Koepka wins in Memphis, claims regular-season points title

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Brooks Koepka turned his final-round duel with Rory Mcilroy into a runaway for his first World Golf Championships title.

Koepka had three birdies in a four-hole stretch on the front nine to take the lead and never trailed the rest of the way, closing with a 5-under 65 for a three-shot victory in the Fedex St. Jude Invitational.

With his third victory of the season, Koepka wraps up the regularseason points title a week early and claims a $2 million bonus from the Wyndham Rewards program. He is assured to going into the Fedex Cup playoffs as the No. 1 seed.

Koepka finished at 16-under 264 and earned $1.745 million.

Mcilroy, in his first final-round pairing with Koepka, didn’t make a birdie until the 14th hole on the TPC Southwind and closed with a 71 to tie for fourth. Webb Simpson had a 64 to finish second. Marc Leishman (67) was another shot back. Tommy Fleetwood (66) and Matthew Fitzpatrick (69) joined Mcilroy at 11 under.

Koepka won for the seventh time on the PGA Tour, and he became the sixth player to win a major championship and a World Golf Championship in the same year. He won the PGA Championship for the second straight year in May, and was runner-up in the Masters and U.S. Open. He tied for fourth last week at the British Open. He also had a pair of top 10s in this WGC when it was at Firestone, and he had a pair of top 3s at the TPC Southwind when it was the St. Jude Classic.

EVIAN-LES-BAINS, France — Jin Young Ko won her second major title of the season at the Evian Championship and returned to No. 1 in the women’s world ranking. Ko closed with a 4-under 67 in the rain and seized control when Hyo Joo Kim took a triple bogey from the bunker on the 14th hole. Ko won by two shots over Kim (73), American rookie Jennifer Kupcho (66).