of 10th spot Thursday after an opening-round 68. He wasn’t the only Canadian to start off well.

Nick Taylor and David Hearn both opened with 70s and are tied for 28th.

PGA TOUR

Daly complains tour’s drug tests aren’t random

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John Daly (Michael Cohen/ Getty Images)

PALM HARBOR, Fla. – John Daly remains angry over what he claims to be an anti-doping policy on the PGA Tour that is not random.

Daly says he’s doesn’t mind getting tested for drugs and says he has never failed a test. But he was irritated because he says he gets tested every year at the Valspar Championship and that he has to keep from using the bathroom on the back nine.

On his SiriusXM radio show Tuesday night, Daly says PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem and Andy Pazder – the tour’s chief of operations – need to get off their back sides and fix the problem. He says players know at which tournaments they will be tested.

Daly says other players feel the same way and that he took one for the team.

 

PGA TOUR

Grand Slam of Golf moves to Trump National in LA

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Pete Bevacqua, Donald Trump and Derek Sprague (Kevork Djansezian/ Getty Images)

RANCHO PALOS VERDES, Calif. – The Grand Slam of Golf is moving to Trump National in suburban Los Angeles this fall.

The multi-year agreement between the PGA of America and the Trump Organization was announced Tuesday.

The event will be played Oct. 19-21 in its return to the U.S. mainland for the first time since 1993. It features the winners of golf’s four majors: the Masters, U.S. Open, British Open and PGA Championship.

Trump National, whose owner Donald Trump attended the announcement, features a 7,242-yard, par-71 layout with lakes, massive bunkers, waterfalls and scenic views.

Golf Channel will air the event.

The course also will host the PGA Junior League championship on Oct. 17-19.

 

PGA TOUR

Johnson ready to move on, but is the public?

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Dustin Johnson (Mike Ehrmann/ Getty Images)

DORAL, Fla. – Whether by choice or coercion, Dustin Johnson sat out for six months.

That much should not be forgotten as Johnson, fresh off another World Golf Championship title that renewed his credentials as an elite player, tries to move forward even as there are lingering questions about his past.

And those questions linger in part because the PGA Tour doesn’t release all information about suspensions.

“We don’t think the fans really want to know about most of the stuff we would be talking about,” Commissioner Tim Finchem said Sunday. “We don’t think there’s a large volume of it, and we don’t think much of it is very serious.”

Heading into the final major of last year, Johnson was No. 5 in the Ryder Cup standings, a lock to make his third straight team. He was No. 4 in the FedEx Cup, poised for a shot at a lucrative payoff. And then he walked away under curious circumstances by announcing a leave of absence in a statement that contained words like “personal challenges” and “mission of self-improvement.”

The PGA Tour said nothing except to wish him well, and to deny a report by Golf.com that Johnson was suspended for six months. Golf.com reported Johnson failed three drug tests, the last two for cocaine, including in 2012 when he missed three months for what he said was a back injury from lifting a jet ski out of the water.

Six months later, Johnson looks as good as ever.

In the last five weeks, he has tied for fourth at Pebble Beach, lost in a playoff at Riviera and won at Doral.

There was a vibe on Twitter and in the locker room at Riviera when Johnson was in the playoff that it was not right for him to leave quietly and return with so little inspection. Johnson was helped because most of the attention went to Tiger Woods and his lost tooth and lost game.

Johnson received no earnings in golf tournaments for six months. He has averaged $164,183 per tournament in his career and missed at least seven tournaments he ordinarily would have played.

The tour is required under its anti-doping policy to announce a suspension (but not the substance). There have been two cases in seven years. But when it comes to recreational drugs, the tour conveniently tucks that under its ubiquitous “conduct unbecoming a professional” category, in which the tour is not required to publicly disclose anything. And it rarely does.

Conduct unbecoming could be a 3-iron that gets hurled into the water or any other fit of frustration. It could be comments that disparage another player. It could be marijuana.

John Daly was hearing rumors in late 2008 that he had been suspended for life because of a series of incidents. He called The Associated Press to set the record the straight: He was only suspended for six months. The AP called the PGA Tour, which said it does not comment on discipline.

