McNulty victorious
Mark McNulty coolly shot a 68 to win The Tradition at Sunriver, Ore., by five strokes, his first victory in a major.
McNulty didn’t falter until the end, when he double-bogeyed the 18th hole at Crosswater Golf Club. When he missed a nearly 4-foot putt, he joked with the crowd: “Fortunately, I’ve got a lock.”
McNulty finished the Champions Tour event with a 16-under 272. His co-leader going into the final round, David Edwards, shot a 73 to finish at 11 under. D.A. Weibring finished at 10 under with a 72.
The day started out rainy in central Oregon, but later in the final round there was mostly brilliant sunshine. Winds were gusty and temperatures were on the chilly side, ranging from the 50s in the morning to the low 60s in the afternoon.
McNulty, who had six birdies on the final day to go along with his double-bogey, has had lower back problems and had not finished in the top 10 at a tournament this season.
“Today I was at ease,” he said about his cool demeanor. “It was quite unbelievable how fortunate and lucky I was. I didn’t feel any jitterbugs as all.”
He splashed on to the Champions Tour in 2004 and was named rookie of the year. With Sunday’s victory, he has six total victories on the tour for players 50 and older.
LPGA Tour
Lorena Ochoa won the Canadian Women’s Open for her second straight victory and fifth of the season, closing with a 2-under 69 for a three-stroke victory over Paula Creamer at Edmonton, Alberta.
The top-ranked Mexican star, coming off her first major victory two weeks ago in the Women’s British Open at St. Andrews, had a 16-under 268 total on the Royal Mayfair course. She earned $337,500 to raise her tour-leading total to $2,636,590.
“It was just one of those weeks where everything was good from tee to green,” Ochoa told the cheering crowd, some waving Mexican flags, as she stood on the 18th green and struggled to lift the outsized two-handled silver mug trophy.
Creamer finished with a 68. Shi Hyun Ahn (66) was third at 10 under, and Brittany Lang (67) and Laura Diaz (72) followed at 9 under.
Wendy Ward of Edwall, Wash., finished at 1-under while Tracy Hanson of Rathdrum put up a 4-over for the tournament.
PGA Tour
Tied with two holes to play and seemingly headed for a playoff, Brandt Snekeder needed to make something bold happen. He made the best shot of his short career.
Snedeker’s 3-iron to within 32 feet on the par-3 17th set up a birdie putt that moved him ahead of Tim Petrovic for good, and the rookie finished with a 9-under 63 on for his first career PGA Tour win, a two-stroke victory at the low-scoring Wyndham Championship in Greensboro, N.C.
“I knew I was going to have to birdie one of the last two to give myself a chance,” Snedeker said. “The way the scores were going, everybody was getting birdies everywhere.”
Petrovic (67) – who was tied with Snedeker with two holes to play – joined Jeff Overton (70) and Billy Mayfair (67) two strokes back.
Snedeker had the best round of the tournament, finishing at 22-under 266.
Former Pullman resident Kirk Triplett finished at 7-under.