Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Thomas holds on to win BMW Championship
MEDINAH, ILL. >> Staked to a six-shot lead, Justin Thomas spent more time Sunday worrying about what could go wrong than ending 12 months without winning.
And right when it started to go wrong, Thomas delivered his biggest shots in the BMW Championship.
In a span of three holes around the turn at Medinah, his six-shot lead shrunk to two. Thomas answered with two clutch wedge shots, two big putts and sailed to a 4-under 68 to secure a three-shot victory over Patrick Cantlay, who gave him a battle to the end with a 65.
“Patrick played unbelievably, put a lot of heat on me,” Thomas said. “In the end, it could have been good for me. It kept me focused, kept my head down. ... I was really nervous going into today. I remembered that it’s really hard to win a golf tournament, and I’m glad that I was able to do so.” The timing was ideal. His first victory since the World Golf Championship at Firestone last year moved him to the top of the FedEx Cup going into the Tour Championship, where he will start the tournament at 10-under par with a two-shot lead under the new scoring format as the final 30 players chase a $15 million first prize.
“I can certainly say I never slept on a Wednesday lead,” Thomas said.
Cantlay, who made four straight birdies around the turn, secured the No. 2 position and will start at 8 under. Brooks Koepka will be 7 under, a staggered start all the way down to even par for the final five players.
That includes Lucas Glover, who went bogeydouble bogey until finishing with a two-putt par from 40 feet to secure his first trip to the Tour Championship in 10 years.
It will not include Masters champion Tiger Woods, the defending champion.
Woods was a long shot going into the final round to crack the top 30, and he closed with a 72. East Lake was his first victory in five years, capping his return from four back surgeries, a special moment replaced some six months later by his Masters victory.
“It’s disappointing,” Woods said. “Last year culminated in a pretty special moment for me and would have been nice to go back there.”
Hideki Matsuyama took the 36-hole lead with a 63 until falling back with a 73. He responded with another 63 to finish alone in third, making him one of three players who moved into the top 30 to reach East Lake. The other was Jason Kokrak, but only after J.T. Poston made bogey on his final hole.
The final day to earn the eight automatic spots on the Presidents Cup changed nothing for either team.
Bryson DeChambeau held onto the final spot for the Americans when Tony Finau, who needed to finish alone in third, closed with a 69 and finished fourth. Jason Day failed to work his way into an automatic spot for the International side.
There wasn’t supposed to be much drama in the tournament, either, not with Thomas coming off a 61 to build a six-shot lead. Only seven players dating to 1928 had ever lost a six-shot lead on the PGA Tour. Thomas didn’t want to be the next.
That’s why he shut off his phone on his way to the course. It seemed everyone but him had already declared him the winner, and he found no refuge in the locker room.
“Guys giving me advice in the locker room how to finish off a tournament,” Thomas said. “I was like, ‘I’ve done this a couple times guys but, thank you.’ That’s what I was saying on the way over here. It’s a lot of the outside noise that makes it harder sometimes to stay focused.”
Ogletree rallies to beat Augenstein in US Amateur final
PINEHURST, N.C. >> Andy Ogletree was in danger of being blown out of the U.S. Amateur final. He kept his poise — and his confidence — and came back to win.
Ogletree won the U.S. Amateur on Sunday, rallying to beat John Augenstein 2 and 1.
“Everyone on (his Georgia Tech) team says Andy’s blood pressure’s got to be negative,” Ogletree quipped.
Ogletree was 4 down early in the morning round of the 36-hole final at Pinehurst’s renovated No. 4, but won four of the final seven holes on the No. 2 course to claim the championship matchup of 21-year-old college seniors.
“I showed a lot of resilience out there and never gave up,” Ogletree said. “Kept telling myself I’m going to win this tournament and always believed that. Even when I was 4 down through six (holes), I just kept telling myself ... keep hitting fairways, keep hitting greens and it’ll eventually go your way.”
The Mississippian became the third Georgia Tech player to win the Amateur, joining 1997 winner Matt Kuchar and five-time champion Bobby Jones.
He ended it on the 17th, sticking his tee shot on the par-3 hole on the green and two-putting for par. Augenstein placed his tee shot on the left fringe and fourputted for a double bogey.
“I fought my hardest, but in the end, I didn’t make enough putts or hit enough great shots to beat him,” Augenstein said. “He was really super solid and made no mistakes.”
Augenstein, from Kentucky, was the first Vanderbilt player to reach the final since Luke List in 2004. At No. 38 in the world amateur ranking, he was the highestranked player to reach the semifinals and the only one in the top 100.
Ogletree kept himself within striking distance and was never worse than 2 down during the afternoon round. He squared the match on the 13th hole after landing his second shot within 5 feet of the flagstick and tapping in for a birdie, then took the lead on the 14th after Augenstein pushed a short par putt wide left.
“I just kept putting the pressure on John,” Ogletree said, “and it worked out for me.”