Golf roundup: Argentina’s Grillo wins in his PGA Tour rookie debut
Emiliano Grillo of Argentina won his PGA Tour rookie debut Sunday at the Frys.com Open in Napa, California, by holing a 25-foot birdie putt on the 18th for a 3-under 69, and then making the most out of a second chance in the playoff to beat Kevin Na.
Nearly as impressive as his closing birdie was the way the 23-year-old Argentine bounced back from a shocking miss. Grillo had a 3-foot birdie putt on the first playoff hole to win and was stunned when it caught the left lip and spun away. Then, he drove into the fairway bunker on the 18th on the second extra hole with Na in the fairway.
The next mistake belonged to Na. He used driver off the fairway for the second time and hooked it behind a tree, leaving him little chance of getting his third shot on the green. Na wound up with a bogey. Grillo hit a bold approach shot over the edge of a bunker to just inside 10 feet. Needing two putts for the win, he made it for birdie.
Earlier this year, Grillo missed a short birdie putt to win the Puerto Rico Open, and wound up losing in a playoff. Grillo has won his last two tournaments in thrillers. He made a 25-foot birdie putt on final hole of the Web.com Tour Championship two weeks ago.
Na got up-and-down with a 6-foot putt on the 18th in regulation for a 70 to force a playoff.
Jason Bohn (70), Justin Thomas (69) and Tyrone Van Aswegen of South Africa (68) all finished one shot out of the playoff.
LPGA
Lexi Thompson broke out of a crowded pack to win the LPGA KEB Hana Bank Championship in Incheon, South Korea, for her second victory of the year and sixth overall.
The 20-year-old American closed with a 3-under 69 to beat Taiwan’s Yani Tseng and South Korea’s Sung Hyun Park by a stroke on Sky 72’s Ocean Course.
Thompson finished at 15-under 273, earned $300,000 and is projected to jump from fifth to fourth in the world ranking. She also won in July in Michigan.
Lydia Ko missed a chance to take the top spot in the world from South Korean star Inbee Park, finishing with a 72 that dropped the 18-year-old South Korean-born New Zealander into a tie for fourth at 13 under with South Korea’s Amy Yang and American Gerina Piller.
Yang birdied the final nine holes for a 62. She became the first player in tour history to close with nine straight birdies, tied the record for consecutive birdies set by Beth Daniel in 1999, broke the nine-hole mark for relation to par at 9 under and matched the record for the lowest total at 27. Yang also tied the course record set by Sung Hyun Park on Thursday.
Champions Tour
Bernhard Langer rallied to win the San Antonio Championship for his second victory of the year and 25th overall on the Champions Tour.
The 58-year-old German star birdied the final two holes – making a 16-footer on the par-4 18th – for a 7-under 65 and a three-stroke victory over Scott Dunlap.
Langer won on TPC San Antonio’s AT&T Canyons Course after losing playoffs in the event to David Frost in 2012 and Kenny Perry in 2013. In June in Massachusetts, Langer successfully defended his Senior Players Championship title for his fifth senior major victory.
Three strokes behind defending champion Michael Allen and Scott McCarron entering the round, Langer had eight birdies and one bogey Sunday to finish at 12-under 204.
Dunlap shot a 68. Allen and McCarron each shot 70 to tie for third at 8 under.
Langer earned 270 Charles Schwab Cup points to pull within 66 points of leader Colin Montgomerie with two events left. Montgomerie tied for 15th at 3 under after a 72. Jeff Maggert, 39 points behind Montgomerie, withdrew during the second round because of a lingering left calf injury.