Finchem said it doesn’t make sense to announce a fine when it would only serve to remind people of something “that five people saw on the fourth green.” Then again, millions of television viewers heard Patrick Reed berate himself over a three-putt in Shanghai by using a gay slur. The only comment came from Reed, who apologized.

By not saying anything, the tour creates a vacuum filled with speculation, innuendo and rumors.

These are what follow Johnson.

When asked if the Golf.com report on the failed drug trusts were accurate, Johnson said “no” in an interview with the AP and then quickly and politely said he was done answering those questions.

They came up again when Johnson won the Cadillac Championship. And he will face more questions if he wins a major.

Finchem said there are some cases that require comment, though his analogy of a brawl, such as a player “slugging somebody in the stands,” didn’t resonate.

“When we get into substance abuse, it’s kind of in between,” Finchem said. “I mean, I can see some of the benefits of dealing with that differently. Thus far, we have chosen not to.”

And here’s where it gets sticky. If a player is mysteriously absent for a period of time – maybe he needs to clear his head, or even work on his chipping – speculation easily follows that he might be suspended. Even if the tour says otherwise, how much credibility does it have?

“If it triggers a situation where a player is stepping away from the game, or maybe being suspended, but we really don’t know, does that create confusion?” Finchem said. “And that’s one point that we are giving some thought to on that particular situation.”

Meanwhile, the PGA Tour is inviting you to draw your own conclusions. That’s safe for the tour. Is it fair to the player?

PGA TOUR

Dustin Johnson back to golf, back to winning

DORAL, Fla. – A month after he returned from his curious leave of absence, Dustin Johnson was posing with another big trophy.

In a power show Sunday on the Blue Monster, Johnson was flawless on the back nine and blasted two big drives to finish off a 3-under 69 and win the Cadillac Championship for his second World Golf Championship title.

Johnson took advantage of a collapse by J.B. Holmes, who lost a five-shot lead and closed with a 75 to finish one shot behind. Masters champion Bubba Watson opened with four birdies in seven holes to lead by two shots, only to make three bogeys in a four-hole stretch on the back nine. He shot 71 and finished two behind.

Johnson won for the ninth time in his PGA Tour career and moved to No. 6 in the world.

It looked as though the 30-year-old Johnson was never gone.

He returned just five weeks ago from a six-month leave of absence to seek professional help for what he described only as personal challenge. Golf.com reported in August that Johnson had failed a cocaine test for the second time, and that he previously was suspended in 2012 under similar circumstances.

Johnson only said, “No,” when asked if he failed a drug test in an interview before his return.

The swagger was back at Trump National Doral, especially on the finishing holes. But when he tapped in for par, it was clear this victory meant more than the others. He walked off with fiancee Paulina Gretzky – the daughter of hockey great Wayne Gretzky – and their son, Tatum, who was born in January.

“I knew I was really good,” Johnson said. “I knew there was something I was missing that could make me great. I was working hard on that, and I think it’s showing right now. … It’s tough. I’m so excited right now, I can’t hardly talk. It feels great. The one definitely, by far, is the best one.”

One day after Johnson made a hole-in-one on the par-3 fourth hole, he nearly did it again, missing the cup by an inch. That was his first birdie, and two birdies on the par 5s around the turn drew him closer as Watson began to slip.

Watson laid up into the rough on the par-5 12th hole, caught a plugged lie in a bunker and made his second straight bogey to create a three-way tie for the lead with three of the longest hitters in golf. Johnson took the lead for the first time when he made a 10-foot par putt on the 14th hole, and Holmes missed his par from 6 feet.

The pivotal moment came on the par-3 15th, when Johnson rolled in a birdie from just inside 15 feet for a two-shot lead.

He made all the right moves the rest of the way.

Johnson finished at 9-under 279, adding to the WGC title he won in Shanghai at the end of 2013. He was on top of his game, one of golf’s most athletic figures who already had contended in three majors. Then came the indefinite leave, forcing him to miss the Ryder Cup and the FedEx Cup playoffs.

And now he’s back.

In five tournaments, he has missed the cut twice, lost in a playoff at Riviera and tied for fourth at Pebble Beach.

It was the second close call this year for Holmes, who lost in a playoff at Torrey Pines. It was a struggle from the start, and Holmes lost his five-shot lead in the first 30 minutes, and fell behind with three bogeys in his opening six holes.

