Australia’s Matt Jones chipped in from rough on the first playoff hole to win the PGA Tour’s Houston Open title and claim the final spot in the Masters on Sunday.
Jones, of Sydney, poured in a long birdie putt on the 18th hole to force a playoff with Matt Kuchar, then chipped in for birdie on the extra hole to claim his first PGA Tour victory.
“It’s amazing. It’s been a while coming. I’ve been out here seven years now, so it’s good to finally get one. I’ve had a few chances, so I’m quite happy now,” Jones said.
Jones fired a six-under 66 to get in on 15-under 273 on the Tournament Course at the Golf Club of Houston.
Kuchar led by one in the 18th fairway, but put his second shot in the water. He got up and down for bogey to force the extra session, closing with an even-par 72.
The pair returned to the 18th hole for the playoff.
Jones found a fairway bunker off the tee, before Kuchar hit his drive right down the middle of the fairway.
Jones played short of the green in the right rough, while Kuchar fired his approach into a bunker right of the green.
Jones’ long chip landed on the green then curled into the cup for a birdie. Kuchar failed to match, as his shot from the bunker landed 10 feet short of the cup.
Spain’s Sergio Garcia fired a two-under 70 to take third place at 13-under, while Cameron Tringale was one shot back after shooting a 71. Shawn Stefani (69) took fifth at 10-under 278 and Rickie Fowler (71) was sixth at nine-under.
Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy closed with a seven-under 65 and was one of five players sharing seventh place at eight-under 280. Phil Mickelson shot 71 in the final round and was one stroke behind McIlroy at seven-under.
Jones got off to a rocky start with a bogey at the first to drop seven strokes back.
His rally began with three birdies in a four-hole stretch from the third. Jones birdied the par-five eighth en route to making the turn at 12-under. That put him just two back of the leaders.
NH COLLECTION OPEN
AP, CADIZ, Spain
Marco Crespi of Italy won his first European Tour title on Sunday after carding a three-under 69 in the final round for a two-shot victory at the inaugural edition of the NH Collection Open in Cadiz, Spain.
Playing in his 25th European Tour event, the 35-year-old Crespi had five birdies to overcome a pair of bogeys on the final day for a 10-under total of 278.
Jordi Garcia of Spain carded a 66 to climb into a tie for second with Richie Ramsay of Scotland, who shot a 68. Felipe Aguilar of Chile (71) and overnight leader Matthew Nixon of England (73) finished three shots back.
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was