Hovland rallies with 61 to win BMW title
OLYMPIA FIELDS, Ill. — Viktor Hovland delivered the best round of his career at the right time, making birdie on all but two holes on the back nine Sunday for a 9-under 61 to break the course record at Olympia Fields and storm past Scottie Scheffler and Matt Fitzpatrick to win the BMW Championship.
What looked to be a twoman race between Scheffler and Fitzpatrick turned into a one-man show by Hovland. He headed to the back nine four shots behind. In the end, Scheffler and Fitzpatrick had to hole out from the fairway to catch him.
Both closed with a 66, a score that normally would be enough to win on a day like this. They had to settle for runner-up to Hovland, who won for the second time this year and never looked better doing it.
Jordan Spieth bogeyed his last two holes for a 71 and still narrowly made it among the top 30 from the FedEx Cup who advance to the Tour Championship next week. Fitzpatrick
was the only one to play himself in, going from No. 40 to No. 10 with his runner-up finish.
Xander Schauffele did enough right in his round of 68 to tie for eighth, earning enough money to narrowly clinch the sixth and final automatic spot on the U.S. Ryder Cup team. Schauffele was certain to get one of the six captain’s picks, but his finish moved PGA champion Brooks Koepka from No. 5 to No. 7 in the Ryder Cup standings.
U.S. captain Zach Johnson makes his six picks in nine days.
LPGA TOUR AND EUROPEAN TOUR
ANTRIM, Northern Ireland — Alexa Pano celebrated her 19th birthday by beating Gabriella Cowley of England on the third hole of a playoff to win the ISPS Handa World Invitational for her first LPGA Tour victory in the ISPS Handa World Invitational.
Pano closed with 6-under 66 on the Galgorm course for a three-way tie with Cowley (70) and Germany’s Esther Henseleit (69). They finished at 8-under 281 in a tournament co-sanctioned by the European tour, LPGA and Ladies European Tour.
The two competitions were held concurrently for an equal prize money, with the women on their own set of tees.
Cowley led after the third round but needed an eagle on the 18th to make the playoff. Henseleit was eliminated on the first extra hole.
Cowley then missed a 3-foot birdie putt for the win on the second playoff hole, and Pano took full advantage by making a birdie when the players returned to the par-5 18th for a third time.
EUROPEAN TOUR
ANTRIM, Northern Ireland — Daniel Brown closed with a 1-under 69 and wrapped up a five-shot victory in the ISPS Handa World Invitational for his first professional victory.
Brown started the day with a six-shot lead, which was briefly cut to just two strokes before he made three birdies in a four-hole stretch that gave him plenty of breathing room. He finished at 15-under 266, five clear of Alex Fitzpatrick.
The tournament co-sanctioned by the European tour, LPGA and Ladies European Tour. The two competitions were held concurrently for an equal prize money, with the women on their own set of tees.
Eddie Pepperell closed with a 68 and finished alone in third.