PGA: Stenson sets Wyndham record and wins by one
GREENSBORO, N.C.— Henrik Stenson won the Wyndham Championship on Sunday, closing with a 6-under 64 for a one-stroke victory in the final event of the PGA Tour regular season.
The 2013 FedEx Cup champion finished at 22-under 258 at Sedgefield Country Club, breaking the course’s 72-hole record set by Carl Pettersson in 2008 and matched last year by Si Woo Kim.
The Swede earned $1,044,000 and 500 post-season points for his first victory since the 2016 British Open. He took control with four birdies in a five-hole stretch of the back nine.
Ollie Schniederjans shot a 64 to finish second. Webb Simpson was 18 under after a 67.
Stenson had three consecutive birdies on the 15th, 16th and 17th holes — leaving a 20-foot eagle putt on the 15th about a foot short — after he and Schniederjans were both at 19 under.
Stenseon’s 30-foot birdie putt on No. 17 moved him to 22 under.
He needed it, because Schniederjans kept the pressure on him. The 24-year-old former Georgia Tech player made a 40-foot birdie putt on No. 17 and added another birdie on the par-4 18th hole after placing his second shot two feet from the pin.
With Schniederjans watching the television broadcast and hoping for a playoff, Stenson rolled a 35-foot birdie putt on No. 18 off the right edge of the cup, then made a three-footer to end it.
Nick Taylor, with an even-par 70 on Sunday, and Brad Fritsch, with a 71, were the top Canadians at 6 under, tied for 50th place. David Hearn finished at 3 under after a closing 69.
Low scores and tight leaderboards once again were the norm at Sedgefield. With seven holes left for the final pairing, four players — Stenson, Schniederjans, Ryan Armour and Kevin Na — shared the lead at 18 under.
Stenson moved to 19 under with a birdie on the 13th and Schniederjans joined him with a remarkable recovery for birdie on the 15th. His second shot careened off a canopy covering the gallery and landed in a greenside bunker, but he chipped to two feet of the flagstick and converted the putt.
The other subplot at Sedgefield was the push by the bubble players to qualify for the playoffs that start next week for the top 125 players.
Geoff Ogilvy, who was at No. 125, finished at 11 under and earned enough points to move to No. 116.
And Martin Flores, who started at No. 139, jumped to No. 118 and made the playoffs for the first time since 2014 after a 63 highlighted by a holein-one on the par-3 16th.