HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. – C.T. Pan took advantage of Dustin Johnson’s back-nine meltdown to win the RBC Heritage for his first PGA Tour victory.

The 27-year-old Pan, from Taiwan, closed with a 4-under 67 on Sunday at Harbour Town Golf Links for a one-stroke victory over Matt Kuchar. Pan finished at 12-under 272.

The top-ranked Johnson, the third-round leader in his home-state event, had a 77 to tie for 28th at 4 under. He played a five-hole stretch in 7 over, making bogeys on Nos. 11-13 and double bogeys on Nos. 14-15.

Pan took the lead for good with a 9-foot birdie putt on the par-4 16th.

Kuchar closed with a 67.

Patrick Cantlay, Scott Piercy and Shane Lowry tied for third at 10 under. Cantlay and Piercy shot 69, and Lowry had a 70.

Pan headed to the practice range after the round to keep ready in case of a playoff, then raised his arms in triumph when told he’d won. He earned $1,242,000, a PGA Tour exemption through 2020-21 and spots in next month’s PGA Championship and next year’s Masters. He’s the RBC Heritage’s fourth straight first-time winner.

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Congrats to our friends at the @RBCHeritage for a successful tournament week. And, congrats to @ctpan63 for earning his first @PGATOUR win ?#PlaidNation

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AUGUSTA, Ga. – Fallen hero, crippled star, and now a Masters champion again.

Tiger Woods rallied to win the Masters for the fifth time Sunday, a comeback that goes well beyond the two-shot deficit he erased before a delirious audience that watched memories turn into reality at Augusta National.

Woods had gone nearly 11 years since he won his last major, 14 years since that green jacket was slipped over his Sunday red shirt. He made it worth the wait, closing with a 2-under 70 for a one-shot victory and setting off a scene of raw emotion.

He scooped up 10-year-old Charlie, born a year after Woods won his 14th major at Torrey Pines in the 2008 U.S Open. He hugged his mother and then his 11-year-old daughter Sam, and everyone else in his camp that stood by him through a public divorce, an embarrassing DUI arrest from a concoction of painkillers and four back surgeries, the most recent one just two years ago to fuse his lower spine.

“WOOOOOOO!!!” Woods screamed as he headed for the scoring room with chants of “Tiger! Tiger! Tiger” echoing as loud as any of the roars on the back nine at Augusta National.

“It’s overwhelming, just because of what has transpired,” Woods said in Butler Cabin. “Last year I was lucky to be playing again. At the previous year’s dinner, I was really struggling. I missed a couple of years not playing this great tournament. To now be the champion … 22 years between wins is a long time. It’s unreal to experience this.”

Woods lost his impeccable image to a sex scandal, one of the swiftest and most shocking downfalls in sport.

He lost his health to four back surgeries that left him unable to get out of bed, much less swing a club, and he went two years without even playing a major. It was two years ago at the Masters when Woods said he needed a nerve block just to walk to the Champions Dinner. At that time, he thought his career is over.

Now the comeback is truly complete.

He wrapped his arms around his father when he won his first green jacket in 1997, changing the world of golf.

“Now I’m the dad with two kids there,” he said.

He wanted his children to see him win, once saying they saw him only as a YouTube legend. They were at the British Open when he had the lead briefly. They couldn’t make it to East Lake last September, when he won the Tour Championship for his first victory in five years.

“I wasn’t going to let that happen to them twice,” he said. “To let them see what it’s like to have their dad win a major championship, I hope it’s something they’ll never forget.”

Woods won his 15th major, three short of the standard set by Jack Nicklaus. It was his 81st victory on the PGA Tour, one title away from the career record held by Sam Snead.

“A big ‘well done’ from me to Tiger,” Nicklaus tweeted. “I am so happy for him and for the game of golf. This is just fantastic!!!”

It was the first time Woods won a major when trailing going into the final round, and he needed some help from Francesco Molinari, the 54-hole leader who still was up two shots heading into the heart of Amen Corner.

And that’s when all hell broke loose at Augusta.

Molinari’s tee shot on the par-3 12th never had a chance, hitting the bank and tumbling into Rae’s Creek for double bogey. Until then, Molinari had never trailed in a round that began early in threesomes to finish ahead of storms.

And then it seemed as though practically everyone had a chance.

Six players had a share of the lead at some point on the back. With the final group still in the 15th fairway, there was a five-way tie for the lead. And that’s when Woods seized control, again with plenty of help.

