Cantlay breaks through in playoff
LAS VEGAS — Patrick Cantlay won the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open on Sunday in a playoff, earning his first victory in a PGA Tour career mostly derailed by a severe back injury.
The 25-year-old former UCLA star hit from behind a tree and got up and down for par from off the back of the 18th green to beat Alex Cejka and Whee Kim on the second extra hole.
“I knew that I’d be able to get to where I wanted to be if I felt healthy,” Cantlay said. “If I felt like I didn’t have pain and I could practice and prepare for tournaments. I know how to practice and prepare for tournaments, so I can do what I want. I feel like I can play well and compete with anybody.”
Cantlay bogeyed the final two holes of regulation for a 5-underpar 67 to get in at 9-under 275 at windy TPC Summerlin. Cejka shot a 63 more than two hours before Cantlay and Kim — playing together in the third-to-last group — finished the round.
The three played the 456yard, par-4 18th twice in the playoff, matching bogeys the first time. On the second extra hole, Cantlay escaped the trees in the right rough, hitting a 4-iron from 185 yards.
Kim bogeyed 18 in regulation for a 66, then went bogey-double bogey on the hole in the playoff. Cejka birdied the final four holes in regulation for a back-nine 30.
Cantlay broke through to win after a remarkable return last season from the back problems. Out of golf since 2013, he didn’t miss a cut and made it to the Tour Championship while playing only 12 events. Part of that was due to an ankle injury that slowed him for two months.
Patton Kizzire (64), J.T. Poston (66) and Chesson Hadley
(68) finished a stroke out of the playoff.
Baylor School graduates Stephan Jaeger (68) and Luke List (70) were part of the group that tied for 20th at 3 under.
Two straight for Rose
ANTALYA, Turkey — Justin Rose made a 10-foot birdie putt on the final hole to win
the Turkish Airlines Open by a shot, his second straight title on the European Tour, as he moved closer to fellow Englishman Tommy Fleetwood in the Race to Dubai standings.
Rose shot a 6-under 65 in the final round to finish at 18-under 266 overall, securing his victory a week after taking the title at the HSBC Champions — which is also a World Golf Championships event — in Shanghai.
Nicolas Colsaerts had the chance to take Rose to a playoff but rolled his birdie putt on the 18th just left of the cup, moments after Rose had holed from two feet further out. Colsaerts had birdied Nos. 15, 16 and 17.
Colsaerts (66) and Dylan Frittelli (64), who chipped in three times in four holes during his round, tied for second. Padraig Harrington needed to eagle the last hole to force a playoff, but he made par and had to settle for fourth place at 16 under.
Fleetwood finished in a tie for 23rd, and his lead of more than a million points over Rose in the Race to Dubai was reduced to just 135,000 with two events left.
Repeat for Feng
IBARAKI, Japan — Shanshan Feng closed with a 4-under 68 as she repeated as champion at the LPGA Tour’s Japan Classic.
Feng recovered from two bogeys on the first three holes of her final round with six birdies to finish at 19-under 197, two shots ahead of Ai Suzuki (68).
Suzuki had a chance to overtake Feng on the back nine, but anytime Suzuki made a birdie, it seemed as though Feng answered with one of her own. She couldn’t capitalize on opportunities late in the round, and a final-hole bogey sealed the win for Feng.
Sweden’s Anna Nordqvist had a hole-in-one on the par-3 third hole and added five birdies against a lone bogey for a 66 to finish in third place at 15-under 201. Lizette Salas (68) was fourth, two more strokes back.