Golf-Reed claims maiden PGA tour win in play-off

 

August 18, 2013

By Andrew Both

 GREENSBORO, North Carolina, Aug 18 (Reuters) -Patrick Reed hit the "best shot" of his life from a seemingly impossible position to set up a sensational play-off victory over fellow young gun Jordan Spieth at the $5.3 million Wyndham Championship on Sunday.

 The 23-year-old PGA Tour rookie from Texas looked destined for defeat after slicing his drive almost out-of-bounds at the second extra hole, the par-four 10th at Sedgefield Country Club.

But Reed's ball stopped barely one yard in bounds and he took advantage of his lucky break by conjuring up a piece of magic with his second shot, threading a seven-iron that somehow avoided the trees and finished within seven feet of the hole.

 "It was the best shot of my life, that's for sure," said Reed, whose caddie - and wife - Justine measured the shot at 167 yards.

"When I got the signal the ball was out of bounds my heart sank. I pulled my hat down and I was so frustrated and sad. If I didn't close that out and win it I would have been heartbroken."

But when Reed got word from other marshals that the ball was safe, his spirits soared.

"I felt I was back playing T-ball. The ball was so far above my feet that it almost felt like I was taking a baseball swing.

"The lie was fine. There was a little bit of dirt, a couple of pieces of grass, twigs, a couple of spiders, basically anything you'd find in a wilderness.

"The problem was the tree I had to go under. The tree trunk was right there and I had to hit the ball dead straight from a baseball lie. It's hard for me to do that, because I play draws.

"I knew it was going to be do or die. I had to make a great golf swing and to pull it off meant everything."

 The vanquished Spieth was certainly impressed: "It was one of the best shots I've ever witnessed," said Spieth. "I walked over to his ball (because) I wanted to see what he had to do and he didn't have much.

"I didn't think he could hit the ball that high and stop it from that lie."

 Spieth gave Reed a sporting thumbs-up, but it still wasn't over, because Spieth had a sharply-breaking 10-foot birdie putt that shaved the right edge of the hole but didn't drop.

That opened the door for Reed, who made no mistake with his birdie putt to capture his first tour victory, worth $954,000 and the Sam Snead Cup.

Reed's heroics prevented Spieth from becoming the youngest two-time winner on tour in more than a century. Nevertheless, the 20-year-old, who won last month's John Deere Classic, continued his emergence as one of the game's rising stars.

The play-off was a rollercoaster of emotion for Spieth, who seemed destined for defeat at the first extra hole after pulling his drive into the woods.

He had no choice but to pitch his second shot back to the fairway and a poor third shot left him 26-feet above the hole, from where he defied the odds and sank the par putt.

Reed still had a chance to win with a seven-foot birdie attempt, but his putt was poor and the hole was halved, setting up even more drama at the next hole.

 Earlier, Reed (66) and Spieth (65) finished regulation tied at 14-under-par 266. They both made tap-in pars at the 72nd hole to finish two strokes ahead of fellow Americans John Huh, who bogeyed the final two holes, and Brian Harman. (Reporting by Andrew Both, editing by Simon Evans in Miami)

Christine Song wins again on Symetra Tour

August 18, 2013AP - Sports

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) -- Christine Song wrapped up an LPGA Tour card for next season, winning the Eagle Classic on Sunday for her second Symetra Tour victory of the year.

Song, from Fullerton, Calif., closed with a 1-under 71 in the rain-delayed final round for a three-stroke victory. She finished at 8-under 208 at Richmond Country Club.

''My feet are wet and my clothes are wet so all I was trying to do was zone out the rain,'' Song said. ''I guess that's what I did today.''

Song earned $16,500 to jump from 16th to second on the money list with $38,798 with two tournaments left. The final top 10 will earn 2014 LPGA Tour cards.

Stefanie Kenoyer, Kendall Dye, Perrine Delacour and Jean Chua tied for second. Chua finished with a 68, Kenoyer had a 71, and Dye and Delacour shot 72.

''It would mean so much,'' said Song about returning to the LPGA Tour. ''I don't want to play here for too long and I just want to see all my friends out there, too, and play well.''

''My feet are wet and my clothes are wet so all I was trying to do was zone out the rain,'' Song said. ''I guess that's what I did today.''

