Former Cal star Michael Kim wins first PGA Tour title
Michael Kim didn’t just win his first PGA Tour event on Sunday. The former Cal star who had struggled to find his footing as a pro, dominated in a fashion never seen at TPC Deere Run.
Kim’s prizes? A little over a million bucks, a two-year exemption on tour and a trip to the British Open.
Kim shot a final-round 66 on Sunday to win the John Deere Classic in Silvis Ill., by a record-setting eight strokes. Kim, who turned 25 on Saturday, finished at 27-under 257 to break Steve Stricker’s tournament record from 2010 by one shot.
Kim also qualified for next week’s Open at Carnoustie an unexpected bonus for a player who had missed five of his last six cuts before his breakthrough in the Quad Cities.
“To be able to finish out in style like this, it means a lot,” said Kim, who nearly quadrupled his season earnings with a winner’s share of $1.044 million.
Bronson Burgoon, Francesco Molinari, Joel Dahmen and Sam Ryder all finished at 19 under.
Kim took all the drama out of the final round with birdies on his first three holes and secured the largest margin of victory during the tournament’s stay at the course, which began in 2000. J.P. Hayes (2002) and Vijay Singh (2003) won the event by four strokes. AMERICAN CENTURY CHAMPIONSHIP >> Former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo rallied from four points back to win his first American Century Championship in South Lake Tahoe, Nev.
Romo, who retired after the 2016 NFL season and is now an NFL analyst, had 27 points on the day to beat three-time defending champion and former A’s pitcher Mark Mulder and San Jose Sharks captain Joe Pavelski, the leader after the first two rounds.
Pavelski had a 7-foot eagle putt on the par-5 18th that could have tied Romo, but it slid by. He finished with 66 points, tied for third with Ray Allen.
“It feels like nothing went in for me today,” Pavelski said. “But I couldn’t ask for more than to have that putt to tie on the last hole.”
Warriors star Stephen Curry, who fell out of contention with a mediocre round Saturday, jumped into Lake Tahoe amidst much fanfare after losing a bet to his father, Dell. The elder Curry jumped into the lake last year, so he negotiated a 20-point handicap and won by two points. PGA TOUR SENIORS >> Vijay Singh birdied the second playoff hole to beat Jeff Maggert and win the Constellation Senior Players Championship on Sunday.
Singh knocked in a putt from about 2 feet after a nearly perfect approach on the 18th hole at Exmoor Country Club in Highland Park, Ill. He gave an understated fist pump as the ball fell in, giving him his first major title on the PGA Tour Champions.
Singh (67) and Maggert (68) finished at 20-under 268. Brandt Jobe (66) was two strokes behind, while Jerry Kelly (64) and defending champion Scott McCarron (71) finished at 17 under.
Maggert had chances to win in regulation and on the first playoff hole but missed birdie putts both times. LPGA >> Thidapa Suwannapura won her first LPGA Tour event, closing with a 6-under 65 and birdieing the first playoff hole to defeat Brittany Lincicome at the Marathon Classic in Sylvania, Ohio.
The 25-year-old Thai player is the sixth first-time winner on tour this year. Her previous best finish in 120 starts was seventh at the 2014 Kingsmill Championship.
Suwannapura picked up three strokes over her final two holes, making eagle on the par-5 17th and closing with a birdie on the par-5 18th at Highland Meadows to finish at 14-under 270.
In the playoff, Suwannapura converted a short birdie putt after Lincicome hit her second shot into a water hazard and scrambled for par.
Lincicome shot 67. She had a chance to win in regulation, but her birdie putt from about 10 feet did a nearly 360-degree turn around the edge of the cup and stayed out.
USGA >> Laura Davies went virtually unchallenged in the final round of the inaugural U.S. Senior Women’s Open, claiming the title by 10 strokes over Juli Inkster.
The 54-year-old Davies shot a 5-under 68 to finish at 16-under 276 at Chicago Golf Club in the USGA’s championship for women 50 and older.
A 7-under 66 Saturday provided Davies with a fiveshot lead over Inkster. The World Golf Hall of Famer from England widened her advantage early Sunday when she birdied the par-5 second hole and Inkster made bogey.
Davies’ lead never fell below six shots after that as she added to her extensive trophy collection. She has 85 career victories, still plays on the LPGA Tour and finished tied for second at the Bank of Hope Founders Cup earlier this year.
Inkster shot an even-par 73. PGA EUROPEAN >> Brandon Stone’s 10-under 60 secured a four-shot victory at the Scottish Open in Gullane, earning him a third professional title of his career the first outside his native country and the bonus prize of a qualifying spot in next week’s British Open.
That elusive first sub-60 round in 46 years of European Tour play will have to wait for another tournament. It was officially the 19th round of 60 on the tour.
There have officially been nine sub-60 rounds on the PGA Tour.
Stone’s run of back-nine birdies allowed him to pull clear of Eddie Pepperell, who led for much of the final round. He shot 64 to finish alone in second place, one clear of Luke List (64), 2008 Masters champion Trevor Immelman (65) and Jens Dantorp (68).