FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Emiliano Grillo atoned for a double bogey on the final hole by making a 5-foot birdie putt on the second playoff hole to beat Adam Schenk in the Charles Schwab Cup Challenge for the Argentine’s first PGA Tour title in 7 1/2 years.
Grillo looked like a winner when he had a two-shot lead on the 18th at Colonial. But his tee shot wound up well right into a culvert, and it tumbled down shallow water some 150 yards. He took a penalty drop, hit a poor chip and made double bogey for a 68.
Schenk missed a 20-foot birdie putt in regulation for the win. He shot 72. Harry Hall did get that chance. He drove left into the water on the 18th, made bogey for a 73 and missed the playoff by one shot, along with Scottie Scheffler (67).
Scheffler had a hole-in-one on the par-3 eighth.
Grillo’s only other win was the Frys.com Open in Napa, California, in October 2015. The victory moves him to No. 42 in the world, getting him in the Masters by winning and securing a spot in the U.S. Open, which takes the top 60 in the world in two weeks.
Schenk, the 31-year-old from Indiana, was runner-up for the second time this season.
PGA TOUR CHAMPIONS
FRISCO, Texas (AP) — Steve Stricker beat Padraig Harrington on the first hole of a playoff in the Senior PGA Championship on Sunday for his second senior major in as many played this year.
Stricker closed with a 3-under 69. Harrington shot 70, with a birdie on the par-5 18th that forced a playoff between the last two Ryder Cup captains.
On the 18th in the playoff, Harrington hit his drive in deep grass right of the fairway. After a failed attempt to get it out, he took a drop and hit fairway metal to 15 feet. Harrington couldn’t make the par putt to extend the playoff.
Stricker’s victory, which comes after a win at the Regions Tradition, gets him into the PGA Championship next year at Valhalla. He now has six majors among his 14 wins on the PGA Tour Champions.
Stewart Cink finished birdie-eagle for a 69 to finish two shots behind in his senior debut.
It was the first big event held at Fields Ranch East at the new headquarters of the PGA of America. The venue in Frisco, about 35 miles north of Dallas, is set to host the PGA Championship in 2027 and 2034.
LPGA TOUR
NORTH LAS VEGAS, Nev. (AP) — Pajaree Anannarukarn of Thailand capped off the longest week on the LPGA Tour with a 3-and-1 victory Sunday to win the Bank of Hope LPGA Match Play over Ayaka Furue of Japan.
Anannarukarn, who beat Linn Grant of Sweden in the semifinals Sunday morning at Shadow Creek, took the lead for good with a birdie on the par-5 seventh hole.
Furue simply couldn’t catch up, and finished runner-up for the second straight year.
The match ended on the par-3 17th when Anannarukarn drilled her tee shot to a right pin about 6 feet to the right of the hole and Furue found a back bunker. Furue’s bunker shot hit the left side of the hole — had it hit the pin it might have dropped — and rolled out some 12 feet. She conceded the match.
Anannarukarn won for the second time on the LPGA Tour. Her other title was the ISPS Handa World Invitational in Northern Ireland in 2021. She made eight birdies against Grant in the semifinals, superb golf considering the the fast, firm conditions of Shadow Creek.
Furue won all six of her matches until the last one. She beat Leona Maguire of Ireland in the semifinals.
LIV GOLF
STERLING, Va. (AP) — Harold Varner III won his first LIV Golf event Sunday when he two-putted from about 35 feet for birdie on the par-5 18th hole at Trump National in LIV Golf-DC.
Varner won by one shot over Branden Grace of South Africa, who moments earlier holed about a 20-foot birdie putt on the tough par-4 second hole, his last of the shotgun start. Grace closed with a 66.
Mito Pereira, the 36-hole leader, shot 71 and finished third.
Varner won for the first time on American soil. He never won on the PGA Tour before signing on with the Saudi-funded league. His previous two professional wins were the Australian PGA Championship and the Saudi International.
Brooks Koepka shot 70 and tied for 12th in his first start since winning the PGA Championship at Oak Hill last week for his fifth major.
Torque won the team competition.
EUROPEAN TOUR
CROMVOIRT, Netherlands (AP) — Pablo Larrazabal birdied his last two holes for a 3-under 69 and a two-shot victory in the KLM Open, his second European tour title in four weeks.
Larrazabal overcame a double bogey on the second hole at Bernardus Golf, which created a wide open final round in which seven players had at least a share of the lead at some point.
The 40-year-old from Spain pulled ahead with a birdie on the par-3 17th, and then made a final birdie from 20 feet to win by two over Adrian Otaegui of Spain, who shot 70.
Larrazabal, who won Korea Championship last month, has four wins over the past 15 months.
Rasmus Hojgaard (71) and Deon Germishuys (69) tied for third.
KORN FERRY TOUR
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Rico Hoey got up-and-down from a bunker on the par-5 18th for a birdie and a 6-under 64, giving him a one-shot victory in the Visit Knoxville Open on the Korn Ferry Tour.
Hoey’s victory moves him to No. 2 in the points list. The leading 30 players earn PGA Tour cards for 2024.
Hoey finished at 14-under 266, one shot ahead of Chase Seiffert (65) and Norman Xiong (69).
Seiffert birdied three straight holes to give himself a chance, only to miss the fairway on the 18th. He had to lay up and failed to convert a birdie. Xiong had a 54-hole lead, but he made only one birdie and 17 pars in the final round.
OTHER TOURS
Kensei Hirata won his first Japan Golf Tour event with a 6-under 66, winning on the third playoff hole with a birdie to beat Keita Nakajima in the Mizuno Open. Hirata and Nakajima finished one shot ahead of Takumi Kanaya and Kazuki Yasumori. All four earned a spot in the British Open at Royal Liverpool. … Jiwon Jeon closed with a 3-under 70 for a two-shot victory over Alyaa Abdulghany and Lindy Duncan in the Inova Mission Inn Resort and Club Championship on the Epson Tour. … Matteo Manassero closed with a 6-under 66 for a one-shot victory over Casey Jarvis in Copenhagen Challenge on Europe’s Challenge Tour. … Patricia Isabel Schmidt won the Belgian Ladies Open on the Ladies European Tour with a 6-under 66 for a two-shot victory over Chiara Noja and Maria Hernandez. … Walker Lee birdied the final hole for a 6-under 64 and a one-shot victory over Austin Hitt in the Colombia Classic on the PGA Tour Latinoamerica. … Miyuu Yamashita closed with a 4-under 68 and won the Resort Trust Ladies by one shot over Miyu Sato on the Japan LPGA.
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