HOYLAKE, England (AP) — Brian Harman turned back every challenge in the British Open, from big names to bad weather, and took his place among major champions Sunday with a victory that was never seriously in doubt at Royal Liverpool.
Harman twice responded to a rare bogey with back-to-back birdies, leaving everyone else playing for second. He closed with a 1-under 70, making an 8-foot par putt on the last hole for a six-shot victory.
At age 36, he is the oldest first-time major winner since Sergio Garcia was 37 when he won the Masters in 2017.
Facts and figures from the final round of the British Open at Royal Liverpool, where Brian Harman became a major champion for the first time.
Matthew Jordan’s first shot at the British Open was a special one. It was the first of the tournament at his home course. His last on Sunday might have meant even more.
Jon Rahm was so eager to begin chasing down Brian Harman at the British Open that he was putting his tee in the ground on No. 1 when the starter said: “On the tee, Viktor Hovland.”
Rory McIlroy again was roaming near the top of the leaderboard of a major but saw his winless streak increase to 34 after a tie for sixth at the British Open.
Harman had gone 167 tournaments over six years since his last win in the 2017 Wells Fargo Championship. This is only his third title in his 12 years on the PGA Tour.
Masters champion Jon Rahm birdied his last hole for a 70 to make it a four-way tie for second place with Tom Kim (67), Sepp Straka (69) and Jason Day (69).
Harman took the lead on Friday morning with the second of four straight birdies early in the second round. He never trailed over the final 51 holes, leading by five shots after the second round and five shots after the third round.
He started the round in the rain with a smattering of boos from the grandstand. But he walked up toward the 18th green to a standing ovation, and tapped his hand to his heart to acknowledge the fans as he walked off the green. All that remained was signing his card — a 13-under 271 — and return to collect the silver claret jug, the oldest trophy in golf.
PGA TOUR AND EUROPEAN TOUR
TRUCKEE, Calif. (AP) — Akshay Bhatia birdied the closing hole in regulation, then capitalized in sudden death when Patrick Rodgers found a divot in the fairway to win his first PGA Tour title at the Barracuda Championship on Sunday.
The 21-year-old Bhatia, who turned pro at 17, earned full status on tour and a spot in the FedEx Cup playoffs. He had been playing under special temporary membership since his runner-up finish at the Puerto Rico Open in March.
Bhatia converted a birdie from about 15 feet on the par-4 18th hole at Tahoe Mountain Club to finish with 40 points under the modified Stableford scoring system that awards five points for eagle and two for birdie while deducting a point for bogey and three for double bogey. The slender left-hander had nine points on Sunday.
That was good enough to match Rodgers, who scored six points in the final round.
In the playoff, Rodgers’ tee shot on the 18th settled in a divot and he chunked his approach. His pitch was well short and he two-putted for bogey. Bhatia left his birdie putt just short and tapped in for the victory.
Rodgers remains winless in 246 PGA Tour starts. The 31-year-old former Stanford star failed to convert a 54-hole lead for the fifth time.
Two European tour players tied for third in the co-sanctioned event. Julien Guerrier scored 20 points on Sunday to finish with 37 alongside Jens Dantorp, who had 15 points in the final round.
LPGA TOUR
MIDLAND, Mich. (AP) — Cheyenne Knight and Elizabeth Szokol held off Matilda Castren and Kelly Tan by a stroke Saturday to win the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational, the LPGA Tour’s lone team event.
Knight and Szokol closed with a 5-under 65 in better-ball play at Midland Country Club, waiting out a delay of 1 hour, 40 minutes because of lightning while they were on the 13th hole.
The 29-year-old Szokol took her first LPGA Tour title, while the 26-year-old Knight also won the 2019 Ascendant LPGA. The U.S. duo tied for fourth last year after missing the cut in 2021.
They finished at 23 under, following a better-ball 61 in the second round Thursday with an alternate-shot 62 on Saturday to take a three-stroke lead into the final round.
Castren and Tan shot a 63. They also finished second last year.
The teams of Celine Boutier-Yuka Saso (62), Jodi Ewart Shadoff-Emma Talley (63) and Celine Borge-Polly Mack (63) tied for third at 20 under. Stacy Lewis and Maria Fassi had a 63 to finish sixth at 19 under.
KORN FERRY TOUR
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) — Pierceson Coody won for the third time in 13 months on the Korn Ferry Tour, closing with a 5-under 67 on Sunday for a two-shot victory over four players including his twin brother, Parker, in the Price Cutter Charity Championship.
The 23-year-old who starred in college at Texas moved to fourth in the points standings and assured himself of earning a PGA Tour card for next season. He won in Maine last year in his third Korn Ferry start and won again in Panama in February.
Pierceson and Parker are grandsons of 1971 Masters champion Charles Coody.
Pierceson finished at 25-under 263 at Highland Springs. Parker shot 66 and was 23 under alongside Ben Silverman (62), Thomas Walsh (69) and Chandler Phillips (69). Silverman has a victory and two runner-ups this season and has secured his PGA Tour card for 2024.
OTHER TOURS
Kiara Romero won the U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship on Saturday, outlasting Rianne Malixi 1-up with a 7-foot par putt on the 36th and final hole at the U.S. Air Force Academy Eisenhower Golf Club. … Jenny Bae closed with a 2-over 73 on Sunday but won the Twin Bridges Championship in a playoff over Natasha Andrea Oon on the Epson Tour. … Nuria Iturrioz of Spain won for the fourth time on the Ladies European Tour, closing with a 5-under 67 and beating Laura Fuenfstueck on the second playoff hole. … Francesco Laporta closed with an even-par 72 for a one-shot victory over four players in the Big Green Egg German Challenge on the Challenge Tour. … Stuart Macdonald of Canada birdied the par-5 18th hole at Eagle Creek for the fourth time Sunday to beat Devon Bling and Luke Schneiderjans in a playoff in the Commissionaires Ottawa Open on the PGA Tour Canada. Macdonald birdied the 18th to get into the playoff and three more times in sudden death, winning on the fourth playoff hole when Bling made par. … CJ du Plessis went eagle-par-birdie over his final three holes for a 6-under 64 and one-shot victory in the SunBet Challenge-Wild Coast on the Sunshine Tour. … Mio Kotaki won the Daito Kentaku Eheyanet Ladies on the Japan LPGA, which was shortened to 54 holes.
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