Westwood holds on for victory
GOLF ROUNDUP
Lee Westwood secured his 25th European Tour win with victory at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship on Sunday in the United Arab Emirates.
Westwood, who had a one-shot overnight lead, has now won in four different decades starting in the 1990s. The Englishman’s 5-under par finalround 67 gave him a two-shot margin over a chasing pack of France’s Victor Perez (63) and England’s Tommy Fleetwood (63) and Matthew Fitzpatrick (67) who all finished on 271.
Bernd Wiesberger and second-round leader Francesco Laporta, who both started the final round one back of Westwood, had their challenge fall away after rounds of 72 and 74.
Top-ranked Brooks Koepka finished joint 34th with an 8-under 280 after a 69 in the final round, 11 back of Westwood.
It was Koepka’s first tournament since returning from a knee injury he aggravated in October when he slipped while walking off the tee at the CJ Cup in South Korea. He previously had stem cell treatment for a partially torn tendon in his patella.
Westwood, a former world No. 1ranked player, was challenged throughout the final round.
Fitzpatrick, who was two shots off Westwood before the start of the day, got off to a strong start and an impressive front nine saw him pile on the pressure but the 46-year-old former world No. 1 kept his cool and continued to putt well to secure his victory.
“It’s been a good week,” Westwood told europeantour.com. “I wasn’t really paying any attention to what other people were doing.
“I was trying to control me ... my emotions and what I’m working on in the golf swing. Just managed to do that.”
Westwood was ranked No. 63 going into the event, but the first victory by an English player on the 2020 Race to Dubai should move him into the top 30.
Fitzpatrick is already in there and was pleased to start the year with a strong performance, he added: “Front nine I felt like could I hole everything and managed to hole one putt for par, which was nice to keep a bit of momentum going.
“Just on back nine, just couldn’t make a thing. It was just one of those days, but hey, that’s golf. I’m delighted. It’s a great start to the year.”
Fleetwood, on his 29th birthday, carded a final round of nine under to finish on 17 under, but fell just short of winning the event for a third time.
“You just concentrate on what you’re doing and every time, every week we play, somebody is going to play great golf and at the moment that’s Lee,” said Fleetwood.
Sergio Garcia of Spain finished six off Westwood to come tied for eighth alongside Austria’s Wiesberger.
PGA: Andrew Landry regrouped to win The American Express in La Quinta, Calif., after blowing a six-stroke lead on the back nine.
Landry broke a tie with Abraham Ancer with a 7-foot birdie putt on the par-3 17th hole and made a 6-footer on the par-4 18th for a 5-under 67 and a two-stroke victory.
Landry won the pro-am event at PGA West two years after losing a playoff to Jon Rahm. The 32-year-old Texan has two PGA Tour victories, also winning the 2018 Texas Open.
Trying to become the third Mexican winner in PGA Tour history and first since 1978, Ancer matched the Stadium Course record with a 63. Playing two groups ahead of Landry, Ancer birdied the par-5 16th and the island-green 17th and parred the 18th.
Champions: Miguel Angel Jimenez made a 12-foot birdie putt on the second hole of a playoff Saturday with senior newcomer Ernie Els to win the PGA Tour Champions’ season-opening Mitsubishi Electric Championship in Ka’upulehu-kona, Hawaii.
Fred Couples, 60, dropped out on the first extra trip down the par-4 18th at windy Hualalai, missing a short par putt.
Jimenez, paired with Couples in the second-to-last group, birdied Nos. 13-15 in a 5-under 67. The 56-year-old Spaniard has nine victories victories on the 50-and-over tour, also winning at Hualalai in 2015. He has won in all seven his senior seasons.
Els, 50, shot an even-par 72 in his first senior round to fall eight strokes behind leaders Jimenez and Bernhard Langer, then rallied with consecutive 65s.