Molinari’s third shot clipped a tree and plopped straight down in the water for another double bogey. Woods hit onto the green, setting up a two-putt birdie for his first lead of the final round.

The knockout punch was a tee shot into the 16th that rode the slope just by the cup and settled 2 feet away for birdie and a two-shot lead with two holes to play.

Xander Schauffele failed to birdie the par-5 15th and scrambled for pars the rest of the way for a 68. Dustin Johnson made three straight birdies late in the round, but he got going too late and had to settle for a 68 and a return to No. 1 in the world.

Brooks Koepka, one of four players from the final two groups who hit into the water on No. 12, rallied with an eagle on the 13th, narrowly missed another eagle on the 15th and was the last player with a chance. His birdie putt on the 18th from just outside 10 feet never had a chance, and he had to settle for a 70.

“You want to play against the best to ever play,” Koepka said. “You want to go toe-to-toe with them. I can leave saying I gave it my all. He’s just good, man.”

Wood finished at 13-under 275 and became, at 43, the oldest Masters champion since Nicklaus won his sixth green jacket at 46 in 1986. That for years has stood as Augusta’s defining moment.

This was one is sure to at least rival it.

“This is definitely, probably one of the greatest comebacks I think anybody’s ever seen,” Koepka said, before rattling off Woods’ total PGA Tour victories and 15 majors.

Is the Nicklaus record back in play?

“I think 18 is a whole lot closer than people think,” Koepka said.

Koepka and Molinari both faced Tigermania in the majors and held their own, Molinari at Carnoustie to win the British Open, Koepka last summer at Bellerive to win the PGA Championship.

Molinari went 49 straight holes without a bogey, a streak that ended on the seventh hole. It was the double bogeys that cost him, and the Italian was gracious as ever in defeat.

“I think I made a few new fans today with those double bogeys,” he said.

AUGUSTA, Ga. – Francesco Molinari blocked out the buzz from Tiger Woods charging up the leaderboard Saturday at the Masters and produced solid golf that looks spectacular only on the scorecard.

Molinari played bogey-free for the second straight round at Augusta National and took advantage of the rain-softened course for a 6-under 66, giving the British Open champion a two-shot lead going into a Sunday like no other at the Masters.

Because of severe storms in the forecast, the final round will start off hours early, teeing off on both sides and with players in threesomes instead of pairs. Officials hope that speeds up the finish to early afternoon, ahead of the rain.

That puts Woods in the final group of a major for the first time since the 2009 PGA Championship at Hazeltine, where he gave up a two-shot lead on the final day to Y.E. Yang.

Woods made three straight birdies on the front and finished with three birdies over his last six holes for a 67, his best score at the Masters since the final round in 2011. Joining them will be Tony Finau, playing this year on two good ankles after a self-inflicted injury a year ago . He was part of a history-making Saturday as one of three players to shoot 64.

Molinari was at 13-under 203, two shots ahead of Woods and Finau.

“Obviously, he’s playing great,” Molinari said of Woods. “But a lot of guys are playing great. I wish I only had to worry about him. I think a few more are going to come out tomorrow and try to shoot a low one.”

Another shot behind was Brooks Koepka, who has won three of the last six majors and had a 69 despite four bogeys. Corey Conners (71) of Listowel, Ont., was tied for 22nd at 4 under, nine shots behind Molinari.

Woods has won all 14 of his majors when he had at least a share of the lead going into the final round. He brings momentum to this major, having contended in the last two.

“It’s been a while since I’ve been in contention here,” Woods said. “But then again, the last two majors count for something. I’ve been in the mix with a chance to win major championships in the last two years, and so that helps.”

Molinari knows what kind of atmosphere Woods brings to a major. He was paired with him in the final round at Carnoustie last year, where Woods briefly took the lead and the Italian never flinched, playing bogey-free to capture his first major.

Augusta National might sound different than a tough links along the North Sea of Scotland.

This is where Woods first captured the attention of the sporting public when he set 20 records in winning the first of his four green jackets. This is the gallery that has longed to see him recapture the past, especially after four back surgeries that only two years ago left him hobbling up the stairs, wondering if he would play again.

Woods looked good as new, even for a 43-year-old who hasn’t won a major in nearly 11 years. Not since 2013 in the British Open as Muirfield has he been within two shots of the lead.

He joined the chasing pack on a day when going neutral meant losing ground on a course in which 65 players combined to go 80-under par, at 70.77 the second-lowest scoring average in Masters history.

