Harman’s thrilling putt on 18th hole sinks Johnson

Brian Harman made a 30-foot birdie putt on the final hole Sunday to win the Wells Fargo Championship in Wilmington, N.C., and deny Dustin Johnson the chance at a fourth straight victory.

Johnson, in his return from a freak back injury that knocked the world’s No. 1 player out of the Masters, went from making the cut on the number to a 67-67 weekend at Eagle Point and appeared headed for a playoff with Harman and Pat Perez.

Harman won it with a birdie-birdie finish, none bigger than the par-5 18th.

After going so long on his second shot that he needed relief from behind a corporate tent, Harman hit a heavy chip that barely got onto the green. From just under 30 feet away, the putt dropped into the center of the cup and set off a wild celebration, with Harman shaking his fists and leaping to share a hard hug with his caddie, Scott Tway.

Harman closed with a 4-under 68 for his second PGA Tour victory.

“It’s surreal,” Harman said. “I three-putted that 15th hole, knew it was going to be tough to birdie those last couple. But I stuck to my game plan and just did it.”

Johnson was playing for the first time in six weeks because of his slip down the stairs the day before the Masters. A quick start allowed him to stay with the leaders, and he holed a 15-foot birdie putt on the 18th that gave him a share of the lead.

PGA Champions: John Daly bogeyed the final three holes but still held on to win the Insperity Invitational — his first title on the 50-and-over tour.

Daly finished with a a 3-under 69 and a onestroke victory over Kenny Perry and Tommy Armour III at The Woodlands, Tex.

The 51-year-old Daly won for the first time since the PGA Tour’s 2004 Buick Invitational. He finished with a 14-under 202.

Daly pumped his fist after tapping in for bogey on 18, and then was sprayed with champagne.

Perry shot a 69 and Armour had a 67.

LPGA: Sei Young Kim held off Ariya Jutanugarn, 1 up, to win the Lorena Ochoa Match Play Invitational in Mexico City for her sixth title.

After Jutanugarn won the par-5 17th with a birdie to force another hole, Kim finished off the match with a halve for a par on the par-4 18th.