American Ryan Palmer tapped in for birdie on the final hole to shoot a four-under 66 Sunday and capture the US$5.5 million PGA Tour Sony Open.
Palmer held off Australian Robert Allenby to win by one shot at the Waialae Country Club, finishing with a 15-under 265.
Palmer came up short of the green on the par-five final hole. Allenby chipped onto the green to just inside 10 feet of the cup. Palmer then bounced his next shot in front of the cup and hit the pin leaving the ball inches away.
PHOTO: REUTERS
“Lucky bounce,” Palmer said. “It was probably going to go by seven or eight feet. I still hit a good chip. You need things like that to win.”
Allenby missed his birdie putt and Palmer tapped in for his third career victory.
■JOBURG OPEN
REUTERS, JOHANNESBURG
Charl Schwartzel won his second consecutive European Tour event with a six-stroke victory in the Joburg Open on Sunday.
The South African was never threatened on the final day of the tournament at Royal Johannesburg and Kensington Golf Club.
He shot a final-round 66 on the East Course to finish the event on 23-under-par 261, six clear of second-placed fellow South African Keith Horne and Briton Darren Clarke.
Schwartzel dropped only three shots all week: a bogey at the third on Sunday and a double-bogey at the West Course’s 12th on Thursday. The win cements his place at the top of the Race to Dubai standings after four events on the 2010 European Tour.
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