When he rolled in a 7-foot birdie putt on the par-3 16th, and the massive gallery rose to their feet with yet another ear-splitting roar, Woods became the ninth player Saturday who had at least a share of the lead.

Molinari, playing in the final group, kept right on rolling.

When he saved par from a bunker on the 18th hole, it was his 43rd consecutive hole without a bogey. That streak started on the 11th hole on Thursday, and it’s the only bogey he has made all week.

“I hit the ball a little less well than yesterday,” Molinari said. “But I holed some really good putts at 4 and 5 to save par. I can only be happy about today. It will be an exciting day tomorrow.”

No one figures to be as excited as Finau, who last turn grotesquely turned his ankle celebrating a hole-in-one in the Par 3 Tournament, and still managed to tie for 10th. He nearly holed a 4-iron on the par-5 eighth on his way to a record-tying 30 on the front nine that sent him to his 64.

Because of the change in starting times, Finau gets to play alongside Woods – his golfing hero – not only at the last group in a major, but at the Masters. Finau said it was “something that I’ve dreamed of for a long time.”

“As a kid, I always wanted to compete against him and have the opportunity to … you know, I’ve dreamed of playing in the final group with him in a major championship.”

Webb Simpson, who also shot 64, joined Ian Poulter (68) at 9-under 207, four shots behind and very much in the picture. The group another shot back included Dustin Johnson, who only made birdies on the par 5s and bogeyed his last hole for a 70.

AUGUSTA, Ga. – Tiger Woods ran into the long leg of the law and escaped with a most unlikely birdie.

He just couldn’t take the next step – one more birdie on a back nine filled with so many chances – to join the largest 36-hole logjam in Masters history.

Golf’s best worked their way to the top Friday at Augusta National to set up a weekend pregnant with possibilities. Francesco Molinari, Jason Day, Brooks Koepka, Adam Scott and Louis Oosthuizen created the first five-way tie for the lead going into the weekend at the Masters.

All of them are major champions. Three have been No. 1 in the world.

Looming just as large was Woods, who made it look even more crowded at the top by making Augusta National sound as loud as ever. Despite missing two birdie chances inside 8 feet on the back nine, he holed consecutive 30-foot birdie putts for a 4-under 68.

One of those big birdies followed a bizarre moment on the 14th hole.

Trapped in the trees, Woods hooked a low punch toward the green and was walking toward the fairway when a Georgia Bureau of Investigation agent trying to contain the gallery slipped on the rain-slickened grass and slid into the lower right leg of Woods.

He managed to keep his balance, winced, hobbled and flexed his ankle repeatedly when he made it to the fairway. Then he turned trouble into a birdie and was walking just fine the rest of the way.

“I’m fine. It’s all good,” Woods said. “Accidents happen and move on.”

What’s happening is a weekend at Augusta National loaded with top players, and not just those tied at 7-under 136. Dustin Johnson, poised to return to No. 1 in the world after Justin Rose missed the cut, has looked effortless over two days and was one shot behind.

Nine players were separated by one shot, a group that includes seven major winners and five former No. 1-ranked golfers. Phil Mickelson, at 48 trying to become the oldest major champion, was three shots back. Justin Thomas and Rickie Fowler were four shots behind.

“This is really stacked,” Scott said. “I think it’s going to be an incredible weekend no matter what happens now.”

Corey Conners (71) of Listowel, Ont., was in a group tied for 16th at 3-under par, four shots back of the leaders. Mike Weir of Brights Grove, Ont., missed the cut by a shot.

Woods has gone 14 years since he last won the green jacket, 11 years since his last major and had five surgeries – four on his back, the other to rebuild his left knee.

But he feels he’s getting closer.

“The last three majors, I’ve been right there,” Woods said.

He briefly held the lead Sunday in the British Open. He chased Koepka to the finish line in the PGA Championship. And now he goes into the weekend one shot behind, the closest he has been to a lead going into the weekend at a major since the 2013 British Open at Muirfield.

But that’s not just anyone he’s trailing.

Molinari, the British Open champion who has shown he belongs among the elite in golf, had a 67 and was the first to reach 7 under. Day was right behind, coping with nagging soreness in his lower back with a 67 to match the Italian.

Koepka, the U.S. Open and PGA champion, began with a birdie to quickly take the lead, only to hit out of the pine straw, off a tree and into the creek to make double bogey on the par-5 second hole. He made two more bogeys before reaching the seventh hole, and then pulled himself together to salvage a 71.

