Grillo prevails in playoff to break prolonged slump
Emiliano Grillo made a five-foot birdie putt on the second playoff hole at Colonial to get his first PGA Tour victory in more than 71⁄2 years, after he lost a twostroke lead with a doublebogey on the 72nd hole Sunday in Fort Worth, Texas.
Grillo curled in the winning putt at the 186-yard 16th hole, the same hole where he had taken the solo lead before needing a playoff. Grillo and Adam Schenk, who both finished at eight-under 272, had two-putt pars from 26 feet at No. 18 to start the playoff.
It was the second PGA Tour win for Grillo, the 30year-old from Argentina whose only other win was at the Frys.com Open in Napa in October 2015. He had a closing 68.
Schenk, the 31-year-old Indiana native in his 171st PGA Tour event, got his second runner-up finish of the season.
At No. 16 in regulation, Grillo took the solo lead with a 20-foot birdie. His lead was two shots going to No. 18 before a wayward tee shot to the right. His ball went into a small concrete drainage canal, then floated 150 yards or so back toward the tee box before coming to rest against a rock in the middle of the water flow.
“One bad swing all day,” Grillo said.
While that was playing out, Schenk made an eightfoot birdie putt at No. 16. It was his only birdie of the round, getting him to eight under before Grillo had even finished at 18.
Schenk made a par at No. 17 out of a greenside bunker before a closing par at No. 18.
PGA Tour rookie Harry Hall, in the final group with Schenk, bogeyed the final hole after his drive into the water to miss getting in the playoff. He finished at seven under, tied for third with local favorite Scottie Scheffler, the No. 1 player in the world who had a hole in one at the 189-yard No. 8 during his closing 67.
After his second career ace, Scheffler was even the rest of the way.
“I made a few today, but overall I probably lost a few strokes on the greens, which is frustrating,” Scheffler said. “For a weekend where I really struggled with the putter, to give myself still a chance to win was nice.”
Stricker wins f irst two senior majors
Steve Stricker beat Padraig Harrington on the first hole of a playoff in the Senior PGA Championship, giving Stricker a sweep of the first two senior majors of the season.
Harrington forced the playoff with a short birdie putt on the par-five 18th, but put his drive in the replay of the hole in deep grass on the right side of the fairway and couldn’t make a par putt to extend the playoff.
In last year’s U.S. Senior Open, Harrington held off Stricker by a stroke in a duel of the opposing Ryder Cup captains from 2021.
They were at it again in the first event on the Fields Ranch East course at the new headquarters of the PGA of America. The venue in Frisco, Texas, about 35 miles north of Dallas, is set to host the PGA Championship in 2027.
“This means a lot,” Stricker said after his sixth senior major title. “I spent a lot of time with the PGA of America during the Ryder Cup. To play in another PGA next year I think will be a lot of fun too.”
Anannarukarn tops LPGA Match Play
Pajaree Anannarukarn of Thailand capped off the longest week on the LPGA Tour with a 3-and-1 victory to win the Bank of Hope LPGA Match Play over Ayaka Furue of Japan.
Anannarukarn, who beat Linn Grant of Sweden in the semifinals Sunday morning, took the lead for good with a birdie on the par-five seventh hole. The match ended on the par-three 17th when Anannarukarn drilled her tee shot to about six feet to the hole and Furue conceded on a hot day north of Las Vegas.
“Match Play is taking a lot of energy throughout the week,” said Anannarukarn, who won for the second time on the LPGA Tour. “I’m really soaking it in right now. It’s been a great week, and I’m grateful for everything.”
Furue was runner-up for the second straight year.
Varner earns f irst LIV victory
Harold Varner III won his first LIV Golf event when he two-putted from about 35 feet for birdie on the 18th hole at Trump National in LIV Golf-DC at Sterling, Va.
Varner won by one shot over South Africa’s Branden Grace, who moments earlier holed about a 20-foot birdie putt on the tough par-four second hole, his last of the shotgun start.
Varner, who finished at 12-under 204 and made $4 million, won for the first time on American soil.