Piercy wins inaugural event in Alabama

Scott Piercy won the Barbasol Championship in Opelika, Alabama, on Sunday for his third PGA Tour title, closing with a 6-under 65 for a three-stroke victory.

The 36-year-old Las Vegas player made a 57-foot birdie putt on the second hole en route to his first victory since the 2012 Canadian Open. Tied for the third-round lead with Ricky Barnes, Piercy birdied three of four holes starting on No. 13 and finished at 19 under on Grand National’s Lake Course.

Piercy began the season on a major medical extension after surgery on his right arm last year. He had also finished second at the Sony Open in Hawaii before capturing the inaugural Alabama event for players who didn’t make the British Open field.

Birmingham native Will Wilcox was second after a 67, virtually guaranteeing a PGA Tour card for next season in just 13 starts. It was his second straight top-10 finish.

“That’s something I never thought in a million years I would have done,” he said.

Wilcox closed with two straight birdies, pumping his fists and hollering after sinking a 60-foot birdie putt on the closing hole.

Barnes, University of Alabama junior Robby Shelton and South Korea’s Whee Kim tied for third at 14 under. Shelton shot 67, Kim 69, and Barnes 70.

Spokane’s Alex Prugh shot a final-round 69 and finished 10 strokes off the lead.

LPGA

Chella Choi won the Marathon Classic in Sylvania, Ohio, for her first LPGA Tour title, beating fellow South Korean player Ha Na Jang with a birdie on the first hole of a playoff.

The 24-year-old Choi won in her 157th start on the tour.

With father Ji Leon Choi serving as her caddie, Choi closed with a 5-under 66 to match Jang at 14-under 270 at Highland Meadows. Jang, the leader after each of the first three rounds, shot a 68.

In the playoff on the par-5 18th, Choi chipped onto the green from 87 yards and two-putted from 25 yards for the par – holing a 1-footer. Jang bogeyed the hole after hitting her approach long into high rough.

Second-ranked Lydia Ko, the winner last year, had a 67 to tie for second with Shanshan Feng at 13 under. Fend also shot 67.