Dufner recovers to win Memorial
DUBLIN, Ohio — Jason Dufner never lost sight of the big picture even after losing a big lead. It paid off for him Sunday when he rallied from a four-shot deficit and holed a 30-foot par putt on the 18th to close out a victory in the Memorial.
Dufner lost a five-shot lead in the third round. He started the final round facing a four-shot deficit. And then he played his best golf on the back nine, and kept his composure during two rain delays,
to close with a 4-under 68 and win by three shots.
“Yesterday was not my best day,” Dufner said of his 77. “But I had to get over it quick. It’s a 72-hole tournament, there’s a lot of things that can happen out there. I knew I was still in the mix.”
Dufner finished at 13-under 275 for his fifth PGA Tour victory, and he joined tournament host Jack Nicklaus as the only Ohio-born winners of the Memorial.
Not since Nick Faldo in the 1989 has anyone shot 77 in the third round and still won on the PGA Tour.
Rickie Fowler, in prime position to force a playoff on the 18th hole by making birdie, instead made bogey after Dufner ended it with his big par putt. Fowler shot 70 and tied for second with Anirban Lahiri, who closed with a 65.
Justin Thomas missed consecutive short birdie putts that stopped any momentum he had. Matt Kuchar fell back with three bogeys on the back nine. They finished another shot behind. Daniel Summerhays, who began the final round with a three-shot lead, began the back nine with two straight bogeys, and he finished with a double bogey for a 78 to tie for 10th.
Dufner set the 36-hole scoring record at Muirfield Village. No one would have been surprised Friday afternoon that he would be shaking hands with Nicklaus at the end of the tournament.
Dufner got back into the mix quickly when Summerhays lost his three-shot lead after four holes. Over the next
five hours — with 21/2 hours’ worth of rain delays — four players had at least a share of the lead and seven players were in the hunt.
Dufner had one stretch on the front nine of bogey-birdie-bogey-birdie-bogey. He played the front nine in even par, and then he came to life. Not only did he hit every green until the 18th on the back nine, all but one of his birdie chances came from 12 feet or closer.
“I’m pumped to be in the mix again,” Dufner said. “It’s been a good year so far, but this has made it nice.”
The two rain delays softened the course slightly and ended what would have been a rare week of perfect weather at Muirfield Village. David Lingmerth (Arkansas Razorbacks), the 2015 champion of the event, tied for 15th and won $143,550.
LPGA Kim denies Nordqvist
GALLOWAY TOWNSHIP, N.J. — In-Kyung Kim held off two-time defending champion Anna Nordqvist in the ShopRite LPGA Classic for her fifth tour title.
Tied with Paula Creamer for the second-round lead, Kim closed with a 2-under 69 in windy conditions for a twostroke victory over Nordqvist at Stockton Seaview.
Kim was making her sixth start since bruising her tailbone falling down stairs. The 28-yearold South Korean player won the Reignwood LPGA Classic late last season in China.
Gaby Lopez (Arkansas Razorbacks) won $34,412 for her tie for seventh, while Stacy Lewis (Razorbacks) won $10,259 and finished tied for 32nd.
EUROPEAN Paratore holds on
MALMO, Sweden — Renato Paratore won the Nordea Masters for his first European Tour title, finishing with 3-under 70 for a one-stroke victory.
The 20-year-old Italian held of defending champion Matthew Fitzpatrick (68) and fellow Englishmen Chris Wood (72).
Paratore had an 11-under 281 total at Barseback.
WEB.COM Shindler wins first
RALEIGH, N.C. — Conrad Shindler won the Rex Hospital Open for his first Web.com Tour title, beating hometown favorite Chesson Hadley with a par on the first hole of a playoff.
Shindler closed with a 4-under 67 to match Hadley at 15-under 269 at TPC Wakefield Plantation.
The 29-year-old former Texas A&M player earned $117,000 to jump from 50th to fifth on the money list with $152,528 in his rookie season.
Andrew Putnam (66), Andrew Landry (Arkansas Razorbacks) (66) and thirdround leader Kyoung-Hoon Lee (69) tie for third at 14 under to win $33,800.
Putman leads the money list with $222,872, and Landry is second at $188,054.
Matt Atkins (Henderson State) finished tied for 17th and won $8,506.
Ethan Tracy (Razorbacks) and Sebastian Cappelen (Razorbacks) finished tied for 39th at 5 under and won $2,474 apiece. Zack Fischer (Little Rock) was 1 under for $1,534.