Matsuyama cruises to Bridgestone win
AKRON, Ohio — Hideki Matsuyama was along for the ride four years ago when he watched Tiger Woods tear apart Firestone Country Club on his way to a 61 in the second round, which tied the South course record and sent Woods to a seven-shot victory in the Bridgestone Invitational.
“I just couldn’t believe that anyone could shoot 61 on this golf course,” Matsuyama said.
On Sunday, the 25-year-old Japanese star matched that number and earned a place in the record book.
Matsuyama finished with three straight birdies to cap off a runaway victory with a 9-under-par 61, giving him his second World Golf Championship title in nine months. It was the lowest final round in four decades at venerable Firestone, and it gave Matsuyama a five-shot victory over Zach Johnson.
Matsuyama finished at 16-under 264 and moved back to the top of the FedEx Cup standings.
He first earned a spot among the elite in golf last fall, when he had four victories and two runner-up finishes in a span of six straight tournaments. The timing of his resurgence couldn’t be better with the PGA Championship starting Thursday at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, N.C., and Japan clamoring for its first major champion.
“I hope their expectations aren’t too high,” Matsuyama said. “But my expectations really at the beginning of this week weren’t that high, either, and here we are.”
He won for the third time this season, joining Dustin Johnson and Jordan Spieth for most wins on the PGA Tour in 2016-17.
After starting the final round two shots behind Thomas Pieters and Zach Johnson, Matsuyama quickly got into the hunt by chipping in from 60 feet for an eagle on the second hole. He took the lead for the first time on No. 6 with a 15-foot birdie, and then he was gone.
Johnson, winless since his British Open victory two years ago at St. Andrews, pulled within one shot with a long birdie putt at the 11th, but he could do no better than pars the rest of the way for a 68. Pieters (71) was never in the game after missing four-foot par putts on successive holes to close out the front nine, and he wound up fourth.
Third-place finisher Charley Hoffman (66) was six shots out of the lead.
Stroud takes playoff
RENO, Nev. — Chris Stroud made an eagle on his final hole to get to get into a three-man playoff and won with a two-putt birdie on the second extra hole in the Barracuda Championship, his first PGA Tour victory in his 289th start.
Stroud played the final six holes at Montreaux Golf and Country Club with three birdies and an eagle to earn 20 points in the modified Stableford format. That got him into a playoff with Greg Owen and Richy Werenski, who each birdied the par-5 18th.
Owen was eliminated with a par on the 18th hole. Returning to the 18th, Stroud drilled his approach to 12 feet from the hole, while Werenski went over the green, chipped to 25 feet away and missed the birdie putt.
The victory sent Stroud to this week’s PGA Championship for his first major tournament appearance in three years, along with a two-year exemption. He was playing on limited status this year.
Baylor School graduate Luke List added four points in the final round to finish with 29 and tie for 29th. Another former Red Raider, Harris English, added two points for a total of 22 and was 53rd.
Major redemption
ST. ANDREWS, Scotland — I.K. Kim banished the haunting memory of missing a high-stakes putt by replacing it with the sweetest sensation.
Finally, she can call herself a major champion.
Staked to a six-shot lead after 54 holes at the Women’s British Open, the 29-year-old South Korean never led anyone get closer than two shots in the final round at Kingsbarns Links and sealed her victory with a bold hybrid over the burn to the 17th green. She made nine pars on the back nine and closed with a 1-under 71 for a two-shot win.
Kim leads the tour this season with three victories, all in the last two months, but this was the biggest by far. She was no more than 14 inches away from winning the 2012 Kraft Nabisco Championship for her first major title when she clasped her hand over her mouth in disbelief when the ball spun out of the hole.
Jodi Ewart Shadoff made her work for Sunday’s win by charging home with a 64, but Kim didn’t falter over an increasingly soggy course as she
finished at 18-under 270. Five shots behind Kim and tied for third were Georgia Hall (70), Caroline Masson (67) and Michelle Wie (66).
Goydos tops Sauers
BLAINE, Minn. — Paul Goydos birdied the first playoff hole to win the 3M Championship over Gene Sauers.
It’s the first PGA Tour Champions win of the season for Goydos and the fifth of his career.
Goydos and Sauers each shot a 66 in regulation to get to 20-under 196 at TPC Twin Cities. Sauers’ second playoff shot splashed in the lake in front of the 18th green; Goydos cleared the water by less than a yard and two-putted for the win.
Kevin Sutherland closed with a 64 to tie for third with Steve Stricker (66) and Brandt Jobe (67), two shots back.
Ooltewah’s Gibby Gilbert III made an eagle on the par-5 18th as he closed with a 65. He finished at 5-under 211 to share 55th.
Piller holds up
HAYWARD, Calif. — Martin Piller closed with a 6-under 64 for a one-stroke victory over Brandon Harkins in the Web.com Tour’s Ellie Mae Classic.
Piller, who shared sixth place after three rounds, finished at 18-under 262 at TPC Stonebrae. Harkins’ 66 kept him two strokes ahead of Vince Covello, who made a charge up the leaderboard with a final-round 62.
Baylor alum Keith Mitchell (64) tied for 11th at 12 under. Chattanooga’s Stephan Jaeger, among the tour’s money leaders and this tournament’s 2016 champion, closed with a 65 as he tied for 20th at 10 under.
Former University of Tennessee at Chattanooga golfer Jonathan Hodge (68) tied for 26th at 9 under.