Pro golf roundup: Jason Day wins AT&T Byron Nelson for first PGA victory in five years
What is this?
Jason Day tapped in for birdie at the 18th hole to polish off a 9-under 62 and win the AT&T Byron Nelson on Sunday in McKinney, Texas.
After starting the day two shots off the pace, the former world No. 1 from Australia captured his first PGA Tour title in five years and eight days.
"For some reason, I just thought that I was going to win the tournament," Day said. "It's easy to say that now because I won it, but that's just -- for some reason I just had this sort of calmness about it."
Day broke through a crowded pack atop the leaderboard with a nine-birdie, bogey-free performance in the final round at TPC Craig Ranch to finish 23-under 261 for the week. When Austin Eckroat failed to make an eagle at the last hole to match Day at 23 under, Day's 13th career PGA Tour victory was secured.
Day will carry his stellar form into next week's PGA Championship at Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, N.Y. Day's only career major title came at the 2015 PGA.
ADVERTISEMENT
Challenges with injuries and vertigo slowed Day's career in the years that followed, and on top of that, he lost his mother in 2017. So to win the Byron Nelson on Mother's Day was a meaningful moment for the Aussie.
"I was in tears for a little bit there, and to think about what my mom went through from 2017 on to her passing last year and then to know that -- it was very emotional to go through and to experience what she was going through, then I had injuries on top of all of that going on in my life," Day said.
"To be honest, I was very close to calling it quits. I never told my wife that, but I was okay with it, just because it was a very stressful part of my life."
Day didn't quit, and as a result of Sunday's performance he rose from No. 35 to No. 20 in the Official World Golf Ranking, returning to the top 20 for the first time since 2019.
"I think the advice that I'd have to give (my former self) is just to be patient, always strive to try and get better, and it's mainly about the journey," Day said. "Just trying to better yourself not only on the golf course but off the golf course, as well, and growing and learning and just trying to be a better person I think is where it's at."
Day finished one stroke ahead of Eckroat (final-round 65) and South Korea's Si Woo Kim (63).
Every birdie mattered for Day. He tallied four on the front nine and five on the back. At the par-4 10th, he flighted his ball out of a fairway bunker to inside 6 feet of the pin for a birdie putt. At the par-4 12th, he chipped in from about 38 feet off the green.
And his third shot on the par-5 18th spun back to just 2 feet, 2 inches from the cup.
ADVERTISEMENT
C.T. Pan of Taiwan also shot a 62, featuring eagle putts at the par-4 14th and No. 18, and finished alone in fourth at 21 under.
Scottie Scheffler, the second-ranked player in the world and the hometown favorite in the Dallas area, rebounded from a middling third round by posting a bogey-free 65. He tied for fifth at 20 under with England's Tyrrell Hatton (64) and China's Zecheng Dou (67).
Jin Young Ko beats Minjee Lee in playoff to win Founders Cup
Jin Young Ko's par on the first playoff hole was enough to beat Minjee Lee and win the Cognizant Founders Cup on Sunday in Clifton, N.J.
World No. 3 Ko and world No. 6 Lee replayed the par-4 18th hole at Upper Montclair Country Club to begin the playoff. Both found the green in two shots, but after Ko missed a birdie putt, Lee smacked her putt far left and several feet past the hole.
The Australian misread her comebacker for par, which stayed right the whole way. Ko then cleaned up her par for the come-from-behind win.
Ko, a South Korea native, has now won the Founders Cup three times -- at three different courses. Lee was attempting to defend last year's title.
"I didn't have my game plan or something like that," Ko said on the Golf Channel broadcast. "I feel just tired the last three days so I really wanted to focus on my game."
Lee entered the day with a three-shot lead on the field and a four-shot advantage over Ko. A double bogey at the par-3 sixth set her back, but she proceeded to make four birdies to get to 14 under par through 15 holes.
ADVERTISEMENT
Professional golfer Jin Young Ko lifts the winner's trophy after winning the LPGA VOA Classic on Sunday, July 4, 2021, at Old American Golf Club in The Colony, Texas. On Sunday, May 14, 2023, Ko won the Cognizant Founders Cup in Clifton, New Jersey.
TNS file photo
A messy bogey at the 16th took her down to 13 under. Up ahead, Ko made a long birdie putt at the 18th to tie Lee.
Ko parred No. 17 and missed the green at No. 18, though her chip nearly caught the cup and fell for a tournament-winning birdie.
"I heard the roar when Jin Young birdied 18, so I knew I was probably going to be tied if I didn't birdie the last hole," Lee said. "I chipped it really well and it just missed, but I still think I played really solid today and throughout the whole week."
Ko's bogey-free 67 featured five birdies, including a long putt at the par-4 18th to tie Lee at 13 under. Lee carded a 71.
South Africa's Ashleigh Buhai shot a final-round 70 to finish in sole possession of third place at 10-under 278. South Korea's Hae Ran Ryu (73) placed fourth at 8 under. Atthaya Thitikul of Thailand (71), Aditi Ashok of India (73) and Angel Yin (74) tied for fifth at 7 under.
Dustin Johnson wins LIV Tulsa in playoff
Dustin Johnson birdied the first playoff hole to beat Cameron Smith of Australia and Branden Grace of South Africa and win the inaugural LIV Tulsa title on Sunday in Broken Arrow, Okla.
Johnson had to birdie No. 18 to make sure he was part of the playoff. Then his putt from the fringe of the 18th green at Cedar Ridge Country Club rolled straight in, and the title was his once Smith missed a birdie putt from a similar distance.
Dustin Johnson watches his tee shot during the final round of a LIV Golf event on Sunday, May 14, 2023, in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Joey Johnson / USA Today Sports
Johnson will take the momentum from his second career LIV victory to next week's PGA Championship in Rochester, N.Y. The last time LIV played an event the week before a major, Brooks Koepka won it and went on to tie for second at the Masters.
ADVERTISEMENT
"The game is in really good shape. I feel like I'm doing everything really well right now," Johnson said. "I'm really looking forward to next week, obviously get up there tonight and get out and get a little practice in (Monday)."
A former world No. 1, Johnson slept on the 36-hole lead at the Saudi-funded league's first tournament in the Tulsa area. He, Smith and Grace played together and started their round at No. 1.
Grace -- who shot a LIV record 61 on Friday -- posted a bogey-free, 5-under 65 Sunday. Smith then matched Grace's two-day-old record by making nine birdies and zero bogeys for a 61. Smith's birdie at No. 18, like Johnson's, also had to go in for Smith to join a tie at 17 under and force a playoff.
"When you get to put yourself in that situation, you're doing something right. Played really goo
Monday, May 15, 2023 at 2:03 am