Third victory for Swafford
Hudson Swafford won The American Express for the second time in five years Sunday, breaking a late tie with an eagle in a closing-round 8-under 64.
Swafford beat Tom Hoge by two strokes on PGA West’s Stadium Course in La Quinta, California, after beginning the day three strokes behind rookies Lee Hodges and Paul Barjon.
Tied for the lead with fellow former Georgia player Brian Harman and Francesco Molinari at 20 under, Swafford pulled ahead with the eagle on the par-5 16th. From 198 yards, he hit to 8 feet on the iconic hole with large, deep bunkers lining the left side.
Swafford then ran in a 20-foot birdie putt on 17, a par-3 hole called Alcatraz with an island green ringed by jagged rocks. He saved par on the par-4 18th with an 8-footer to wrap up a spot in the Masters.
The 34-year-old finished at 23-under 265 in the three-course event for his third PGA Tour title. He also won in the desert in 2017 and took the 2020 Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship.
Hoge shot a 68. The 32-year-old from Fargo, North Dakota, missed a chance to win his first title in his 201st career start.
Hodges, the 26-year-old from Alabama making his 14th PGA Tour start, shot a 70 to tie for third at 20 under with Harman (64) and Lanto Griffin (67).
Molinari, the Italian star who won the 2018 British Open, bogeyed the 18th for a 68. He tied for sixth with Will Zalatoris (67) and Denny McCarthy (67).
Kang starts year strong:
Danielle Kang readily admits she, and her golf game, remain a constant work in progress. She spent much of the offseason finding a way to be “comfortable being uncomfortable.” It seems to be working.
On a difficult championship test at Lake Nona Golf and Country Club in Orlando, Florida, Kang ran off five birdies in a sevenhole stretch in the middle of her round, posted the low score Sunday at 4-under 68 and earned a three-shot victory at the season-opening Tournament of Champions.
“My mental game was really good,” said Kang, who was winless in 2021 after having won in each of her previous four LPGA seasons. “I had a really good attitude all day today and yesterday. I know I left some putts out there, but I never let it get to me, and I kept having to give myself birdie chances as much as possible.”
Kang finished at 16-under 272, three shots clear of Canada’s Brooke Henderson (70).
Kang was the lone player to break 70 on both weekend days (69-68), and the only player to shoot in the 60s all four rounds. The 29-year-old American now has six LPGA titles.
Pieters tops in Abu Dhabi:
Thomas Pieters claimed the sixth and biggest European tour title of his career by winning the Abu Dhabi Championship by one shot after a turbulent final round Sunday.
The Belgian, who turns 30 next week, shot an even par 72 in the final round for a total of 278 to edge Rafa Cabrera Bello and Shubhankar Sharma.
Viktor Hovland (72) fell short in his bid for a third victory in his last four events and finished tied for fourth.