THE WOODLANDS, Texas (AP) — Lilia Vu birdied the first playoff hole to win her first major at the Chevron Championship after fellow American Angel Yin hit her approach shot into the water on Sunday.
Yin’s second shot came up short and left and splashed into the pond guarding the par-5 18th hole, and Vu hit her approach just over the green. Vu went with putter from off the green and came up well short, but she converted from about 10 feet for the victory.
The 25-year-old Californian won for the second time on the LPGA Tour and took a celebratory leap into the pond, a tradition borrowed from this tournament’s former venue at Mission Hills in the California desert.
Vu birdied her last two holes for a 4-under 68 and a four-day total of 10-under 278 at Carlton Woods, then waited as other contenders — including Yin — faltered.
But Yin, after bogeys on the 16th and 17th holes, birdied the 18th to force the playoff.
Unable to find a sponsor willing to add to the half-century run at Mission Hills, the tournament — long known as the Dinah Shore for its longtime celebrity host — relocated to the woods of suburban Houston under a six-year deal with Chevron.
Vu took home $765,000 for the win from a purse of $5.1 million, the largest ever for this event.
World No. 2 Nelly Korda finished alone in third at 9 under. Atthaya Thitikul was at 10 under standing on the 18th fairway when she hit her third shot into the water. She made double bogey and finished in a tie for third at 8 under.
PGA TOUR
AVONDALE, La. (AP) — Nick Hardy and Davis Riley birdied four of their final six holes — highlighted by Riley’s 33-foot birdie putt from the from the fringe on the par-3 17th — to give both players their first PGA Tour victory at the Zurich Classic on Sunday.
They began the final round three shots back and closed with a 7-under 65 in alternate-shot play to finish with a tournament-record total of 30-under 258 at TPC Louisiana, eclipsing the 259 posted by 2022 winners Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele. Hardy and Riley were two shots better than Canadians Adam Hadwin and Nick Taylor.
Each takes home $1.24 million and earns a two-year exemption for winning the PGA Tour’s only team event.
Hadwin and Taylor shot 63, tying the course record in alternate shot that was set in Friday’s second round by Cantlay and Schauffele.
Wyndham Clark and Beau Hossler closed with a 1-under 71 to finish third, three shots back.
Cantlay and Schauffele tied for fourth with Matthew NeSmith and Taylor Moore at 26-under.
LIV GOLF
ADELAIDE, Australia (AP) — Talor Gooch saw his 10-shot overnight lead almost evaporate but rallied late to win the inaugural LIV Golf-Adelaide on Sunday.
After two rounds of 10-under 62, Gooch closed with a 1-under 73 at the Grange Golf Club to win his first LIV event by three strokes over Anirban Lahiri. Gooch finished with a 54-hole total of 19-under 197.
Gooch made bogeys on the seventh and eighth holes and a double bogey on No. 10 as his lead over Lahiri fell to two shots. But the American rallied with birdies at the 11th and 13th holes and finished with a par at the last to win $4 million from the $20 million purse on the Saudi-funded circuit.
Lahiri shot 65. Cameron Tringale (67), Pat Perez (67), Patrick Reed (65) and British Open champion Cameron Smith (66) were another shot back.
Phil Mickelson closed with a 69 to tie for 11th at 12 under.
Dustin Johnson’s 4Aces was the winning team by one shot over the RangeGoats, which includes Gooch.
EUROPEAN TOUR AND JAPAN GOLF TOUR
OMITAMA, Japan (AP) — Lucas Herbert holed a 12-foot birdie putt on the second playoff hole to beat Aaron Cockerill and win the ISPS Handa Championship on Sunday.
It was the third European tour title for the Australian, who also has one PGA Tour victory.
Herbert closed with a 67 and Cockerill got up and down from a greenside bunker on the 18th hole for a 68 to match him at 15-under 265.
On the first playoff hole, Cockerill lipped out a birdie try from the fringe for the win.
Herbert missed the fairway right on the second playoff hole and was near a tree, but had a clear path to the green and was able to hit it close.
Calum Hill (65) was third, one shot back.
PGA TOUR CHAMPIONS
IRVING, Texas (AP) — Mark Hensby parred the fourth playoff hole after Charlie Wi hit his approach into the water on Sunday to win the Invited Celebrity Classic, his first victory on the PGA Tour Champions.
The 51-year-old Australian closed with a 1-under 70 at Las Colinas, making birdie on the par-5 18th in regulation to match Wi at 12-under 201 through 54 holes.
In the playoff, Hensby got up-and-down for par on the 18th after his approach came up short of the green and rolled back into the water. The pair traded pars again on 18 and on the par-3 17th before playing 18 a third time, and this time Wi found the water.
Hensby hit a wedge within 10 feet and two-putted for the win, his first since he beat Henrik Stenson in a playoff in the 2005 Scandinavian Masters on the European tour.
The 51-year-old Wi, who got into the field as an alternate, was 5 under through 12 holes, dropped four shots on the next four, then closed with two straight birdies to shoot 68 and post 12-under.
Alex Cejka closed with a 72 and finished one shot back.
KORN FERRY TOUR
LAKEWOOD RANCH, Fla. (AP) — Scott Gutschewski birdied the first playoff hole to beat Logan McAllister in the LECOM Suncoast Classic at Lakewood National.
It’s the third Korn Ferry Tour victory and first since 2008 for the 46-year-old Gutschewski, who moves to ninth on the points list. That puts him in a strong position to return to the PGA Tour, where he last played a full schedule in 2021-22 after a 10-year absence.
Gutschewski closed with a 3-under 68 to match McAllister (65) at 21-under 263. Chase Seiffert (69) and Ben Silverman (68) finished one shot back.
Mac Meissner, who shot 59 in Friday’s second round, went 69-70 over the weekend to finish in a tie for 16th, six shots back.
OTHER TOURS
Jaco Ahlers of South Africa closed with a 1-under 71 for a four-shot victory in the Tour Championship at Serengeti Estates on the Sunshine Tour. … On the Japan LPGA, Sora Kamiya won the Fujisankei Ladies Classic by one stroke, closing with a 2-over 73. … Eun Woo Choi won the Nexen Saint Nine Masters for her first Korea LPGA title.
___
AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
