English claims 3rd PGA Tour title
Harris English went more than seven years without winning on the PGA Tour, and he didn’t mind going one extra hole to win the Tournament of Champions on Sunday in Kapalua, Hawaii.
English missed a 10-foot eagle putt in regulation on the par-5 18th hole for a 4-under 69 to force a playoff with Joaquin Niemann, and he ended it on the 18th with a 6-foot birdie.
Niemann, who closed with a 64, pulled his approach enough to tumble down the steep, shaggy hill. His full swing from thick grass got him to the fringe, but he missed the birdie putt.
English capped off his remarkable turnaround at a tournament he ordinarily wouldn’t be allowed to play. The Tournament of Champions is for winners only from the previous year, but the field was expanded to include anyone who reached the Tour Championship because of the COVID-19 pandemic that shut down the PGA Tour for three months.
The fact English made it to the Tour Championship was proof of turning around his game. He ended the previous season without a full card and mired in a slump that dropped him to No. 369 in the world. He did everything last year but win, and he took care of that in the first event of the new year.
Now the 31-year-old from Georgia is among the top 20 in the world, and guaranteed a return to Kapalua next year.
Niemann had eight birdies through 14 holes and matched the low score of the tournament. His regret might be a 6-foot birdie putt he missed in regulation.
English won for the third time in his career, and his first title since the OHL Classic at Mayakoba at the end of 2013, his second victory of that year.
NHL: All-Star center Mathew Barzal rejoined the Islanders on Saturday after agreeing to a three-year, $21 million contract. Last season, Barzal led the Islanders with 60 points on 19 goals and 41 assists in 68 games. The 2015 first-round pick had 17 points in 22 playoff games during their run to the Eastern Conference finals. ... The Devils announced Sunday that they re-signed restricted free agent F Jesper Bratt to a two-year, $5.5 million contract. Bratt, 22, led the Devils in even-strength goals with 15.
Soccer: Matthew Hoppe became the first American to record a hat trick in the Bundesliga, leading Schalke to a 4-0 victory over Hoffenheim on Saturday. The 19-year-old forward accomplished the feat in only his fifth match in Germany’s top-tier league. It was Schalke’s first Bundesliga victory in nearly a year. Another draw or defeat would have matched the league record of 31 consecutive winless games set more than 50 years ago.
Tennis: Australian Open champ Sofia Kenin came back from match point down to beat Yulia Putintseva and reach the quarterfinals of the Abu Dhabi Open on Sunday. The top-seeded Kenin posted 57 unforced errors to Putintseva’s 43 but still prevailed 3-6, 7-6 (5), 6-4 over the 13th-seeded Putintseva. Kenin dropped the opening set for the second consecutive match in Abu Dhabi. Putintseva had match point when serving at 6-5 up in the second set, but Kenin saved the point and broke Putintseva’s serve to take the set to a tiebreak.