LAS VEGAS (AP) — J.T. Poston used a burst of birdies to build a comfortable lead in the morning and afternoon, first for a three-shot lead after 54 holes and then to give himself a big enough cushion to hold on for a 4-under 67 and a one-shot victory Sunday in the Shriners Children’s Open.
Poston never trailed since making a 20-foot birdie putt on the 14th hole when he returned to finish the third round. He had two more birdies for a 66 to build a three-shot lead.
He made three birdies in a four-hole stretch on the back nine of the final round and led by four shots with three holes to play. Poston still had to sweat it out to the very last putt.
Doug Ghim closed with a 65, making a 6-foot birdie putt on the final hole at the TPC Summerlin to close within one shot. Poston lagged his 45-foot birdie putt to 4 feet and calmly sank that for his third career PGA Tour title.
Poston finished at 22-under 262.
Matti Schmid tied for third and has gone from No. 125 to No. 77 in the FedEx Cup in the last three weeks. The top 125 keep cards for next season. Another big consolation prize went to Michael Kim, who closed with a 62 and tied for fifth, moving from No. 129 to No. 112.
LPGA Tour
PAJU, South Korea (AP) — Hannah Green of Australia shot a 1-under 71 to win the BMW Ladies Championship in South Korea, her sixth victory on the LPGA Tour and her third this season.
Green finished at 19-under 269 and led or shared the lead after all four rounds.
Celine Boutier of France finished one stroke behind Green after a 66. Chanettee Wannasaen of Thailand shot 68 and was two shots behind the winner. The South Korea duo of Hye-Jin Choi (67) and Yu Jin Sung (72) tied for fourth.
The field of the tournament was loaded with eight of the top 10 LPGA players facing off. The main absence was No. 1-ranked Nelly Korda, who withdrew before the event with a neck injury.
European Tour
SAN ROQUE, Spain (AP) — Julien Guerrier made a 16-foot par putt for a 2-under 70 to force a playoff, then went nine extra holes to beat Jorge Campillo in the Andalucia Masters for his first European tour title.
Guerrier won it with an 8-foot par putt on the ninth playoff hole, which tied a European tour record for longest playoff. His first win came in his 230th start.
Campillo also closed with a 70 to join Guerrier at 21-under 267. The Spaniard had three bogeys on his last seven holes, including the 18th to give Guerrier a chance.
Dan Brown shot 69 to finish alone in third, two shots out of the playoff. Jon Rahm, playing in his third European tour event in the last four weeks, shot 67 and finished four shots back.
PGA Tour Champions
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Tim O’Neal made two birdies on the last three holes and closed with a 7-under 65 to win for the first time on the PGA Tour Champions, a two-shot victory over Ricardo Gonzalez in the Dominion Energy Charity Classic.
O’Neal had a one-shot lead for much of the back nine at The Country Club of Virginia until he delivered two of his best shots, a wedge into 6 feet on the par-5 16th and a wedge that landed next to the hole and spun back to 5 feet on the par-5 18th.
Gonzalez missed three birdie chances inside 10 feet down the stretch, forcing him to make eagle on the closing hole to get into a playoff. He missed the fairway to the left, hit a hook into the bunker and had to settle for par and a 69.
O’Neal, David Brandson and Paul Goydos all moved into the top 54 in the Charles Schwab Cup that sends them to the next postseason tournament. Chris DiMarco, Kirk Triplett and Angel Cabrera fell out.
Other tours
Michael Maguire closed with a 7-under 65 and defeated John Catlin (66) on the second extra hole of an all-American playoff to win the Black Mountain Championship on the Asian Tour. Maguire, who played college golf at North Florida, won for the first time on a main tour. … Conor Purcell won for the second time this year on the Challenge Tour when he closed with a 4-under 67 for a four-shot victory in the Hangzhou Open. … Elvis Smylie shot a 2-under 69 and defeated Jak Carter in a playoff to win the Nexus Advisernet WA Open on the PGA Tour of Australasia. … Robin Williams closed with a 5-under 67 for a three-shot victory over Daniel van Tonder in the Fortress Invitational on the Sunshine Tour. … Min-Young Lee closed with a 1-under 71 to win the Nobuta Group Masters by one shot over Nasa Hataoka and Akie Iwai on the Japan LPGA. … Bokyeom Park finished with a 6-under 66 for a one-shot victory over Suji Kim in the Sangsangin Hankyung TV Open on the Korea LPGA.
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