Syme seals payday with mega 60ft final putt

THE day belonged to Mikko Korhonen but Connor Syme’s miracle 60-foot putt on the last to secure a second-placed finish behind the Finn is what will be remembered from the inaugural Shot Clock Masters. The young Scot only turned pro in September and was ranked a lowly 836th in the world at the start of the week, but finished five shots behind Korhonen, who lifted his first European Tour title, on ten under par. Syme’s putt at the last was worth €51,000 (£44,788) as it vaulted him out of a five-way tie into solo second and a payday of €111,110 (£97,000). ‘I’m absolutely over the moon,’ Syme told Sky Sports. ‘That was a massive bonus on the last and you could tell by my reaction how much it meant. ‘I’ve had a couple of decent results but it’s been a pretty slow start to the European Tour since I gained my card. This will definitely turn things around no matter what. To hole that putt was just a dream come true.’ Earlier in the day, Raphael Jacquelin, who finished in a tie for third alongside Nicolas Colsaerts, Steve Webster and Justin Walters, had reduced Korhonen’s overnight advantage to three shots after four birdies in the first seven holes but the Finn birdied the third before play was suspended due to the threat of lightning. The 37-year-old picked up further strokes on the fifth and sixth when play resumed before his first bogey of the week on the ninth. A birdie on the next settled any nerves and, despite another bogey on the 12th following the second stoppage, Korhonen was never in danger of being caught.

l Dustin Johnson last night regained the world number one spot by winning the St Jude Classic in Memphis. The 33-year-old climbed back to the top of the world rankings for the first time since May 13, courtesy of his tournamentwinning 19 under par score. His second tournament win of the season tees him up nicely for the US Open, which starts on Thursday.