Thompson claims first PGA win
Lewis holds on for one-shot victory
PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. — On a long, hard day at the Honda Classic, Michael Thompson relied on a superb short game to win for the first time on the PGA Tour.
Thompson seized control early with a 50-foot eagle putt on the third hole, then kept his distance with clutch par saves and closed with a birdie from the bunker. It gave him a 1-under 69 — one of only five rounds under par at PGA National — and a two-shot win over Geoff Ogilvy.
“This week was magical,” Thompson said. “Just had a groove and kept feeling it.”
It was a big week for Ogilvy, too.
The former U.S. Open champion had plunged to No. 79 in the world ranking and already missed the Match Play Championship. He was prepared for another week off next week until putting together four solid rounds.
He chipped in from behind the 16th green for birdie and two-putted for birdie on the 18th for a 69. The runner-up finish moves him into the top 50 (No. 47) and gets him into the World Golf Championship at Doral.
Luke Guthrie, tied with Thompson for the 54-hole lead, fell behind with a bogey on the second hole and closed with a 73 to finish third.
Tiger Woods was never in the picture.
He started the final round eight shots behind, and whatever hopes he had of a rally ended on the sixth hole when he hit his drive so far to the right that the ball was never found.
Woods took double bogey, closed with a 74 and tied for 37th.
Despite a bogey on the final hole, Erik Compton had a 70 and was part of the five-way tie for fourth. Compton, who already has had two heart transplants, earned his first top-10 finish on the PGA Tour.
Thompson, who finished at 9-under 271, had made only one cut this year and finished at the bottom of the back. He was solid from the start Sunday on another windswept day in south Florida, one of only three players who shot par or better all four rounds.
Thompson dropped only one shot on the back nine, a three-putt on the 16th when he missed from just inside 3 feet. He rattled another short par putt in on the 17th, and then played away from the water on his second shot at the par-5 18th, into a bunker. Once his ball stopped rolling 4 feet from the cup, the tournament was over.
The win moves Thompson to No. 45 in the world and gets him into his first World Golf Championship next week.
“This is everything,” Thompson said. “This is a childhood dream come true. I’ve dreamed of playing out here since I was 7 years old and to win, it’s just unbelievable. I just can’t put it into words. The whole day was awesome.”
LPGA: In Singapore, 2012 LPGA Player of the Year Stacy Lewis won the HSBC Women’s Champions for her sixth career title on the tour. She closed with a 1-under 71, overcoming two bogeys and some shaky putting on the back nine to hold off South Korea’s Na Yeon Choi by one stroke.
“The last four or five holes, I was pretty nervous, I’m not going to lie,” said Lewis, who finished at 15-under 273 Sentosa Golf Club. “I just played hard and put my head down and tried to make as many putts as I could. Fortunately I was able to get the win.”
Choi, who had a 72, was runner-up at the tournament for the second consecutive year. She lost to Angela Stanford in a four-player playoff last year.
Paula Creamer, hampered by a shoulder injury from a car accident last week in Thailand, held a share of the lead early in the day but struggled with her putting on the back nine and faded to a 71 to finish third at 13 under. Top-ranked Yani Tseng shot a 74 to finish tied for 28th.