Rookie Cook battles wind but breezes to 4-shot win
Austin Cook was chased by proven PGA Tour winners all day at the RSM Classic at St. Simons Island, Ga.
Now the Arkansas player is one of them.
The PGA Tour rookie held off veterans Brian Gay, Chris Kirk, Kevin Kisner and Brian Harman on Sunday at the chilly, windy Sea Island Club’s Seaside Course.
Cook closed with a 3-under 67 for a four-stroke victory over J.J. Spaun. The victory in the final tour event of the calendar year gave Cook a spot in the Masters next year.
“It was definitely exciting … real brutal with the wind,” Cook said. “I got off to a slow start but I was able to keep my head level … .”
Cook birdied three of his last four holes after the three-shot lead he began the day with slipped to one over Spaun. Cook made a 14-foot birdie putt at No. 18 to finish at 21-under 261.
Spaun shot a 66. Gay, the oldest contender of the week at 45, eagled the par-4 18th hole from 161 yards with a 9-iron to break out of a fiveway tie for third and finish at 16 under. He shot 68.
Kirk (71) and Kisner (68), past winners of the tournament, tied for fourth at 14 under with St. Simons Island resident Brian Harman (65) and Andrew Landry (67).
Cook, 26, earned $1,116,000 and climbed to third in FedEx Cup points.
It’s the second year in a row that a rookie won the RSM Classic. Mac Hughes won a five-way playoff last year in a Monday finish.
Spaun made the biggest move of the day and twice cut Cook’s lead to one — the last time on an 8-foot birdie putt at the par-4 16th.
However, Spaun bogeyed No. 17 when he failed to get up-and-down from a greenside bunker, and Cook birdied No. 15 and No. 17.
LPGA: Ariya Jutanugarn of Thailand won the CME Group Tour Championship in Naples, Fla., with birdies on her last two holes and some help from a short miss by Lexi Thompson.
Thompson had a oneshot lead when she missed a 2-foot par putt on the 18th hole. That dropped her into a three-way tie, and Jutanugarn holed an 18-foot birdie on the final hole for a 5-under 67 and a one-shot victory.
Thompson needed to win to claim the tour player of the year award.
The consolation for Thompson was winning the $1 million bonus for the CME Race to the Globe and the Vare Trophy for the lowest scoring average. The pointsbased player of the year was a tie between So Yeon Ryu and Sung Hyun Park.
Europe: Jon Rahm of Spain shot a 5-under 67 to hold off Ireland’s Shane Lowry (who shot 63) and Thailand’s Kiradech Aphibarnrat (67) and win the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai. Sunday’s Games
(At) Hurricanes 4, Islanders 2: Teuvo Teravainen had two goals and an assist for Carolina. Sebastian Aho added a goal and an assist for the Hurricanes. John Tavares and Nick Leddy scored for New York.
Avalanche 4, (at) Red Wings 3 (OT): Nathan MacKinnon scored 2:55 into overtime to lift Colorado. MacKinnon also assisted on Carl Soderberg’s goal with 46 seconds left in regulation as the Avalanche tied it with the goalie pulled.
(At) Rangers 3, Senators 0: Henrik Lundqvist stopped 20 shots for his second shutout of the season and 63rd of his career as New York bounced back from consecutive road losses to win its sixth straight at home.
(At) Ducks 3, Panthers 2: John Gibson stopped 50 shots for Anaheim Josh Manson, Rickard Rakell and Brandon Montour scored for the Ducks, who have won consecutive games for the first time since Oct. 28 and 29.
(At) Golden Knights 4, Kings 2: William Karlsson scored twice, and Maxime Lagace stopped 27 shots to lift Vegas, which is 8-1-0 at home and 12-6-1 overall. The Golden Knights moved within a point of Los Angeles in the division.
NHL notes
Jets: Defenseman Toby Enstrom will be out eight weeks with a lower-body injury.