Champ wins at Sanderson Farms for first Tour title

JACKSON, Miss. — Cameron Champ’s prodigious drives weren’t finding the fairways during much of Sunday’s final round at the Country Club of Jackson. Even so, he wasn’t fazed.

The 23-year-old was ready to prove he’s more than just a big hitter.

Champ birdied five of the last six holes thanks largely to clutch putting and won the Sanderson Farms Championship, recovering for his first PGA Tour victory after giving up a four-shot lead.

“I’ve kind of been a streaky putter at times, so I’m just trying to slowly grow other parts of my game,” Champ said. “Short game and putting, but mainly putting.”

That hard work on the greens paid off in a big way during a wire-to-wire win. Champ won in his ninth career tour start, closing with a 4-under 68 for a fourstroke victory. He finished at 21-under 267.

The rookie has made a name for himself during his short career by being extremely long off the tee, but it was his putter that saved him on Sunday. He made a 38-foot birdie putt on the par-4 16th that gave him a two-shot lead and saved par on No. 17 with a 15-footer.

“Just to see those putts go in and the confidence it gives me through the rest of my game really helped this week,” Champ said.

Champ played on Sunday with his backup driver after snapping the head of his regular driver during preround warmups. He said the switch didn’t have much of an effect, instead attributing his accuracy issues off the tee to adrenaline.

“The front side, there were some nerves,” Champ said. “But on the back side I brought it all together and finished strong. It was awesome.”

Champ began the day four shots ahead, but played the front nine in 1 over to fall into a tie. He cruised through the first six holes at 1 under, but back-to-back bogeys on Nos. 7 and 8 brought him back to the pack.

While Champ was struggling, Corey Conners was surging on a warm day in central Mississippi that saw temperatures climb into the 80s. The 26-year-old Canadian had three birdies on the front nine, and his birdie putt on the par-4 No. 9 had him in serious contention.

Champ and Conners then engaged in a tense back-and-forth for much of the back nine before Champ’s run of four straight birdies starting on the 13th.

Even with that impressive stretch, Champ could only push ahead by two shots because Conners birdied two of those four holes as well.

But Conners missed a 7-foot eagle putt on the short par-4 15th that proved costly. He finished with a 68.

Carlos Ortiz (64) and Sam Burns (68) were six shots back.

Champ closed out his victory with one final stunning moment on No. 18. After another long, wayward drive, he punched a 158-yard recovery shot from the left rough that stopped just 7 feet from the hole. No surprise: He made the putt for yet another birdie.

Champ earned $792,000 and 300 FedExCup points, and he’ll be fully exempt on the PGA Tour through the 2020-21 season.

U.S. sweep: Xander Schauffele gave the Americans a sweep of the World Golf Championships and quickly put a winless sophomore season behind him.

Schauffele made birdie on his final three holes Sunday, the last one a two-putt birdie from about 30 feet on the par-5 18th hole to beat Tony Finau in a suddendeath playoff and win the HSBC Champions.

“When I was signing my card, I was like,O`h, wow. I actually went birdie-birdie to get in the playoff,” Schauffele said. “I was just in my own world out there.”

He began the tournament by celebrating his 25th birthday. He ended it with one clutch shot after another in the closing stretch at Sheshan International for a 4-under 68, the lowest score of the final round, and his first victory in 13 months.