Vegas defends Canadian Open title

Jhonattan Vegas successfully defended his RBC Canadian Open title Sunday at Glen Abbey, beating Charley Hoffman with a birdie on the first hole of a playoff.

Jhonattan Vegas successfully defended his RBC Canadian Open title Sunday at Glen Abbey in Oakville, Ontario, beating Charley Hoffman with a birdie on the first hole of a playoff.

Vegas’ approach from the left bunker on the par-5 18th hit the grass just above the sand lip and still had enough power to clear the water and go through the green.

“When I heard the clip, because obviously I didn’t see it, I knew that it was probably going to go in the water, because I didn’t know exactly how hard it hit it,” Vegas said. “But then when I saw the ball in the air, it was still going really hard and forward.”

The 32-year-old Venezuelan chipped to a foot — after racing a chip past the hole in regulation from the same area en route to a par — and won when Hoffman’s birdie try from the back bunker slid past the hole.

“It’s been a special day,” Vegas said. “I knew that I had to shoot a good round today to have a chance to win again. I just came out with an aggressive mentality, just feeling really good about my game. When I started making a few birdies, especially the putt for birdie on 7, I started feeling the same chills that I felt last year when I won, and I just knew that something good could happen if I kept that going.”

Vegas closed with a 7-under 65 to match Hoffman at 21-under 267.

Vegas is paying close attention to the turmoil in Venezuela, where people stayed away from the polls in massive numbers Sunday in a show of protest against a vote to grant President Nicolas Maduro’s ruling socialist party virtually unlimited powers.

“It’s been on my mind. It’s always on my mind,” Vegas said. “I have family that live there. It’s my country of birth. I mean, it hurts. Like I said yesterday, it hurts a lot, seeing the country the way it is; seeing a government that treats people that way when they don’t deserve it just to remain in power, and all the suffering that even my family and friends that are having right now, it’s just not fair.”

Hoffman, the thirdround leader, birdied the 18th for a 68.

Senior British Open

Bernhard Langer won the Senior British Open in rain and wind at Royal Porthcawl in Bridgend, Wales, for his record-extending 10th senior major title and fifth in the last 10.

The 59-year-old German star closed with an evenpar 72 to finish at 4-under 280 and beat American Corey Pavin by three strokes. Langer joined Jack Nicklaus as the only players to win three senior majors in a season, and won the event for the third time to match the tournament record.

Langer won the Regions Tradition and Senior PGA Championship — the first two of the PGA Champions Tour’s five majors — in consecutive weeks in May. Nicklaus won three of the then-four majors in 1991.

Langer also won in 2010 at Carnoustie and took the 2014 event at Royal Porthcawl by 13 strokes. Tom Watson and Gary Player are the only other threetime winners, with Player’s titles coming before the event was a major or part of the PGA Champions Tour.

Ladies Scottish Open

Mi Hyang Lee took advantage of Hall of Famer Karrie Webb’s late double bogey to win the Ladies Scottish Open in Irvine, Scotland, for her second LPGA Tour title.

A stroke ahead of Lee with two holes left at chilly Dundonald Links, Webb dropped a shot back with the double bogey on the par-5 17th after driving into a bunker and having to play out backward.

Lee, playing in the group ahead of Webb, increased the margin to two with a birdie on the par-5 18th. Needing an eagle to force a playoff, Webb closed with a birdie to tie for second with Mi Jung Hur. Webb didn’t know she was two strokes behind because of the lack of a leaderboard on the final hole in the tuneup event for the Ricoh Women’s British Open next week at Kingsbarns.

Lee shot a 6-under 66 to finish at 6-under 282. After playing the front nine in 5-under 31 with six birdies and a bogey, the South Korean player made eight straight pars before birdieing the last. She also was confused on 18 without a leaderboard, thinking she needed to an eagle to tie Webb.

European Open

Jordan Smith beat defending champion Alexander Levy in a two-hole playoff to win the European Open in Hamburg, Germany.

Levy led by a single shot at the 18th hole, but the French player had to tap in a tricky par putt to force the playoff after playing partner Smith, the overnight leader, holed his 10-foot birdie putt to go 13-under.