Spieth charges, Kisner holds on to win Colonial

Kevin Kisner birdied the first three holes on the back nine to take the lead and held on to win at Colonial despite a Sunday charge by defending champion Jordan Spieth.

Kevin Kisner birdied the first three holes on the back nine to take the lead and held on to win at Colonial despite a Sunday charge by defending champion Jordan Spieth in Fort Worth, Texas.

Kisner shot a 4-under 66 to finish at 10-under 270, including a clutch par save on the 18th hole after a wayward tee shot and an approach that was off the back side of the green and well below the hole. He finished a stroke ahead of Spieth, Sean O’Hair and Jon Rahm.

Spieth shot a bogey-free 65, and was standing on a chair to see over the crowd at the 18th green when Kisner putted up the mound to 5 feet of the cup and then made the winning putt. That came right after Rahm’s 10-foot birdie chance skirted just to the left of the hole.

The 33-year-old Kisner got his second PGA Tour victory in 148 starts since his debut in 2011, and a check for just more than $1.2 million. He was a runner-up twice this year, and six times over past three seasons.

Kisner had a three-stroke lead at the turn on the final day of the Arnold Palmer Invitational in March before finishing a stroke behind Marc Leishman. Kisner made a nearly 95-foot chip-in for eagle to get him and fellow Aiken, South Carolina, resident Scott Brown into playoff at the Zurich Classic’s new team format before losing on the fourth playoff hole to duo of Australia’s Cameron Smith and Jonas Blixt of Sweden.

After a 14-foot birdie at the 420-yard 15th hole at Hogan’s Alley, Kisner had a two-stroke lead. That at the same hole where Spieth, playing two groups ahead of him, punctuated an 11foot birdie putt with a fist pump.

But about the same time Kisner made a bogey at the par-3 16th, Spieth was hitting his drive way right at the 18th hole and went on to save par after a chip to 5 feet. Kisner hit a similar drive, and also saved par.

Noren wins

Alex Noren shot a 10-under 62 for a two-stroke victory in the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth in Virginia Water, England.

Seven strokes back entering the round, the Swede made six birdies and holed a 6-foot eagle putt on the No. 18 to complete what he described as “probably the best round of my life.”

It set the clubhouse target of 11-under 277, and Noren had to wait more than two hours to see if the lead would hold up in the European Tour’s signature event. The 62 established a course record on the revamped West Course, though Thomas Bjorn also shot a 62 in 2014.

No one got within a shot of him, with Henrik Stenson, Branden Grace, Shane Lowry and Hideto Tanihara among the chasers falling away as rain arrived late in the afternoon. Francesco Molinari was second after a 68, with Stenson (68), Tanihara (68) and Nicolas Colsaerts (65) another shot back.

Langer adds major

Bernhard Langer played near-flawless golf and took advantage of Vijay Singh’s late mistakes to win the Senior PGA Championship at Trump National in Sterling, Virginia, for his record ninth senior major.

The Senior PGA was the only major that had eluded the 59-year-old German star during his dominant decade-long run on the 50-and-over circuit. He tied Jack Nicklaus’ senior major record last week with a comeback victory in the Regions Tradition in Alabama.

Despite a few dozen protesters, the drama remained on the course at President Donald Trump’s club on the shores of the Potomac River. Trump, coming off a nine-day trip abroad, did not attend the final round.

Langer pulled ahead of Singh with a 12-foot birdie on the par-4 16th. Singh three-putted 17 to give Langer a two-shot advantage. After Singh birdied 18, Langer calmly tapped in for par and a one-shot victory. He shot a 4-under 68 to finish at 18-under 270. Singh closed with a 70.

Feng holds on

Shanshan Feng shot a 4-under 68 to hold off Minjee Lee and Sung Hyun Park by a stroke in the LPGA Volvik Championship in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

The Chinese star took a one-stroke lead into the final round, then kept the competition at bay at Travis Pointe Country Club.

Feng led by four strokes with four holes to play, but she made a bogey on No. 16 and Lee birdied 17. Needing a bogey on the 18th to win, Feng easily tapped in for one and finished at a tournament-record 19-under 269. Lee (65) made six birdies on the front nine, and Park (66) had four on the back.

Feng won her seventh LPGA Tour title. She won consecutive events last year in Malaysia and Japan to cap a string of seven straight top-four finishes that started with the Olympic bronze medal.