“You’re going to be tested in a major championship one way or another,” Koepka said. “I hit a bad shot; just got to suck it up and just keep going on. You’ve got a lot of holes left, and you can make up some ground.”

Scott was the only player to reach 8 under with a 2-iron into 5 feet for eagle on the 15th, only to miss a 3-foot par putt on the 16th. It added up to a 68 for the Australian who won the Masters six years ago, and has gone three years since his last victory.

He had a chance to win the PGA Championship in his last major until Koepka pulled away and Scott made a careless bogey at the end to finish third. He has shown flashes this year on the West Coast, at Torrey Pines and Riviera, but has geared his game toward this week.

Here he is, with a lot of company.

“Look, tomorrow is a very important day because there’s no doubt someone in the top 15, or a few of them, are going to play very well,” Scott said. “This is the best players in the world on the biggest stage that we all want to be in so badly.”

Storms stopped play for only 29 minutes, long enough to stall Woods.

He made the only birdie on No. 11 all day, and hit his tee shot on the dangerous par-3 12th to 5 feet when the horn sounded. Woods returned and missed the putt, and then took three shots from 35 feet behind the par-5 13th green to lose another prime birdie opportunity. But he made it up for them with a couple of long birdie putts, and he had no complaints with his position.

“I feel like I played my own way back into the tournament,” Woods said. “I was just very patient today, felt very good to be out there doing what I was doing. This is now three straight majors that I’ve been in the mix and so it’s good stuff.”

As for Rory McIlroy, the career Grand Slam might need to wait another year. McIlroy played the par 5s in even – two bogeys, one par and an eagle on No. 8 that got him under par, but only briefly. He was only seven shots behind, but he had 35 players in front of him.

Due to extenuating circumstances, the 2019 U.S. Open Local Qualifier previously scheduled at Beacon Hall Golf Club in Aurora, Ontario will be changing courses.

The US Open Local Qualifier will now take place at TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley in Caledon, Ontario, on Monday, May 13^th.

TPC Toronto reached out to Golf Canada after hearing news of the winter course damage at Beacon Hall and are pleased to add this qualifier to their schedule. Already committed to host the RBC Canadian Open Regional Qualifier on Thursday, May 16^th, the club will host both qualifiers on the North course that week. In addition to these qualifiers, TPC Toronto is home to the Osprey Valley Open, the Mackenzie Tour – PGA Tour Canada’s only Greater Toronto Area event. TPC Toronto is a tremendous facility and will prove to be a strong host for the U.S. Open Local Qualifier.

SAN ANTONIO – Canadian Corey Conners claimed his first PGA Tour victory and earned an invite to the Masters on Sunday, winning the Valero Texas Open less than a week after qualifying.

Conners only entered the tournament field Monday, and he’s the first golfer to win on the PGA Tour after qualifying on a Monday in nine years. He made three birdies in the final five holes, shooting a 6-under 66. He was 20-under for the tournament, winning by two shots over Charley Hoffman.

Next stop for Conners: Augusta, Georgia, for next week’s Masters.

Hoffman, the 2016 Texas Open winner, shot 67 for 18-under on the weekend.

Ryan Moore closed with an 8-under 64, a shot off the course record, and was third at 17-under.

Si Woo Kim, The Players Championship winner in 2017, led the opening three rounds but dropped to a tie for fourth with Brian Stuard (15-under) after an even-par 72.

Conners, the 2014 U.S. Amateur runner-up, will play in his second Masters. Two of the top three finishers last year at Augusta missed the top 10 this week. Rickie Fowler was tied for 17th while 10 strokes back at 10-under with a final-round 69, and Jordan Spieth (72) was 7-under.

Incredible performance from @coreconn. What a battle, and what a champion ??? pic.twitter.com/PnembdLq9q

— Golf Canada (@GolfCanada) April 7, 2019

Stuard finished with 66 to get to 15-under. Kevin Streelman closed with an 8-under 64 and was 14-under. He missed tying the course record when, after four-straight birdies, he hit his approach from the 18th fairway into the gallery and bogeyed.

Mackenzie Hughes (73) of Dundas, Ont., and Adam Svensson (70) of Surrey, B.C., tied for 42nd at 5 under. Nick Taylor (72) of Abbotsford, B.C., tied for 52nd at 4 under.

It was a wild round for Conners, a native of Listowel, Ont., who had not won on any of the PGA Tour’s affiliated circuits. He had 10 birdies and four pars that sandwiched four consecutive bogeys on the front nine.

He had a one-stroke lead when he rammed home a 34-foot birdie putt at No. 12, and stayed a stroke up with a tap-in birdie at the 14th.