His lone birdie was a two-putt on the 293-yard 16th hole, but he didn’t have good birdie chances on the final two holes. And Johnson didn’t make any mistakes. He twice hit tee shots over 300 yards on the two closing holes, the last hole so bold that it challenged the corner of the water. It sailed right over, and Johnson was on his way.

Watson went bunker-to-bunker on the 11th for bogey, made another on the 12th and drove into the trees on the 14th for another bogey.

Adam Scott (71) and Henrik Stenson (72) tied for fourth, though they were five shots behind.

Rory McIlroy got his 3-iron back, the one he heaved into the water on the eighth hole Friday. A diver retrieved and Donald Trump delivered it to him on the range. McIlroy used it on the 18th hole and hit into the water for a double bogey and a 72. The world’s No. 1 player, who missed the cut in the Honda Classic last week, tied for ninth.

PGA TOUR

Alex Cejka wins Puerto Rico Open in 5-man playoff

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Alex Cejka (Michael Cohen/ Getty Images)

RIO GRANDE, Puerto Rico – Alex Cejka won the Puerto Rico Open on Sunday for his first PGA Tour title, making a 15-foot birdie putt on the first hole of a five-man playoff.

The 44-year-old Czech-born German won in his 287th start on the PGA Tour. A four-time European Tour winner, he birdied four of the first six holes and finished with a 3-under 69 in rainy, windy conditions at Trump International-Puerto Rico.

“I’m speechless,” Cejka said. “I’m glad it’s over. It’s been a grinding week, tough week. The first victory is always the toughest. … These guys are good. I mean this is the slogan. At least I can say I played the PGA Tour for a long time and I won. So that’s a good sentence I can use when I retire.”

Sam Saunders, Arnold Palmer’s grandson, had a chance to force another playoff hole, but his 8-foot birdie try on the par-5 18th went to the right.

“I really felt like I hit a pretty good putt there,” Saunders said. “It went right on me and I was playing it inside the hole. I’m still proud. I had a great week … just good things going forward. Happy for Alex. He’s been out here so long and he’s been a great player for a long time. He deserves it. I’m very happy for him. Hopefully, I’ll have more chances like this.”

Jon Curran, Tim Petrovic and Argentina’s Emiliano Grillo also were in the playoff.

Grillo and Curran shared the lead at 8 under with one hole left in regulation, but closed with bogeys in the second-to-last group.

“Nobody even thought that two guys could make bogey on the last,” Cejka said.

Grillo missed a short par putt and settled for a 70.

“It’s definitely a tough one,” Grillo said. “But I would take a playoff at the beginning of the week and have a chance to win the tournament. It’s hard. … It feels like I should have won this tournament by four or five shots.”

Cejka had already changed clothes, thinking he had no chance to get in a playoff.

“If that would be a long par 4, people can make bogey, but a par 5 downwind – they moved the tees up – and two guys bogeyed,” Cejka said. “The odds were not that good. I changed. I had everything ready to go to the airport and almost was very satisfied with a third finish. And suddenly it changed, and here I am. And I’m very, very pleased. I don’t think I’m going to sleep tonight.”

He quickly changed back into golf attire.

“We had a couple of minutes,” Cejka said. “I had shorts on and a T-shirt and I had everything packed. Luckily, there was one more group, the final group coming, so I changed. But I didn’t hit balls. Some of the guys were hitting balls in the rain or putting. But I literally just put some fresh clothes on me and some dry clothes and I was ready to go.”

Curran also had a 70.

“I’m really proud of myself to put myself in the position that I was in. It was just kind of a surreal place to be,” Curran said. “I had a chance to win. I was right there.”

Petrovic shot a 67, and Saunders had a 68

Scott Brown, the 2013 winner playing in the final group, had a chance to get into the playoff with a birdie on the final hole, but made a bogey to drop into a tie for 10th at 5 under. He finished with a 73.

Canadian Adam Hadwin held a share of 5th heading into Sunday’s round, but carded a 2-over 74 to drop into a tie for 27th. The Abbotsford, B.C. native had four bogeys and two birdies in the final round.

Calgary’s Stephen Ames was the only other Canadian to make the 36-hole cut. He tied for 47th after a 70.