McKINNEY, Texas (AP) — Jason Day won his first PGA Tour event in five years Sunday, closing with a 9-under 62 for a one-shot victory over Austin Eckroat and Si Woo Kim at the AT&T Byron Nelson.
Day, winless in 105 starts since the 2018 Wells Fargo, took his first lead when he broke a tie at 20 under with hometown favorite Scottie Scheffler by chipping in for birdie at the par-4 12th, the second-toughest hole of the week that played as a par 5 the past two years at the TPC Craig Ranch.
Playing on Mother’s Day a little more than a year after losing his mom to cancer, Day finished 23 under while ending his victory drought the week before the PGA Championship.
With the heaviest rain coming down near the end of an off-and-on rainy final round, Day put his approach at 18 inside 3 feet. Kim made a short birdie for 63 that forced Day to make his easy tap-in before Day greeted his kids and wife, who is expecting their fifth child.
Eckroat had a 65 for his best finish on the PGA Tour. C.T. Pan finished at 21-under 263 with two eagles on the back nine in a career-low 62. Scheffler finished at 20 under with a final-round 65 after a par on 18.
LPGA TOUR
CLIFTON, N.J. (AP) — Jin Young Ko regained the No. 1 ranking in women’s golf by overcoming a four-shot deficit to win the Founders Cup on the first playoff hole Sunday when defending champion Minjee Lee three-putted for bogey.
In winning for the 15th time on the LPGA Tour and the second time this year, Ko closed with a 5-under 67 in tough, windy conditions. The 27-year-old South Korean forced the playoff making a clutch downhill birdie from roughly 15 feet on No. 18 to tie for the lead.
Ko joins Lilia Vu as the only players with multiple wins on tour this year, earning $450,000 from the $3 million purse.
The players went back to the par 4 No. 18 at the Upper Montclair Country Club for the playoff. Both players hit the green with their second shots with Lee being about 15 feet away and closer than Ko, who had a winding putt from right to left.
Ko snuggled her birdie attempt to tap-in range and Lee went for the win, but putted it six feet past the hole, missing the par saver to the right.
Lee, who had a two-shot lead with three to play, shot 71.
LIV GOLF LEAGUE
BROKEN ARROW, Okla. (AP) — Dustin Johnson overcame a triple bogey on the 10th hole Sunday by making birdie on the 18th hole to join a playoff and another birdie on the 18th to win LIV Golf Tulsa for his first win this year.
The victory was Johnson’s second since he joined LIV Golf a year ago. He also won outside Boston in a three-man playoff.
This one required some clutch shots on the closing hole at rain-soaked Cedar Ridge for Johnson to take down British Open champion Cameron Smith and Branden Grace.
Johnson, who closed with a 3-under 67, was trailing Smith (61) and Grace (65) by one shot when he hit his drive into the left rough on the 18th, partially blocked by a tree. He hit sand wedge over the corner of the tree to about 12 feet and made the birdie.
In the playoff, all three players were roughly on the same line, with Grace putting from the fringe. Grace missed to the left, Johnson holed his putt from 15 feet and Smith missed from 12 feet to the right of the hole.
PGA TOUR CHAMPIONS
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — Steve Stricker closed with a 7-under 65 and tied the Regions Tradition record at 265 as he ran away with his second straight championship at the PGA Tour Champions major by six strokes over Ernie Els and Robert Karlsson.
Stricker, whose late surge had pulled him into a tie with Karlsson entering the final round, continued his domination on the par-72 Founders Course at Greystone. It’s his third win at the Tradition in the last five attempts — including two runner-up finishes— and gave the 56-year-old five major wins.
Doug Tewell also shot 265 in 2001 when the Tradition was held at Desert Mountain in Arizona.
His birdie putt for the outright tournament scoring record was only about a foot off on No. 18. Doug Tewell had set the Tradition record, going 23-under in 2001.
Stricker strengthened his lead in the Charles Schwab Cup with his second victory this year, and his 13th in 55 career starts on the 50-and-older circuit.
Els closed with a 65 but never really challenged Stricker. Karlsson, who shared the 54-hole lead with Stricker, opened with a birdie but then didn’t make another until the the 13th hole He shot a 71.
EUROPEAN TOUR
ANTWERP, Belgium (AP) — Simon Forsström of Sweden held off countryman Jens Dantorp with a 2-under 69 for a wire-to-wire victory at the Soudal Open on Sunday.
The 34-year-old Forsström was one stroke ahead of Belgium’s Thomas Detry going into the final round. Dantorp’s late charge proved the main threat. Forsström did just enough with some late birdies to finish at 17-under 267, one shot ahead of Dantorp (67).
Thorbjørn Olesen of Denmark shot 66 and finished two shots behind.
Forsström, No. 429 in the world, split time last year on the Nordic Golf League and the Challenge Tour. He came through European tour qualifying school to gain his card.
Detry, hopeful of winning his national Open, shot 73 and tied for seventh.
OTHER TOURS
Linn Grant of Sweden closed with a 2-under 69 for a two-shot victory over Anne Van Dam and Celine Herbin in the Jabra Ladies Open. Grant won for the fifth time on the Ladies European Tour. She is about to come back over to the LPGA Tour now that international players no longer need proof of the COVID-19 vaccine. … Chisato Iwai closed with a 7-under 65 and then won a three-way playoff over Miyuu Yamashita (66) and Akie Iwai (69) in RKB Mitsui Matsushima Ladies on the Japan LPGA. … Jin-hee Lim shot 4-under 68 for a one-shot victory in the NH Investment & Securities Ladies Championship on the Korea LPGA.
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