Dufner prevails with playoff
Jason Dufner, right, won the CareerBuilder Challenge with a par on the second hole of a playoff Sunday, taking advantage of David Lingmerth’s shot off the rocks that bounced into the water. Dufner finished with a 2-under 70 on PGA West’s TPC Stadium Course in La Quinta, Calif., to match Lingmerth at 25-under 263. Lingmerth shot a 65, matching the best score of the day.
LA QUINTA, Calif. — Jason Dufner won the CareerBuilder Challenge with a par on the second hole of a playoff Sunday, taking advantage of David Lingmerth’s shot off the rocks that bounced into the water.
Dufner finished with a 2-under 70 on PGA West’s TPC Stadium Course to match Lingmerth at 25-under 263. Lingmerth shot a 65, matching the best score of the day on the difficult course that was used in the tournament for the first time since being dropped after its 1987 debut.
Dufner made two great par escapes to stay alive.
In regulation on the island-green 17th called Alcatraz, he pulled his 8-iron tee shot left and the ball bounced into a narrow sandy area between rocks that circle the putting surface. Maneuvering his club around the rocks, he hooded the clubface and hooked a chip that struck the flagstick and stopped inches away.
On the first extra hole on the par-4 18th, Duf-ner hit his 3-wood drive near the lip in the front of a rightside bunker. Unable to reach the green, he blasted out 100 yards to set up a 110-yard third shot that he hit to 11 feet. Lingmerth hit his approach from the right rough to 23 feet but missed the birdie try. Dufner then holed his putt to send the playoff back to the 18th tee.
Dufner switched to a driver and followed Lingmerth into a grass bunker on the right side. Lingmerth’s approach from 184 yards crashed into the rocks along the edge of the fairway and shot left into the water. Dufner hit the front of the green with his second shot and two-putted for par, holing a 5-footer after Lingmerth missed his par try from 22 feet.
The 38-year-old Dufner earned $1,044,000 for his fourth victory on the PGA Tour and first since the 2013 PGA Championship.
Fowler triumphs
ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates — Rickie Fowler puffed his cheeks and shook his head. What looked like being a procession to the Abu Dhabi Championship title ended up being a squeeze for the American on Sunday.
It needed two moments of inspiration in the final round to seal a one-shot victory — and spark more talk about Fowler’s place in golf ’s current elite.
Dressed in his trademark Sunday orange, Fowler rebounded from a double-bogey at No. 7 — which helped trim his lead over a congested pack of challengers from four strokes to one — by chipping in from 30 yards for eagle from a bunker at No. 8. Then at No. 17, Fowler holed a chip from just off the green for a birdie that shook off playing partner Thomas Pieters, the Belgian who emerged to chase Fowler all the way down the stretch.
“It was not how it was planned,” a smiling Fowler said of the tight finish, “but came out on top.”
Fowler, who held a twostroke lead after a thirdround 65, shot a 3-under 69 for 16-under 272 overall. Pieters (67) was runner-up, with fast-finishing Rory McIlroy (68) and Henrik Stenson (67) tied for third.
There was satisfaction for Fowler with claiming his fourth win worldwide in nine months, after victories at The Players Championship, the Scottish Open and the Deutsche Bank Championship in 2015. This win will move him from No. 6 to No. 4 in the rankings for a first-ever spot in the world’s top five. The so-called “Big Three” of Jordan Spieth, Jason Day and McIlroy may need to be enlarged. “I want to be part of the crew. It would be a pretty good foursome,” Fowler said.