Moore joined Conners at the top of the leaderboard with an 8-foot putt at No. 16 that was his fourth birdie in five holes.

Moore missed a birdie opportunity on the next hole when he couldn’t convert on a putt from inside 10 feet. Minutes later, Conners sank a 10-footer to save par at No. 15, then hit to four feet to set up a birdie at the 175-yard par-3 16th. His birdie at No. 17 gave him a three-shot lead walking up the final hole.

Conners looked like he would tuck this one away early. He birdied four of the first five holes at TPC San Antonio. Trailing by a shot going in the final round, he benefited from a three-stroke swing on the leaderboard on the third hole with a 10-foot putt on the par-3. Kim hit into the water fronting the green and double-bogeyed. Later in the day, Kim was grabbing at his right upper body with an apparent injury.

Conners was two strokes ahead, and with birdies on the next two holes he led by four over both Kim and Hoffman.

But Conners bogeyed the next four, and three of those came after tee shots put him in nice position either from the middle of the fairway or close to it.

 

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It was only a matter of time! @coreyconners, your latest Canuck to win on the #PGATOUR with a victory @valerotxopen! Canada and hometown Listowel couldn’t be more proud ???? – Next stop, @themasters!

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The other bogey, on a par-3 at No. 7, he hit his tee shot into a bunker, then blasted over the green.

He made the turn and clicked off three consecutive birdies. The last player to qualify on Monday and win a PGA Tour event was Arjun Atwal in 2010 at the Wyndham Championship. That was the first time it had been done in 24 years.

SAN ANTONIO – Si Woo Kim‘s narrow miss of a second hole-in-one on consecutive days at the Valero Texas Open was deceiving.

It was another highlight shot, but he missed the following birdie putt and his four-shot lead was trimmed to one over Canada’s Corey Conners, a Monday qualifier, after Saturday’s third round at the PGA Tour’s last stop before the Masters.

Kim aced the 16th hole at the TPC San Antonio on Friday, and he missed it by inches on the way to a third-round 3-under 69 after opening with consecutive rounds of 66. He was at 15 under and Conners, trying to become the first Monday qualifier to win on the PGA Tour since 2010, was a stroke back after shooting a 6-under 66.

“Yeah, I think about yesterday, like I can’t believe it, and then it was pretty close today, too,” Kim said of the near-ace. “I saw that first bounce and then I thought it would go in for sure.”

Charley Hoffman, the 2016 Texas Open winner, moved up the leaderboard with a birdie-birdie-eagle finish and the week’s best round of 64. He was two back of Kim at 13 under.

Scott Brown turned in a second straight 67, and Jhonattan Vegas also shot 67. Both were at 11 under with Kyoung-Hoon Lee (69) and four strokes back.

Rickie Fowler and Jordan Spieth started the day tied for second, four shots back. Both finished eight shots out of the lead after shooting 73s.

Kim flirted with the 16th hole on the second bounce on Saturday. This time, the ball rolled past the hole to inside four feet for what looked like an easy birdie. He missed, Conners made his from inches shorter and they shared the lead again.

“I thought it went in again,” Conners, of Listowel, Ont., said. “That was a heck of a shot. There was a bit of a distraction there. I was able to get refocused and hit a nice one after him.”

But Conners returned the favour on the next hole, missing a birdie from inside seven feet.

Kim, winner of The Players Championship in 2017, got out of a greenside bunker at the par-5 18th and sank a four-foot birdie to get the one-stroke advantage.

“Playing with Corey, the first six holes, crazy, like every shot is right on it and then he putted good,” Kim said. “I was just trying hard myself. Just trying to hit my shot, just trying to hit my putt. That’s why it was a pretty good back nine.”

Conners is trying to become the first Monday qualifier to win on the PGA Tour since Arjun Atwal nine years ago. Before that, no one had done it in 24 years. The winner is invited to the Masters if not already eligible – Conners is looking for an invitation.

Conners birdied the opening three holes, including a near-ace at the third, and almost had a fourth to start the day when his 58-foot putt rested a couple of inches from the cup on No. 4.

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2nd place vibes for @coreyconners – bring on Sunday @valerotxopen! ???

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He birdied again at the fifth, which gave him a share of the lead with Kim, and joined Kim in birdieing the seventh.

Conners, 27, was a finalist in the 2014 U.S. Amateur, but he has not won on the PGA Tour or any of its affiliate tours. This season he has finished second in the Sanderson Farms Championship and after Monday qualifying was third at the Sony Open.

