Spieth wows, wins with bunker shot in playoff
Jordan Spieth needed an extra hole, a little bit of luck and an amazing final shot to finish off a wire-to-wire victory in the Travelers Championship in Cromwell, Conn.
The two-time major champion holed out from 60 feet for birdie from a greenside bunker on the first hole of a playoff with Daniel Berger on Sunday at TPC River Highlands.
The 23-year-old Texan joined Tiger Woods as the only PGA Tour players in the era since World War II with 10 victories before the age of 24. Woods won 15 times before he turned 24.
“That was one for the ages,” said Spieth, also the winner at Pebble Beach in February.
Spieth held a one-stroke edge after each of the first three rounds. He closed with an even-par 70 to match Berger — who birdied three of the final six holes for a 67 — at 12-under 268.
Berger, the Memphis winner two weeks ago before missing the cut last week at the U.S. Open, just missed a 50-foot putt from off the 18th green that would have forced a second playoff hole.
“Jordan does Jordan things,” Berger said. “So there’s not really much you can say. I’m obviously disappointed, but happy to be in the position I was in today.”
Charley Hoffman (66) and Danny Lee (67) tied for third, three strokes back.
LPGA
So Yeon Ryu became the LPGA Tour’s first two-time winner this season, taking the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship with a tournament-record 18-under 195 total at Rogers, Ark.
Five strokes ahead after a course-record 10-under 61 on Saturday, the third-ranked Ryu closed with a 69 for a two-shot victory over fellow South Korean player Amy Yang and Thailand’s Moriya Jutanugarn.
Ryu has five LPGA Tour victories, also winning the major ANA Inspiration in April in a playoff with Lexi Thompson. Ryu won at Pinnacle Country Club four years after losing a playoff to Inbee Park in the event.
Champions
Fred Couples rallied to win the American Family Insurance Open for his second PGA Tour Champions title of the year and 13th overall.
The 57-year-old Couples closed with a six-under 66 at University Ridge in Madison, Wis., for a two-stroke victory over Scott Verplank. Couples birdied six of the first 11 holes and finished at 15-under 201. Verplank shot a 69.
Tournament host Steve Stricker (69) and Joe Durant (67) tied for third at 12 under.
Europe
Andres Romero had seven birdies in his last 11 holes to win the BMW International Open in Munich, Germany, by one stroke.
The 837th-ranked Romero carded a bogey-free 65 to finish at 17-under 271, a shot better than Thomas Detry (66) and overnight leaders Sergio Garcia (69) and Richard Bland (69).