Bradley & Koepka end long droughts
Otaegui enjoys 6-shot victory at SAS Championship
INZAI CITY, Japan, Oct 17, (AP): Keegan Bradley closed with a 2-under 68 to win the Zozo Championship on Sunday for his first PGA Tour title in more than four years.
Bradley, who won the PGA Championship as a rookie in 2011, dropped two shots on the back nine but came through with a pivotal birdie putt on the 17th hole that gave him a two-shot lead over Rickie Fowler and Andrew Putnam going to the final hole.
He wound up winning by one shot for his first PGA Tour win since the BMW Championship in 2018 at Aronimink.
Fowler was trying to break out of his three-year slump with a win and started the final round at Accordia Golf Narashino with a one-shot lead. He closed with a 70 and tied for second with Putnam (68).
Emiliano Grillo had a Sunday-best 64 and finished alone in fourth.
Bradley finished at 15-under 265 and earned $1.98 million from the $11 million purse. The victory moved him to No. 23 in the world, his first time in the top 25 since Aug. 31, 2014.
Brooks Koepka made birdie on the third playoff hole to beat Peter Uihlein and win the LIV Golf Invitational-Jeddah for his first victory in the breakaway league.
Koepka birdied the par-5 18th in regulation for a 1-under 69, while Uihlein also made birdie on the final hole for a 70 to force a playoff. Joaquin Niemann (65) and Sergio Garcia (68) finished one shot behind.
Koepka won for the first time since early February 2021 at the Phoenix Open on the PGA Tour. He since has gone through various injuries and signed with LIV Golf in June.
Koepka won $4 million, along with an additional $750,000 for claiming the team competition. Uihlein is part of his team and earned $2.125 million for being runner-up, $750,000 for the team win and $4 million for finishing third in the season points race.
Branden Grace was second in the season race and got $8 million. Dustin Johnson clinched the race last week and received an $18 million bonus.
Fred Couples broke his age by three shots with the lowest round of his PGA Tour Champions career, a 12-under 60 that sent him to a six-shot victory Sunday in the SAS Championship for his first title in more than five years.
Couples was two shots behind after four holes when the 63-year-old went on a run that amazed even him. He ran off five straight birdies, made a key par on the 10th hole and then finished with seven straight birdies.
Couples won for the first time since the American Family Insurance Championship in 2017, and this was one he never saw coming. He started the tournament with a double bogey. He decided to use Griffin Flesch, the son of Steve Flesch, as his caddie.
He was two shots ahead of Jerry Kelly when he holed an 18-foot par putt. Kelly closed the gap to one with a birdie on the par-3 11th and then Couples took off. Kelly put his second shot on the par-5 12th in the water, while Couples two-putted for birdie.
That was the start of seven straight birdies to finish at 20-under 196 for his 14th career win on the PGA Tour Champions. Couples earned $315,000.
Adrián Otaegui closed with a 3-under 68 to win the Andalucia Masters by six shots on Sunday for his first home victory.
The Spaniard had four birdies and only one bogey, finishing at 19-under 265, breaking the record by seven shots at Valderrama.
Joakim Lagergren of Sweden (68) was second, three shots ahead of third-place Min Woo Lee of Australia (70). Lagergren started the week at No. 127 in the DP World Tour points race and moved into the top 50.
It was the fourth European tour title for Otaegui, who entered the final round with a comfortable six-shot lead and never gave anyone much of a chance.
Lexi Thompson closed with a 3-under 69 for a three-shot victory on Saturday over Brooke Henderson and Madelene Sagstrom in the Aramco Team Series-New York on the Ladies European Tour. It was her first win on any tour since June 2019.
Jeremy Freiburghaus closed with a 6-under 66 and won with a par on the first playoff hole to beat Max Schmitt in the English Trophy. The victory moved Freiburghaus to the top of the Challenge Tour standings.
Paul Lawrie shot 8-under 65 and won with a birdie on the first playoff hole against Michael Jonzon in the Farmfoods European Senior Masters in Spain.
Stephen Ferreira won the Blue Label Challenge by one point over Luca Filippi in the modified Stableford competition on the Sunshine Tour.
Ayaka Furue closed with a 3-under 69 to hold off Akie Iwai and win the Fujitsu Ladies on the Japan LPGA.
Ga Young Lee won the Dongbu Construction Championship by five points over Jin Hee Im in the Korean LPGA’s modified Stableford tournament.