Shibuno holds off Salas to win Women’s British
Poston grabs first PGA Tour win by 1 stroke at Wyndham Championship
MILTON KEYNES, England — Hinako Shibuno of Japan finished with a birdie to win the Women’s British Open by one shot over Lizette Salas on Sunday as she wrapped up a stunning major championship debut.
The 20-year-old Shibuno, a rookie on the Japan LPGA Tour who was playing for the first time outside of her country, birdied five of the final nine holes in a 4-under 68 and 18-under 270 overall.
“I was also thinking about if I were to make this putt, how I was going to celebrate,” Shibuno said of approaching the 18th. “Eat a lot of sweets.”
Largely unknown before the championship, Shibuno — nicknamed “Smiling Cinderella” — started Sunday with a two-stroke lead but lost it with a double bogey on the par-4 3rd. She bounced back with birdies on Nos. 5 and 7 before a bogey on the 8th at Woburn Golf Club.
But in three of four rounds, Shibuno had shone on the back nine.
She did it in 31 on Sunday — and just 30 on Thursday and Saturday.
“Now that I’ve won, I think a lot of the Japanese people will know me, but in actuality, I just wanted to live a quiet life,” Shibuno said.
“I was looking online and I did see that it’s been 42 years since a Japanese player has last won. I do feel that I have accomplished something great, but I really don’t know the reason why I was able to accomplish it.”
Salas, who started the final round tied for fourth, quickly played herself into contention with three birdies in the first four holes, and she added five more in a 7-under 65.
But the American will regret not taking another birdie chance on the 18th when she shared the lead with Shibuno.
“I told myself, ‘You got this. You’re made for this.’ I put a good stroke on it. I’m not going to lie, I was nervous,” Salas said after her best finish at a major. “You know, I haven’t been in that position in a long time. Gave it a good stroke. I controlled all my thoughts. It just didn’t drop.”
Jin Young Ko, who was seeking her third major title of the year after winning the Evian Championship last week, was two shots back in third after a bogey-free 66.
“I had a little pressure, but I like that pressure,” Ko said.
Morgan Pressel (67) finished fourth at 15 under, just ahead of former leader Ashleigh Buhai (70), whose hopes were dented Saturday when she let a five-shot lead slip. The 30-year-old South African finished fifth at 14 under.
“If you had given me a top five at the beginning of the week, I most certainly would have taken it,” Buhai said.
Also, Celine Boutier shot a 66 to finish the tournament at 12 under, followed by Carlota Ciganda (70) at 11 under and second-ranked Sung Hyun Park (73) at 10 under.
American Nelly Korda (68) tied for ninth with Jeongeun Lee6 (71) at 9 under, two shots ahead of Lexi Thompson (67).
Defending champion Georgia Hall (73) tied for 35th.
PGA TOUR: In Greensboro, N.C., J.T. Poston kept racking up birdies and pars — but no bogeys — at the Wyndham Championship. They added up to his first PGA Tour victory — and a first-time-in-decades achievement.
Poston shot an 8-under 62 on Sunday for a one-stroke victory at the tour’s regularseason finale.
He tied Henrik Stenson’s 2-year-old tournament record at 22-under 258, and became the first player since Lee Trevino in 1974 to win a 72-hole stroke-play event on tour without any bogeys or worse.
“I probably haven’t had that many bogeyfree rounds this year,” Poston said. “To be able to do four in a row is pretty special, and finish it off with a 62 on Sunday is pretty awesome.”
The native North Carolinian began his round three strokes back, took the lead for good with — what else? — a birdie on the par-5 15th hole, then finished with three straight pars to earn $1,116,000 and 500 FedEx Cup points.
Webb Simpson was at 21 under after a 65. Byeong Hun An, who held or shared the lead after each of the first three rounds, three-putted the 18th for a bogey and a 67 to finish two shots back. Trying to force a playoff with a birdie, he nearly holed a 60-footer but had it run well past.
“Nothing was really working at the end,” An said. “I just ran out of juice.”
Poston, a former Western Carolina golfer playing a 100-mile drive from his hometown of Hickory, became the third player in 11 years with strong local ties to win at Sedgefield Country Club. He joined 2008 winner Carl Petterson — a Swede who grew up in Greensboro — and Simpson, the 2011 champion who’s from Raleigh and played college golf at Wake Forest.
“To be able to do it here in North Carolina, with a lot of friends and family, I don’t think I could have drawn it up any better,” Poston said.
Poston closed the gap with An with three birdies and an eagle on the front nine.
Then came the key hole: No. 15. Poston took sole possession of the lead with a birdie on that hole after placing a bunker chip 6 feet from the flagstick.
An, playing two groups behind Poston, sent his tee shot on that hole into the weeds. He took a penalty stroke, then landed his third shot left of the green, left his chip 35 feet short and dropped to 20 under after two-putting for his first bogey of the tournament.
“The bogey was definitely the killer, I think, because I knew I needed to make a birdie there,” An said.
After a birdie on the next hole and a par on 17, An needed to finish with a birdie to force a playoff. He sent his tee shot into the trees and recovered by landing his second shot 60 feet from the pin.
Simpson — who finished second for the second straight week — earned his seventh top-10 finish at this tournament since 2010 and climbed to No. 9 on the playoff points list, earning $550,000 in bonus money as part of the inaugural Wyndham Rewards Top 10 program. Paul Casey finished tied for 13th and eighth on the points list, and earned $600,000.