US golfer Matt Every won his second consecutive Arnold Palmer Invitational title when he sank a 15-foot birdie putt at the final hole to beat Henrik Stenson by one stroke in Florida on Sunday.
Every, who had not posted a top-25 finish since June last year, had joked pre-tournament with Tiger Woods that he would win again on the Bay Hill course in Orlando where Woods has won eight times.
Every struck form in time to shoot a closing 66 and finish at 19-under-par 269, barely an hour’s drive from his hometown of Daytona Beach.
Stenson (70) rued what might have been after bogeying the 15th hole and failing to birdie the easy par-five 16th.
The Swede missed a 20-foot birdie at the last that would have earned a playoff, but will still go into next month’s Masters as one of the in-form players after posting his third straight top-four finish.
Every, 31, who is coached by Woods’ former instructor Sean Foley, won last year’s event on the back of great putting, but this time his long game paved the way to his second PGA Tour victory.
However, it was a slick downhill putt on the 18th green that finally clinched the US$1.134 million first prize and a ticket to the Masters.
“This guy in the crowd kept coughing ‘straight putt, straight putt,’” Every told reporters. “I looked over it pretty hard and didn’t see anything. It was a great putt to have under pressure too, because I wasn’t going to come up short.”
“You’ll take a win however you get it, but it was cool to close one out like that,” he said.
Runner-up Stenson is 62-under for his past 21 rounds worldwide, but it was still a stinging loss for the world No. 3, who led with four holes left.
Australian Matt Jones (68) finished two strokes behind Every in third place, while US player Morgan Hoffman (71) was fourth, four strokes back.
Hoffman made a great start to the final round and took the lead with five birdies in the first eight holes before a bogey at the par-four ninth.
A double-bogey at the last, where he yanked his drive out-of-bounds, only compounded his misery.
Manchester United on Tuesday confirmed Michael Carrick as interim manager until the end of the season, tasking him with leading the Red Devils back into the UEFA Champions League. “Having the responsibility to lead Manchester United is an honor,” said Carrick, 44, who won 12 major trophies in his 12-year playing career at United. The former midfielder previously had an unbeaten three-game stint as caretaker boss at Old Trafford in 2021. Carrick then took on his first permanent managerial role at second-tier Middlesbrough in October 2022 and was sacked in June last year after the club finished 10th in the
James Harden on Friday scored 31 points and came up big in overtime to help the Los Angeles Clippers erase a double-digit deficit on the way to a 121-117 NBA victory over the Toronto Raptors. Harden scored 16 points in the fourth quarter and overtime as the Clippers pushed their wining steak to five games despite the absence of star Kawhi Leonard with a sprained right ankle. The Clippers trailed by 11 entering the fourth quarter, but Harden drilled a pair of free-throws with 1:24 left in regulation to tie it and after misses from both teams, they went to
Dallas Mavericks rookie Cooper Flagg on Wednesday was ruled out for the second half of their 118-109 loss to the Denver Nuggets after the No. 1 pick sprained his left ankle in the first half. Flagg was called for a foul while defending against Peyton Watson and turned the ankle as he fell to the floor with 6 minutes, 1 second left in the second quarter. Flagg limped to the bench and continued to the locker room, but returned for the final 2 minutes, 35 seconds before the break. The 19-year-old did not come out for the second half before the announcement that
Yassine Bounou on Wednesday saved two penalties, while Youssef en-Nesyri netted the decisive spot-kick as hosts Morocco secured a 4-2 shoot-out victory over Nigeria following a 0-0 draw in a tense Africa Cup of Nations semi-final in Rabat. Morocco, seeking their first continental title in 50 years, are to face 2021 winners Senegal in Sunday’s decider in Rabat, while Nigeria take on Egypt in the third-place playoff tomorrow. The 120 minutes before the shoot-out had few clear-cut chances for either side, but it was Morocco who created more opportunities, although they were denied by some fine saves from Nigeria goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali. Nigeria
RSS