‘Amazing’ putting carries Park, former Gorman star, to victory
SINGAPORE — Bishop Gorman High School product Inbee Park used her self-described “amazing” putting to win the HSBC Women’s Champions tournament by one stroke on Sunday after closing with an 8-under 64.
The South Korean finished at 19-under 269 at the Sentosa Golf Club, one shot clear of her playing partner Ariya Jutanugarn, who was second after a 66.
Sung Hyun Park (68) was third, a further shot back, while overnight leader Michelle Wie dropped back into a tie for fourth after a 72.
Wie was two in front after making birdies on the second and third holes before her round unraveled when she four-putted for a double-bogey on the par-5 fifth.
Inbee, 28, made her first birdie of the day on the same hole that Wie’s charge started to falter, then proceeded to reel off another eight birdies to the 17th hole, draining a series of long putts in a near-flawless display on the greens.
“My putting was amazing today, obviously,” the seven-time major winner and Olympic gold medalist said. “I couldn’t make any putts yesterday and obviously I made up for it today.
“Pretty much everything I looked at, it wanted to drop in. It was very consistent ball-striking all week, and obviously there is a lot of birdie opportunities out there and I was able to convert the birdies. This was one of my best putting days…I was just in that zone.”
PGA — At Mexico City, Dustin Johnson survived a few anxious moments on the back nine by playing mistake-free when it mattered to win the Mexico Championship in his debut as the No. 1 player in the world.
Johnson blasted out of a fairway bunker to the middle of the 18th GOLF green to secure a two-putt par for a 3-under 68 and a one-shot victory over Tommy Fleetwood (66) of England.
Johnson, who finished at 14-under 270, became the fifth player to win in his debut at No. 1.
EUROPEAN PGA — At Pretoria, South Africa, countryman Dean Burmester won the Tshwane Open for his first European title, closing with a 6-under 66 for a three-stroke victory. Burmester finished at 18-under 266 at Pretoria Country Club.
Finland’s Mikko Korhonen (67) and Spain’s Jorge Campillo (68) tied for second.