Angel Cabrera won the Greenbrier Classic on Sunday for his first non-major victory on the PGA Tour, closing with his second straight six-under 64 for a two-stroke victory over George McNeill.
Cabrera, the 44-year-old Argentine whose only other PGA Tour victories came in the 2007 US Open and 2009 Masters, built a three-shot lead before making things interesting with a pair of late bogeys. He finished at 16-under 264.
“This was a great opportunity,” Cabrera said through an interpreter. “I wanted it. I needed to win a tournament. I felt under control today out there, and I didn’t want to let it get away from me.”
Photo: AFP
McNeill shot a season-best 61 for his fourth top-10 of the season and first since mid-March. However, he will put golf on hold for a few weeks. Golf Channel reported that his older sister, Michele McNeill, died of cancer on Sunday morning and the player was informed after his round was over.
“Golf doesn’t really mean a whole lot,” McNeill told reporters. “So it’s hard.”
Webb Simpson had a 63 to finish third at 10-under.
Photo: AFP
Third-round leader Billy Hurley III bogeyed four of the first six holes to fall out of contention. He shot 73 and finished in a seven-way tie for fourth at nine-under.
No third-round leader has hung on to win the Greenbrier Classic in its five-year existence.
McNeill was the clubhouse leader at 14-under, well ahead of Cabrera, who still had the back nine to play.
Cabrera had no top 10-finishes this season entering the tournament, but had everything working on Sunday, hammering drives and approach shots with precision and coming up with clutch putts, especially on the back nine.
Cabrera overtook McNeill with birdie putts of 17 and 7 feet on the 11th and 12th holes, then gave a fist pump after moving to 17-under by holing a 176-yard eight-iron up the hill for eagle on the par-four 13th, the hardest hole at Old White TPC.
By then his lead was three strokes, but he bogeyed the 14th after his approach shot spun off the front of the green and bogeyed the par-three 15th after hitting into the rough on his tee shot.
Cabrera smashed a 330 yard drive over the lake on the par-four 16th and made par, then drilled a 336 yard drive on the 616 yard 17th and two-putted for birdie. He closed out with par on the par-three 18th.
Cabrera won US$1.17 million and is projected to improve from 158th to 54th in the FedEx Cup standings. McNeill would move from 60th to 29th.
Simpson had flown home on Friday and learned upon landing that he made the cut. So he rented a car and drove back to West Virginia.
Simpson and Keagan Bradley both had strong finishes as they continue to try to impress US Ryder Cup captain Tom Watson, who will make three at-large selections for the Sept. 26 to 28 event at Gleneagles in Scotland.
The top nine in the Ryder Cup standings automatically qualify for the team. Simpson is 17th and Bradley is 18th.
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