“I’ve been in this position a few times before where I’ve been near the lead,” Conners said. “I’ve got some good experiences to draw off of and hopefully I can get over the edge.”

Conners, who has only partial status on tour this year, has two top-three finishes this season. He is 66th in the FedEx Cup standings. The top 125 at season’s end get full cards for next season

Hoffman’s hot finish came with a birdie at the 14th. He wrapped it up with a 22-foot birdie putt at 16 and a 15-footer at 17 before he reached the green in two at the downwind 607-yard finishing hole.

“It was a big number (250 yards) to get it to the front of the green,” Hoffman said. “It was all of a 3-wood. I flushed it right up there. The only question was whether it would hold the green or not.”

Fowler bogeyed his first two holes, part of five on the day. Even with an eagle on the 18th, Fowler dropped 14 spots to 16th and 7 under.

Spieth was in the last group of the day with leaders Kim and Conners, but he quickly joined Fowler in going the other way. He didn’t hit a fairway until the 11th hole and by that time had two double bogeys.

After his front-nine 42, Spieth’s first birdie came on the 12th. He added four more on the backside.

“I actually look at today as progress,” Spieth said. “I needed the start today to recognize there are things that still need adjustment. I made those adjustments mid-round and was able to shoot 5 under. The back nine today was by far the best I’ve played, the most control I’ve had of the ball and the best I’ve felt putting in a couple of years.”

SAN ANTONIO – Rickie Fowler and Jordan Spieth are successfully fine-tuning their preparations for the Masters.

However, they haven’t been able to match Si Woo Kim so far at the Valero Texas Open.

First-round leader Kim used a late-round hole-in-one Friday to build a four-shot lead at the halfway point of the PGA Tour’s last stop before the Masters.

Kim, the 2017 Players Championship winner, led by one heading into the second round before shooting a 6-under 66.

Kim aced TPC San Antonio’s 16th hole and is 12 under through 36 holes. He leads six players at 8 under, including Fowler and Spieth.

“The first days here,” Kim said, “I’ve been feeling good. I don’t want to change anything.”

Fowler led on the back nine until consecutive bogeys late in the round.

“Yeah, at 15 and 16, kind of a little unforced errors,” Fowler said. “That happens. I hit some good shots out there and made a few putts. I’m happy with it. Obviously in a good spot going into the weekend.”

Joining Fowler and Spieth – both shot 68 – are Harold Varner (66), Adam Schenk (66), Kyoung-Hoon Lee (67) and Monday-qualifier Corey Connors (67). Lee got it to 9 under before a bogey at his final hole of the day.

Conners, from Listowel, Ont., birdied his final three holes on Friday. He has only a partial PGA Tour card this year after finishing 130th in the FedEx Cup standings last year – the top 125 get full cards.

“It was really solid ball-striking. I was able to make some putts. Basically took care of the holes that you need to take care of, the par 5s, and No. 5, a short par 4, I was able to make birdie,” said Conners. “Other than that, just kept it pretty simple. There’s a few pins that are close to some slopes, so played a little safer on some shots, but struck it really well.

The Team Canada alumnus is well aware of the significance a win would have on his season (and career).

“Yeah, it would be pretty big. I’m not trying to get too far ahead of myself. Any event that you have a chance is amazing. Yeah, to be a Monday qualifier and just pumped to be out here. Yeah, a win would be awesome, but we’ll try and take care of business tomorrow and see where we are.”

Kim’s ace at the 167-yard 16th bounced up toward the flagstick, landed next to the lip of the cup and dropped in. He’s gone 26 holes without a bogey and has nine birdies along with the ace.

“I was trying to hit to the left edge of the bunker, with the wind,” Kim said. “It was a 9-iron. I saw the bounce, but I never saw it go in.”

Byeong Hun An (68), Matt Jones (68), Rory Sabbatini (68), Scott Stallings (69), Brian Stuard (70), Josh Teater (68) and Jim Knous (67) are 7 under.

Graeme McDowell, who won for the first time since 2015 last week at the PGA Tour’s event in the Dominican Republic, has shot consecutive 69s and is joined at 6 under by Scott Brown, Hank Lebioda, Ryan Moore and Jhonattan Vegas. Brown had a 67, Lebioda and Moore 70s and Vegas a 71.

