Dechambeau’s putter delivers dramatic win
GOLFER BEST KNOWN FOR HIS BIG DRIVES TAKES ARNOLD PALMER INVITATIONAL BY ONE STROKE
Bryson Dechambeau’s driver was the story of the week, but his putter sealed the deal at Bay Hill Club and Lodge.
On a windy and difficult Sunday, Dechambeau shot a one-under-par 71 to finish the week at 11-under and win the Arnold Palmer Invitational by one stroke over 47-yearold Lee Westwood in Orlando, Florida.
“It solidifies that I’m playing with the best of them and I can win with the best of them,” Dechambeau said after his round. “This tournament has been nothing but class every year I’ve been here and the best players come to play and the golf course conditions play like a U.S. Open. I know that’s what Mr. Palmer would like.”
On the 72nd hole, with the Englishman Westwood safely in for par at 10-under, Dechambeau needed to coax in a five-footer to become the PGA Tour’s first two-time winner of the season. After backing off the short putt once, the 27-year-old Texan regrouped and rolled it in.
“I’m glad I made that last putt, I did not want to go into a playoff,” Dechambeau said. “I took a little extra time on that because I knew that ball was aimed a little too far right and sure enough it was. I took a deep breath, was able to execute and knock it in.”
After constant speculation about what the game’s longest hitter would do off the tee this week, the turning point of the tournament was at the par-four 11th hole where Dechambeau drained a 50-foot par putt to maintain his one-stroke lead after finding his ball in a plugged lie in the greenside bunker.
His only bogey of the day came at the opening hole.
Dechambeau moves to sixth in the world rankings with the win. He thanked Tiger Woods after his round and said he exchanged text messages with the injured golf great Sunday morning.
“You know one of the things that stuck in my mind was Tiger and how he kept fighting,” Dechambeau said. “I got a text from Tiger this morning . ... We just talked about keep fighting no matter what and play boldly like Mr. Palmer.”
O CANADA & BEST OF THE REST OF THE FIELD
Corey Conners began the day at 10-under-par, one stroke back of 54-hole leader Westwood, and shot a two-over-par 74 to finish in solo third place at eight-under.
In tough playing conditions, the 29-year-old Canadian got off to the steadiest start, making six straight pars. After converting three early par-saving putts ranging from five to 10 feet, Conners missed a three-footer at the seventh hole to drop two strokes behind.
“Definitely a battle out there,” Conners said after his round. “I made some nice saves at the start of the round, just didn’t get the putts to fall today, the greens were rolling really fast, the ball seemed to never stop.”
Conners was the 36-hole leader and had his world-class ball-striking on display all week. For three days his improved putting made him as dangerous as any player on the star-studded leaderboard that included Dechambeau, Westwood, Rory Mcilroy, and Jordan Spieth.
On Sunday, Conners eagled the par-5 16th hole for the third (3rd!) time of the week to jump to 10-under and tied with Westwood, just one back of Dechambeau.
“I knew it got me within striking distance,” Conners said. “I didn’t really look at the leaderboards too much throughout the day, I just wanted to stick to my game plan ... but I knew at that point that I was pretty close and tried to give myself a good chance on that last couple.”
Conners’ tee shot at the par-3 17th found the bunker and he made bogey, then followed that with another bogey at the difficult closing hole after driving his ball into the right rough. Conners earned $641,700 US and will move into the all-important top-50 in the world rankings. He will be in the field at the Players Championship beginning Thursday along with fellow Canadians Adam Hadwin, Mackenzie Hughes, and Nick Taylor.
“I felt confident about my game, so I’m really excited where things are at heading into next week,” Conners said.
The rejuvenated Jordan Spieth (75) finished in a trio tied for fourth with Andrew Putnam (71) and Richy Werenski (73) at six-under.
It’s Spieth’s third top-5 finish in his past four events and the threetime major champion looks ready to break a winless drought that extends back to the 2017 Open Championship at Royal Birkdale.
“I’m very happy with the way that I played the round today, knowing it was going to be really challenging, and it just wasn’t my day,” Spieth said. “I mean, I hit right lip, left lip, high lip, low lip. I mean the greens got super crusty.”
Mcilroy’s chances were sunk at the par-5 sixth where he hit two balls in the water before hitting a miraculous 243-yard sixth shot that finished four feet from the hole for a double bogey seven. The Irishman shot 76 and finished tied for 10th at three-under. He will be defending champion at the Players this week after winning in 2019. The PGA Tour’s flagship event was cancelled after one round last year because of COVID-19.
CHIP SHOTS
Canadians Taylor and Hadwin both missed the cut at Bay Hill ... Austin Ernst won the LPGA Drive On Championship at 15-under par, five strokes clear of Jennifer Kupcho. Canadian Brooke Henderson had an off-week finishing tied for 44th at two-over ... Brooks Koepka has withdrew from the Players Championship with a knee injury.