Bryan takes RBC Heritage in happy S.C. homecoming
HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. Wesley Bryan remembers pestering players with a lot of crazy questions at Harbour Town Golf Links as he followed father George III’s only appearance at the RBC Heritage in 2004.
“I was probably the most annoying 14-year-old there was,” Bryan said.
Once a pesky teen, Bryan’s now a PGA Tour winner.
Bryan rallied from four-shots down Sunday to win his home state tournament, closing with a 4-under 67 for a one-stroke victory over Luke Donald.
Bryan, a South Carolina native who played college golf for the Gamecocks, moved into contention with four consecutive birdies on the front nine. He took the lead with a birdie on the 15th hole and finished at 13-under 271.
Bryan earned $1.17 million, a tour exemption through the 2018-19 season and a spot in the 2018 Masters.
While excited about the breakthrough victory, Bryan believes it’s just a stepping stone to bigger dreams he’s had since playing the game as a child.
“At the end of the day, it doesn’t really change anything other than I now have one PGA Tour victory,” he said. “There are a lot of guys that have just one PGA Tour victory. My one goal is to get number two at this point.”
Donald shot 68 in his latest close call at Harbour Town Golf Links — it was his fifth second-place finish here since 2009.
The 27-year-old Bryan tapped in for par on the closing, 18th lighthouse hole to make the former trick-shot artist the first South Carolinian to win the state’s lone PGA Tour event.
Ollie Schniederjans, Patrick Cantlay and William McGirt tied for third, two strokes behind Bryan.
Schniederjans shot 68, Cantlay 67 and McGirt 69.
Bryan was largely known as a YouTube sensation, he and brother George IV, another Gamecocks golfer, pulling off often unbelieveable trick shots — like chipping the ball 20 yards to a waiting Bryan brother to belt away before it hits the ground.
There were no tricks to Wesley Bryan’s round this time, the first to win at Harbour Town in his first try since Boo Weekley won the first of his two straight RBC Heritages in 2007.
Bryan got it going with his frontnine run, with birdies on the fourth, fifth, sixth and seven holes. After Bryan moved in front on the 15th, he sweated out three straight two-putt pars.
The 23-year-old Schniederjans, five shots behind when the round began, made it all up and was out front with five front-nine birdies. Competing for his first PGA Tour win at the tricky Pete Dye layout proved too daunting for the inexperienced Schniederjans. He missed makeable birdie tries on the 13th, 14th and 15th, then failed to get in for par after hitting into the bunker on the par-3 17th.
PGA Tour Champions
DULUTH, Ga. - Stephen Ames won the Mitsubishi Electric Classic for his first PGA Tour Champions victory, easily holding off Bernhard Langer at TPC Sugarloaf.
The 52-year-old Ames, a naturalized Canadian citizen from Trinidad, closed with a 6-under 66 for a four-stroke victory over Langer. Ames opened with rounds of 67 and 68 to take a one-stroke lead over five players into the final round.
European Tour
RABAT, Morocco - Edoardo Molinari won the Trophee Hassan II on Sunday, beating Paul Dunne on the first hole of a playoff for his first European Tour title in seven years.
Molinari sank a two-foot par putt after Dunne had missed his putt for par, securing victory for the Italian after a 5-under 68 saw him join Dunne at the top of the leaderboard.