Wire-to-wire win nets huge payday

ST. ALBANS, England — Former Masters champion Charl Schwartzel banked $4.75 million on Saturday by winning the richest tournament in golf history, while the event’s Saudi backers faced renewed backlash after a 9/11 victims’ group called for American players to withdraw from the rebel series.

Schwartzel held on for a one-shot victory at the inaugural LIV Golf event near London to secure the $4 million prize for the individual victory — along with another $750,000 from his share of the $3 million purse earned by his four-man Stinger team for topping the leaderboard in that category.

Schwartzel collected more prize money from winning the three-day, 54-hole event than he had from on-course winnings the past four years combined. Not that it could match the sense of sporting achievement he felt after his win more than a decade ago at Augusta National.

“Money is one thing but there you’re playing for prestige, history,” he said of his triumph at the 2011 Masters, which remains his lone major tournament championship. “Winning a major will always top anything you do.”

This hefty paycheck has come at a cost to Schwartzel’s career status, having resigned his membership of the PGA Tour to play on the unsanctioned series without a waiver.

“Never in my wildest dreams did I think we could play for that much money in golf,” Schwartzel, who had not won a PGA or European tour event since 2016, told the crowd.

Pressed in the news conference, the 37-year-old South African dismissed criticism of the windfall coming from the sovereign wealth fund of Saudia Arabia.

“Where the money comes from is not something … that I’ve ever looked at playing in my 20 years career,” said Schwartzel, who has two career wins on the PGA Tour and 11 on the European-based circuit now known as the DP World Tour. “I think if I start digging everywhere where we played, you could find fault in anything.”

Hennie Du Plessis, who was selected to play for the Stinger team by captain and fellow South African Louis Oosthuizen in the draft, earned $2.875 million by finishing second at Centurion Club, where there was no cut for the 48-player field.

Schwartzel entered the final day with a three-shot lead and did just enough to hold off Du Plessis, winning in wire-to-wire fashion despite closing with a 2-over-par 72 to finish at 7-under 203 overall.

It is the first of eight events in the first year of LIV Golf, which began against the backdrop of the PGA Tour banning players who signed up. The DP World Tour has yet to comment on any sanctions for players who jumped to the series without its approval.

Finau, McIlroy leaders at RBC Canadian Open

TORONTO — A frustrating Friday wound up helping Tony Finau make sure his Saturday didn’t go to waste in the third round of the RBC Canadian Open.

Finau birdied the final hole at St. George’s Golf & Country Club for an 8-under 62 and a share of the overall lead with four-time major winner Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland, the tournament’s reigning champion as its 2019 winner.

“I didn’t finish the way I wanted to yesterday, and I think all it did was kind of light a fire in my belly to get after it today,” Finau said. “That’s pretty much what I did. I made some birdies, and I just played really clean golf. “

McIlroy, who had a 65 to match Finau at 11-under 199 through 54 holes, will try to repeat at a tournament that was canceled the past two years due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“I’m just happy to give myself a chance, be in the final group,” McIlroy said. “Once I saw, I think Tony had got to 10 or maybe 11, I think I was on like 8 or 9 at the time. I just said to myself, ‘Let’s just try to get yourself in the final group.’”

Four players were tied for third at 9 under: PGA Championship winner Justin Thomas (63), Sam Burns (65) — the Charles Schwab Challenge winner two weeks ago — Alex Smalley (67) and Wyndham Clark (68), who led by a stroke after the first round Thursday and took a two-stroke edge into the weekend.

Austin Cook (68) and Jim Knous (69) were seventh at 7 under, and six players were five strokes behind the leaders going into the final round.

That included Baylor School graduate Keith Mitchell, who played with McIlroy and closed his round of 70 with a double bogey. On Friday, Clark and Mitchell both talked about the difficulty of the 18th and being grateful to come out even on the par-4 hole.

Finau had the best round of the week, with his eagle on the par-5 ninth allowing him to make the turn at 5-under 29 before carding four birdies and a bogey on the back nine. He won the opening tournament of the FedEx Cup playoffs last season for his second PGA Tour victory.