Murray wins 1st PGA Tour title
Grayson Murray unhappily found himself with a couple of extra days to prepare for the Barbasol Championship — and ended up with a breakthrough victory.
After missing the weekend cut the previous week in the John Deere Classic, the rookie won his first PGA Tour title Sunday in Opelika, Ala. He holed a 5-foot par putt on the final hole for a one-stroke victory.
Murray closed with a 3-under-par 68 to edge Chad Collins, who also shot 68, on Grand National’s Lake Course. The 23-year-old former Wake Forest and Arizona State player set up the winning par with a long putt from below the hole. He finished at 21-under 263, a tournament record.
“I was in control,” said Murray, who earned $630,000. “I didn’t get out of my game plan once. I was going to let them make the mistakes instead of myself. I was going to make them have to birdie the last hole, or the last two holes. I was playing for par on 17 and 18. Those are two hard holes and I knew if I parred both of those, they would have to do something special to beat me.”
Murray arrived in Alabama a week earlier after suddenly finding himself with an open weekend. It paid off, the win securing him a spot in the PGA Championship in his home state of North Carolina, though not the Masters.
Murray came in ranked 124th in the FedEx Cup standings, with the top 125 qualifying for the playoffs. He jumped to 58th.
“My goal is to get in the playoffs this year,” he said. “That was my goal. I didn’t set my goals too high for my first year.”
Brian Gay had a 65 to tie for third at 19-under with thirdround leader Scott Stallings (71) and Tag Ridings (69). Ryder Cup captain Jim Furyk, who didn’t qualify for the British Open, finished at 11-under after a third straight 68. LPGA Tour: In-Kyung Kim rallied to win the Marathon Classic in Sylvania, Ohio, to become the second two-time winner this season on the LPGA Tour.
Two strokes behind 18-yearold Nelly Korda entering the round, Kim birdied six of the first nine holes and finished with an 8-under 63 for a 21under 263 total and a fourstroke victory over Lexi Thompson.
Kim also won the ShopRite LPGA Classic in June in New Jersey. The six-time LPGA Tour winner joined fellow South Korean player So Yeon Ryu as the only multiple winners this season.
Thompson closed with a 66. Gerina Piller, the leader after each of the first two rounds, had a 68 to tie for third at 15under with Peiyun Chien (68). Korda shot a 74 to tie for eighth at 12-under.