JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Kevin Yu made a 15-foot birdie on the 18th hole for a 5-under 67, and he birdied it again from 6 feet in a playoff to beat Beau Hossler and win the Sanderson Farms Championship on Sunday for his first PGA Tour title.
Yu was nearly forgotten for most of a final round that appeared to be a duel between Hossler and Keith Mitchell until the 26-year-old from Taiwan made a birdie to tie them for the lead.
Mitchell had a 35-foot birdie putt to win it and it grazed the left edge of the cup. But he missed the 4-foot comebacker for par, shot 70 and missed the playoff.
Hossler was left off the tee on the 18th in the playoff. Yu hit first and sent his approach to 6 feet right of the hole. Hossler had to punch below the trees, and it turned too much and went into a front bunker. He blasted out to 2 feet to secure par, but Yu made birdie.
Yu’s victory sends him to the Masters and the PGA Championship for the first time.
European Tour
ST. ANDREWS, Scotland (AP) — Tyrrell Hatton closed with a 2-under 70 to win the Dunhill Links Championship for a record third time after making birdie at the 18th hole on the Old Course at St. Andrews to beat Nicolas Colsaerts by one shot.
Both players walked down the storied last hole at the home of golf tied for the lead and having hit their drives just short of the green. Colsaerts putted to 8 feet and missed his birdie attempt, leaving Hatton a chance for victory after the Englishman had chipped to 4 feet.
Hatton won for the first time on the European tour since joining Saudi-funded LIV Golf. He tied the tournament record at 24-under 264, which he previously shot when he won in 2017. He also won in 2016. Colsaerts (70) was looking to win on the tour for the first time in five years.
Tommy Fleetwood (67) finished third, three shots behind Hatton.
Korn Ferry Tour
FRENCH LICK, Ind. (AP) — Braden Thornberry birdied the final hole for a 6-under 66 and his first Korn Ferry Tour title at the best time. The victory in the Tour Championship made him one of 30 players who earned PGA Tour cards for next year.
Thornberry was No. 51 on the points list going into the final event of the season. He won by one shot over Brian Campbell, Alistair Docherty and Doc Redman. Campbell already was assured of being in the top 30. The other two narrowly missed out.
Redman was leading until a double bogey on the 15th hole and a bogey on the 17th. He needed eagle on the par-5 18th to force a playoff. Redman made birdie and it had a big effect on the PGA Tour roster next year.
It gave him a three-way tie for second, and took enough points away from Docherty that he moved out of the top 30. Noah Goodwin got the last card.
PGA Tour Champions
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Rocco Mediate missed a 4-foot par putt for the win, and then made from about the same distance on the second playoff hole Sunday to beat Bob Estes and win the Constellation Furyk & Friends on the PGA Tour Champions.
Mediate, who closed with a 1-under 71 at Timuquana Country Club, won for the first time in five years and earned his fifth title on the 50-and-older circuit.
Mediate was three shots ahead with four holes to play, and two holes later he was tied. He birdied the 17th only to miss the short par on the final hole of regulation. Then, Mediate had to make a 10-footer for par to extend the playoff. Estes made bogey on the 18th in the second playoff hole, and Mediate made par from 4 feet.
The 61-year-old Mediate now has won in his 20s, 30s, 40, 50s and 60s.
Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation
SHIZUOKA, Japan (AP) — Wenyi Ding capped off a marathon Sunday with a 3-under 67 that carried the 19-year-old from China to a one-shot victory in the Asia-Pacific Amateur and earned him an invitation to the Masters and the British Open next year.
The majors might have to wait. Golf Digest reported that Ding plans to take up European tour membership through the new “Global Amateur Pathway.” The Masters and British Open typically require players to remain an amateur to use such exemptions.
Ding, the freshman of the year at Arizona State last season, had to play 14 holes to complete a 67 that left him tied for the 54-hole lead with Ziqin Zhou of China.
Zhou, an 18-year-old who plays for the California Golden Bears, birdied the 18th for a 68 to tie for the lead. Ding regained the lead with his final birdie at the 17th, a 239-yard par 3, where he hit his tee shot to 6 feet. Ding made a 4-foot par putt on the final hole at Taiheiyo Club Gotemba to secure the win.
Ding, a former U.S. Junior Amateur champion and at No. 5 the highest-ranked amateur in the field, finished at 12-under 268 and atoned for a playoff loss in the Asia-Pacific Amateur last year at Royal Melbourne. He becomes the fifth player from China to win the tournament.
Other tours
Heather Lin closed with a 4-under 67 for a one-shot victory over Ashley Lau in the Epson Tour Championship and moved up to No. 15 on the points list to get the last of 15 cards for the LPGA Tour next year. Miranda Wang shot 66 to tie for third and moved up nine spots into the top 15 for an LPGA card. … Takumi Kanaya closed with an 8-under 63 to make up a five-shot deficit, then made birdie on the first playoff hole to beat Hyun-woo Ryu (63) in the ACN Championship on the Japan Golf Tour. … Jbe Kruger of South Africa closed with a 3-under 69 for a two-shot victory in the Mercuries Taiwan Masters on the Asian Tour. … Celine Boutier won her sixth Ladies European Tour title when she shot a 7-under 63 to win by two shots over Xiyu Lin in the Aramco Team Series-Shenzhen. Lin was trying to win the tournament for the second straight year. … Benjamin Follett-Smith of Zimbabwe finished a week of low scoring with a 6-under 64 for a five-shot victory in the D+D Real Czech Challenge on the Challenge Tour. The 64 was his highest score of the week as he finished at 28-under 252. … Luke Jerling closed with a 3-under 68 for a four-shot victory in the SunBet Challenge on the Sunshine Tour in South Africa. … Miyu Sato closed with a 4-under 68 and won the Stanley Ladies Honda by two shots on the Japan LPGA. … Suji Kim held on with a 2-over 74 to win the Hite Jinro Championship by two shots on the Korea LPGA.
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