Hovland rallies with 61 to win BMW Championship
Viktor Hovland delivered the best round of his career at the right time, making birdie on all but two holes on the back nine Sunday for a 9-under 61 to break the course record at Olympia Fields and storm past Scottie Scheffler and Matt Fitzpatrick to win the BMW Championship.
What looked to be a two-man race between Scheffler and Fitzpatrick turned into a one-man show by Hovland. He headed to the back nine four shots behind. In the end, Scheffler and Fitzpatrick had to hole out from the fairway to catch him.
Both closed with a 66, a score that normally would be enough to win on a day like this. They had to settle for runner-up to Hovland, who won for the second time this year and never looked better doing it.
Jordan Spieth bogeyed his last two holes for a 71 and still narrowly made it among the top 30 from the FedEx Cup who advance to the Tour Championship next week. Fitzpatrick was the only one to play himself in, going from No. 40 to No. 10 with his runner-up finish.
Xander Schauffele did enough right in his round of 68 to tie for eighth, earning enough money to narrowly clinch the sixth and final automatic spot on the U.S. Ryder Cup team. Schauffele was certain to get one of the six captain's picks, but his finish moved PGA champion Brooks Koepka from No. 5 to No. 7 in the Ryder Cup standings.
U.S. captain Zach Johnson makes his six picks in nine days.
UNITED STATES GOLF ASSOCIATION
CHERRY HILLS VILLAGE, Colo. (AP) — Nick Dunlap capped a big summer with his biggest title yet, winning the U.S. Amateur at Cherry Hills to join Tiger Woods as the only players to win the U.S. Amateur and U.S. Junior Amateur.
Dunlap never trailed in his 4-and-3 victory over Neal Shipley, though it was tied after 18 holes in the morning of golf so exquisite they produced 11 birdies between them.
It got a little sloppy at the end, but only after Dunlap seized control. He was 4 up with four holes to play when Shipley failed to birdie the par-3 15th hole to extend the match.
Dunlap, a 19-year-old at Alabama, won the U.S. Junior two years ago. Woods famously won three straight U.S. Juniors followed by three straight U.S. Amateur titles.
Dunlap, No. 9 in the world amateur ranking, won back-to-back this summer in the Northeast Amateur at Wannamoisett and the North & South Amateur at Pinehurst, two of the more prestigious amateur events in America.
Dunlap's victory gets him in the Masters, U.S. Open and British Open next year. Shipley gets in the Masters and U.S. Open as the runner-up.
LPGA TOUR AND LADIES EUROPEAN TOUR
ANTRIM, Northern Ireland (AP) — Alexa Pano celebrated her 19th birthday by beating Gabriella Cowley of England on the third hole of a playoff to win the ISPS Handa World Invitational for her first LPGA Tour victory in the ISPS Handa World Invitational.
Pano closed with 6-under 66 on the Galgorm course for a three-way tie with Cowley (70) and Germany's Esther Henseleit (69). They finished at 8-under 281 in a tournament co-sanctioned by the European tour, LPGA and Ladies European Tour.
The two competitions were held concurrently for an equal prize money, with the women on their own set of tees.
Cowley led after the third round but needed an eagle on the 18th to make the playoff. Henseleit was eliminated on the first extra hole.
Cowley then missed a 3-foot birdie putt for the win on the second playoff hole, and Pano took full advantage by making a birdie when the players returned to the par-5 18th for a third time.
EUROPEAN TOUR
ANTRIM, Northern Ireland (AP) — Daniel Brown closed with a 1-under 69 and wrapped up a five-shot victory in the ISPS Handa World Invitational for his first professional victory.
Brown started the day with a six-shot lead, which was briefly cut to just two strokes before he made three birdies in a four-hole stretch that gave him plenty of breathing room. He finished at 15-under 266, five clear of Alex Fitzpatrick.
The tournament co-sanctioned by the European tour, LPGA and Ladies European Tour. The two competitions were held concurrently for an equal prize money, with the women on their own set of tees.
Eddie Pepperell closed with a 68 and finished alone in third.
PGA TOUR CHAMPIONS
CALGARY, Alberta (AP) — Ken Duke holed a 5-foot birdie putt on the par-5 18th hole to win the Shaw Charity Classic for his first title on the PGA Tour Champions.
Duke closed with a 4-under 66 for a one-shot victory over Thongchai Jaidee of Thailand and Tim Petrovic, who started the final round in the lead.
Jaidee shot a 62. Petrovic had to play out of the rough on the closing hole and failed to make birdie that might have forced a playoff. He shot 69.
Duke rolled in his birdie putt, took a step toward the hole with a big fist pump and began to celebrate. His lone PGA Tour victory was 10 years ago at the Travelers Championship.
Petrovic struggled on the front nine with a pair of bogeys but battled back and was tied for the lead with Duke and Jaidee going to the 18th. But he laid it up in the rough and couldn't get a close look at birdie.
Duke finished at 14-under 196 and won $360,000.
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KORN FERRY TOUR
JACKSON TOWNSHIP, N.J. (AP) — Chan Kim played his final seven holes in 6-under par, closing with an 8-under 64 for a three-shot victory in the inaugural Magnit Championship.
Kim, an eight-time winner on the Japan Golf Tour, won for the first time on the Korn Ferry Tour. The victory all but assures a PGA Tour card for Kim, a 33-year-old from Hawaii who played his college golf at Arizona State.
He moves to No. 12 in the points list. The top 30 from the Korn Ferry Tour graduate to the PGA Tour next season.
Taylor Dickinson had a chance to catch Kim. He was one shot behind until closing with two bogeys for a 69 to finish alone in second. Dickinson moves to No. 31 on the points list as the season is winding down.
Wilson Furr (66), Mac Meissner (68) and Patrick Welch (68) tied for third.
OTHER TOURS
Andy Ogletree closed with a 7-under 64 and pulled away for a seven-shot victory over Ian Poulter in the International Series-England event on the Asian Tour. The leading seven players are from LIV Golf, including Ogletree, the main alternate in the Saudi-backed series. Poulter's son, Luke, played his first professional tournament and tied for 22nd. ... Xiaowen Yin was declared the 36-hole winner of the Wildhorse Ladies Golf Classic in eastern Oregon on Sunday. Epson Tour officials said the air quality index from Canadian fires reached hazardous levels and it was unsafe to play. ... Lauri Ruuska of Finland began the week with a 59 and ended it with a seven-shot victory, closing with a 7-under 64 to win the Vierumäki Finnish Challenge for his first title on Europe's Challenge Tour. ... Malcolm Mitchell closed with a 6-under 66 for a four-shot victory over Louis Albertse in the SunBet Challenge-Time Square on the Sunshine Tour in South Africa. ... Daniel Gale capped off a wire-to-wire in in the NT PGA Championship by closing with a 6-under 65 for a four-shot victory on the PGA Tour of Australasia. ... Minami Hiruta won her first Japan LPGA title by closing with a 3-under 69 and defeating Mao Saigo in a playoff at the CAT Ladies.
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