Nick Taylor (72) of Abbotsford, B.C., and Mackenzie Hughes (71) of Dundas, Ont., were tied for 36th at 3 under. Adam Svensson (69) of Surrey, B.C., was tied for 48th at 2 under. Roger Sloan of Merritt, B.C., and Ben Silverman of Thornhill, Ont., missed the cut.

Fowler, who drove the green at the 327-yard fifth hole and eagled, held a lead early on the back nine. After the eagle, he made birdie putts of 43 feet, 10 feet and 25 feet.

But he three-putted from 23 feet at the 15th and barely got out of a greenside bunker on the 16th, leaving a chip and putt for another bogey.

“At 16, I actually hit a great tee shot,” Fowler said. “I was just expecting the wind to hold it a bit better, and obviously it didn’t.”

He got a stroke back with a birdie at the 17th, but his attempt to reach the par-5 18th in two landed him in a stream in front of the green. He chipped up and finished with a par.

Spieth had no late-round hiccups. Instead, he holed out from 113 yards for an eagle on his 17th hole. Earlier in the day, he chipped in from off his second green.

“I just slid under the ball really nicely on that chip shot, landed right on my spot, just trickled in,” Spieth said. “Certainly a bonus on the hole out. In the air, I thought it was going to be pretty good.”

Kim surged to a two-shot lead when he chipped to a foot away on the par-5 14th hole and tapped in for birdie. He got up-and-down from a bunker at the 15th, putting from almost 10 feet to save par. He wouldn’t need the putter on the 16th.

AUGUSTA, Ga. – The Masters should have been the first major Rory McIlroy won.

Now it is the only one he is missing.

Augusta National was thought to be the domain of Tiger Woods when he won four green jackets before turning 30.

Now he is 43, with eight surgeries behind him, so far removed from his last Masters victory that the club has changed chairmen twice since he last won 14 years ago.

McIlroy and Woods are the central figures at the 83rd Masters, which starts April 11. They share the stage with a cast of characters that gets deeper and stronger every year, so tough that 23 of the last 25 major champions were among the top 25 in the world ranking.

One is looking to join the most elite group in golf by capturing the final leg of the career Grand Slam.

The other is looking to recapture glory on a course where his red shirt was blazing among the azaleas, dogwoods and all the colours of springtime in Augusta.

 

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Woods has always had a hold on the Masters, so much that his Sunday shirt packed as much interest as the green jacket. To see him two years ago walk gingerly to the Masters Club dinner for past champions was to wonder if he would ever shine at Augusta, much less play. It was only a few weeks later that Woods had a fourth surgery on his back to fuse the lower spine.

He not only returned, Woods capped his remarkable comeback by winning in Georgia last year for his 80th career victory on the PGA Tour. But it was at East Lake in late September, not at Augusta National the second week in April.

Is his comeback complete without a major?

Woods last year was still learning what his fused back was capable of doing. He was coming off two close calls in Florida, but he didn’t break par at the Masters until the final day, when it was much too late.

Now he is building, and while his results in five tournaments this year have not been anything special, Woods has been gearing for this week.

“I’m right there where I need to be,” he said. “I’ve gotten a little bit more consistent with my play, and I think that everything is headed on track toward April.”

His last two majors were telling because he was in the hunt at both of them until the final hour. He briefly had the lead at Carnoustie in the British Open. He chased Brooks Koepka all the way to the finish line in the PGA Championship.

McIlroy had reason to think he would be allowed upstairs in the champions’ locker room by now. It was in 2011 when he had a four-shot lead, only to throw it away with a tee shot behind the cabins, a four-putt from 12 feet, a wild drive along the azaleas and an 80 on his scorecard.

He responded by winning four of the next 15 majors, before being slowed by a few nagging injuries.

This will be his fifth shot at the career Grand Slam, and he is getting closer. McIlroy played in the final group last year with Patrick Reed, missing a short eagle putt on the second hole that set the tone for his day. Already this year, he has not finished out of the top 10 in all seven of his tournaments, including a victory at The Players Championship against the best field in golf.

Is he excited? Hard to tell.

McIlroy has spent the last year reading books on life and success, working more on his attitude than his golf game. He is determined not to let the sport define his success. And it appears to be paying off. Las Vegas has installed him as the favourite at the Masters.

“I would have said a couple of years ago, ‘I need to win a Masters, I need a green jacket,’ where now it’s, ‘I want to win it.’ And I’d love to win it,” he said. “But if I don’t, I’m OK. Maybe some people will say that I’m not motivated enough. Believe me, I am motivated to make the most of what I have and to put my name among some of the greats of our game.”

