DeChambeau takes Memorial
For the fourth straight year, Bryson DeChambeau leaves Ohio feeling like a winner.
This time he had a trophy to show for it, and a handshake with Jack Nicklaus to remember. DeChambeau finally made it easy on himself the third time playing the 18th hole at the Muirfield Village yesterday, rolling in a 12-foot birdie putt on the second playoff hole to beat Byeong Hun An and win the Memorial.
“I can’t believe I did it,” said DeChambeau, a winner for the second time on the PGA Tour.
He had played the Memorial only once before, though the 24-year-old Californian has been a regular in central Ohio. He has made it through the 36-hole U.S. Open qualifier each of the last three years, all in the Columbus area.
This was far more rewarding.
DeChambeau watched as his putt disappeared and raised both arms, pumping them seven times as he yelled above the cheers of fans. Many of them lingered at the 18th green after spending much of the final round as if this might be the day Tiger Woods returned to winning. It wasn’t.
Woods was never a serious factor, especially after missing a 3-foot par putt on the 10th hole and hitting another tee shot into someone’s backyard on the 13th hole. One of his best weeks hitting the ball ended with an evenpar 72 and a six-way tie for 23rd.
The finish was no less entertaining.
DeChambeau went from a 2-shot deficit at the turn to a 1-shot lead after No. 12, and he kept it the rest of the way until a three-putt bogey on the 18th hole from about 55 feet for a 1-underpar 71. That tied with An, who had closed with a 69 in the group ahead and was the first to reach 15-under 273.
Kyle Stanley joined them in playoff. He hit into the water on the par-3 12th to fall 5 shots behind with six holes to play, only to run off four straight birdies, capping the big run with a 30-foot putt on the 17th to tie DeChambeau.
In the playoff, Stanley’s tee shot on No. 18 was enough to the right that the ball was well above his feet in thick grass. Stanley choked up and took a swing, but the ball went about 30 yards to the right, leading to a bogey, and he was quickly eliminated.
An took some of the pressure off DeChambeau on the second playoff hole, also on 18, when he yanked his approach into the gallery. He played a marvelous flop shot out of deep rough to a couple of feet for a certain par, only for DeChambeau to hit his approach 12 feet behind the hole and make the birdie.
“I finally got it right the third time,” DeChambeau said. “It took me a little bit.”
Jutanugarn holds on
Ariya Jutanugarn had a huge lead, completely lost it and then prevailed on the fourth hole of a playoff to win a dramatic U.S. Women’s Open in Birmingham, Ala.
Jutanugarn, a 22-year-old from Thailand, hit a clutch bunker shot within a foot of the hole to save par, beating South Korea’s Hyo-Joo Kim, who shot a 5-under 67 in the final round to force the playoff.
Jutanugarn started the day with a 4-shot lead and looked like she might win easily after opening with a 4-under on the front nine to stretch her lead to 7 shots.
But a triple bogey on No.10 cut the lead to 4. She still had a 2-shot lead with two holes remaining, but closed with back-to-back bogeys to fall into a playoff after shooting 73. …
Thorbjorn Olesen of Denmark sunk a 10-foot putt on the final hole to win the Italian Open in Brescia, and avoid a playoff with home favorite Francesco Molinari.
Olesen finished a stroke ahead of the Italian for his fifth European Tour victory and first Rolex Series win.