American D.J. Trahan fired a final round seven-under 65 to erase a four-shot deficit and capture the US$5.1 million PGA Bob Hope Classic on Sunday.
Trahan, who took home US$918,000 for his second career victory, beat fellow American Justin Leonard by three strokes. Trahan finished with a five-day total of 26-under 334.
"I'm very proud of the way I played," Trahan said. "I knew it was going to be a hard-fought day. I had to go out there and shoot a low number and I did that."
Leonard was trying to earn his 12th career victory, but had consecutive bogeys to begin the back nine and lost his four-shot advantage by the 11th hole.
He finished three-over-par 39 on the back en route to an even-par 72.
Trahan made birdies on the four of his first six holes and shot a four-under 32 on the front. He added two more birdies on the back to win his first tournament since the 2006 Southern Farm Bureau Classic.
Kenny Perry and Anthony Kim finished tied for third at 22-under 338. The two both shot final-round 66s.
In two previous appearances at this event, Trahan failed to make the cut for the final day and managed only one score in the 60s in eight rounds.
Leonard's four-stroke advantage with 18 holes to play looked insurmountable, especially when he posted a three-under 33 on the front nine and was three strokes up with nine holes to play.
"I played solidly the first eight holes," Leonard said. "I was three-under par. Obviously D.J. was playing well."
Trahan was one of four golfers tied for second going into the final round and birdied four of his first six holes.
This tournament is considered a putting contest, something that is not really Trahan's strong suit. Last year, he was 171st in putts per round and 183rd in putting average.
ABU DHABI CHAMPS
AFP, ABU DHABI
Germany's Martin Kaymer has set his sights on a shock Ryder Cup call-up after cruising to his maiden European Tour victory at the Abu Dhabi Championship.
The 23-year-old, last year's rookie of the year, led from start to finish here to win by four shots from fellow Ryder Cup hopefuls, England's Lee Westwood and Henrik Stenson of Sweden.
"I want to win more tournaments but everybody is already asking me if I want to play in The Ryder Cup," said Kaymer of his chances of receiving a call from European team skipper Nick Faldo for the clash against the US at Valhalla in September.
"Of course I want to play in the Ryder Cup but I am not expecting it yet. But if I could play it would be unbelievable. It would be awesome. But the goal for now and the rest of the year is to win more tournaments," he said.
Kaymer, who started the day with a six-shot lead, held his nerve to shoot a two-over-par 74 in Sunday's fourth and final round.
The victory also saw him rise to 35 in the world and allowed him to become the youngest German winner in European Tour history taking the honor from Bernhard Langer who was 14 days older when he won the 1980 Dunlop Masters.
Despite their joint runners-up spot, both Stenson and Westwood were also aware of the importance of collecting Ryder Cup points in the early exchanges of the new year.
"It's an important year with The Ryder Cup at the end of the season and this brings some good points in for both Lee and myself and that is where I'm heading," Stenson said.
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
MLB on Friday announced a formal investigation into the scandal swirling around Shohei Ohtani and his former interpreter amid charges that the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar was the victim of “massive theft.” The Dodgers on Wednesday fired Ippei Mizuhara, Ohtani’s long-time interpreter and close friend, after Ohtani’s representatives alleged that the Japanese two-way star had been the victim of theft, which was reported to involve millions of dollars and link Mizuhara to a suspected illegal bookmaker in California. “Major League Baseball has been gathering information since we learned about the allegations involving Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara from the news media,” MLB