This figures to be his biggest test. So powerful is the allure of Augusta National and the exclusivity of the club and its list of winners that players have been haunted over the years at being left out, whether it was Greg Norman or Tom Weiskopf, David Duval or Tom Kite.

That’s just the mystique. Equally tough will be the players Woods and McIlroy are trying to beat.

McIlroy at No. 3 is among five players who are vying for No. 1 in the world – Justin Rose, Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka and Justin Thomas are the others. All of them have reached the top of the ranking before, all of them having won a major or more. It has never been this crowded at the top since the ranking began in 1986.

Missing from that list, and perhaps the most intriguing player at the Masters besides Woods and McIlroy, is Jordan Spieth.

No one has performed as well at Augusta as Spieth since his debut five years ago – two runner-up finishes, a wire-to-wire victory, in the hunt on Sunday every year and ending the day atop the leaderboard eight times out of 20 rounds.

But he is in the worst slump of his young career, winless since the 2017 British Open, no performance in the top 20 this year. He says his game is close. The Masters might be the ultimate measure of how close – or far – he really is.

That is also true for Woods, McIlroy and everyone else.

Three months into the year, six months into the PGA Tour season, golf doesn’t feel as though it really starts until Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player hit the honorary tee shot, until “Fore, please” is heard on the first tee as players are introduced, and until that first big cheer makes fans wonder where it came from and what it was for.

PUNTA CANA, Dominican Republic – Graeme McDowell won the Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship on Sunday for his first PGA Tour title since November 2015, closing with a 3-under 69 for a one-stroke victory over Chris Stroud and Canadian Mackenzie Hughes.

“This is big. This is big. … It’s been a rough few years,” said McDowell, the 39-year-old major champion from Northern Ireland.

He didn’t get an automatic Masters spot with the victory because the event was played opposite the World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play.

“It’s difficult to win on the PGA Tour,” McDowell said. “Don’t like calling this a second-tier event, but obviously the best players in the world are in Austin, Texas, this week. Still got a great field down here.”

 

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McDowell took the lead from Stroud with a 7-foot birdie putt on the par-3 17th and closed with a bogey – lagging a 30-foot par putt to inches – on the par-4 18th. Stroud bogeyed the final two holes in a 69. Hughes, of Dundas, Ont., also closed with a bogey for a 66.

“To be honest, Graeme earned it,” Stroud said. “He hit some great shots and 17 is a perfect example. He hit a lot of good shots today and didn’t get rewarded. He got rewarded there.”

McDowell set up the two-stroke swing on 17 with a 6-iron shot.

“I was standing on 16 green, I said to myself, ‘You’ve got to do something that’s tournament winning,”’ McDowell said. “The shot to 17 was tournament-winning level. … I’ve been struggling with my long-iron play all week, medium- and long-iron play. It’s a shot I’ve been working on on the range the last few days and it was a perfect 6-iron, it was a perfect number for me, and when it came off the bat I knew it was pretty good.”

McDowell finished at 18-under 270, rebounding from an opening 73 with consecutive 64s to take a one-stroke lead over Stroud into the final round. The 2010 U.S. Open champion, McDowellwon his fourth PGA Tour title.

“I sat over there Wednesday and I said that I was here on a mission,” McDowell said, “I was here motivated, and the attitude was going to be very, very important this week. I got off to a slow start and then I kind of found my groove Friday, Saturday, especially on the greens.”

Hughes rallied with his second straight 66 to climb into a share of 2nd place, his best PGA TOUR result since his 2016 win at the RSM Classic. The Dundas, Ont., native was coming off a strong T13 result at the Valspar Championship just a week earlier.

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Stroud faltered after birdieing the par-5 14th and par-4 15th to take the lead.

“I hit the ball really poorly today and I did a really, really good job of making awesome pars, making some birdies when I had a chance,” Stroud said. “I just hit it pretty poorly, and to have a chance to win hitting it that poorly makes me feel pretty good. Even coming down the last two holes, I hit a pretty poor chip on 17 after hitting a horrendous 6-iron. That’s a perfect 6-iron for me.”

Jonathan Byrd (66) was fourth at 16 under, and Chip McDaniel (63) and Kelly Kraft (68) followed at 15 under.

Second-round leader Sungjae Im, likely needing a victory to get into the top 50 in the world and earn a Masters spot, had a 71 to tie for seventh at 14 under.

Canadians Ben Silverman (Thornhill, Ont.) and David Hearn (Brantford, Ont.) finished T12 and T18, respectively.