Bart Bryant wins Dick's Sporting Goods Open

JOHN KEKIS (AP Sports Writer) August 18, 2013AP - Sports

ENDICOTT, N.Y. (AP) -- It has been 33 years since the Champions Tour was born, and its newest champion is somebody special: 50-year-old rookie Bart Bryant is the tour's 1,000th winner.

Bryant, who shot a tournament record-tying 10-under 62 in the second round to build a four-shot lead, closed with a 72 on Sunday and finished at 16-under 200 to beat Russ Cochran (67) and Corey Pavin (69) by one shot.

''It was a difficult day for me. I just never really felt settled,'' Bryant said, his family standing by his side. ''I really didn't play great. Somehow, I managed to get it in. I think we all feel very blessed at the moment to pull this one out.''

It was a memorable moment for Bryant and the senior tour, which began in 1980 at the Atlantic City Country Club in Atlantic City, N.J. Don January, who won that first tournament, was on hand to congratulate Bryant and hand him the trophy.

''We thought there might be a market for us old guys,'' the 83-year-old January said. ''We was just interested in getting enough to make a living. There were a bunch of us guys in our late 40s and early 50s still trying to play the (PGA) tour and wasn't being very successful at it. Yet we felt like we could still play a little bit.''

The inaugural year consisted of four events. The purse at the Atlantic City Senior International was $125,000 and the total prize money for the season was $475,000. January took home $20,000. Bryant, whose best previous finish this season was a tie for fourth at the 3M Championship in his last start two weeks ago, pocketed $270,000 of the $1.8 million purse.

''Truthfully, when we first started we had no idea how long it was going to last, or whether it would even be successful,'' January said. ''We thought we had a pretty good product, but we weren't sure of anything. I never thought in that realm of 1,000 tournaments. My god, that's forever. It's come a long way. Hopefully, it will get better.''

For, Bryant, who won in just his 14th start on the circuit, it was his first victory since winning the 2005 Tour Championship, ending a drought of 7 years, 9 months, 11 days. He also won the 2005 Memorial and the 2004 Valero Texas Open on the PGA Tour.

That was before two surgeries on his left wrist relegated him to spectator status for nearly three years and left him wondering if he'd ever play again, let alone win.

''I dreamed about it. I envisioned it. I don't know if I believed it would happen, especially after I did the first surgery and it failed,'' Bryant said. ''I don't know if I really bought into the belief that it could actually happen this quick.''

Bryant, who held the largest lead entering the final round of this tournament since its inception in 2007, vowed not to play conservatively because the narrow, tree-lined En-Joie Golf Club course was yielding lots of birdies under near-ideal conditions.

Luckily for him, nobody made a winning surge on a day where pin placements made going real low somewhat more difficult.

''I just made a lot of pars out there,'' Bryant said. ''For some reason, I just wasn't going today with the putter. I don't know if I got a little nervous. I really struggled. Just lucky that nobody got real hot.''

The key to going low at En-Joie is to keep the ball in the fairway, and nobody did it better than Bryant over the first two rounds. He was a model of consistency, hitting 10 of 14 fairways each day and reaching all but two greens in regulation. Small wonder he was the only player in the field to avoid making a bogey the first two days.

That consistency vanished with Bryant's first shot Sunday as he hooked his drive at No. 1 into the left rough. He hit just 4 of 7 fairways and reached only five greens in regulation on the front nine. His errant shots finally caught up to him at the par-3 fourth hole when he overshot the green, pitched back past the hole and over a ridge well past the pin and made bogey.

Pavin, alone in second at the start of the day, was unable to make putts that were there for the taking on the front and parred every hole. Four birdies and one bogey on the back side weren't enough, his putt for birdie at the closing hole missing by inches.

''I just couldn't get anything going,'' Pavin said. ''Hats off to Bart. He made a lot of short putts that he needed to make, which are very hard to make under pressure.''

Cochran, six shots behind after two rounds, reached 13 under with three birdies in his first seven holes to move into second. He reached 16 under with three more birdies on the back, but bogeyed the closing hole and was left wondering what might have been after Bryant did the same.

Bryant finally broke through with birdies at Nos. 8 and 9. He spun his third shot at the par-5 eighth hole to within 2 feet, eliciting a nice cheer from the gallery, and calmly sank a 10-foot putt at No. 9 to go 17 under.

''That calmed me down a little bit and gave me a tad of breathing room,'' Bryant said. ''All I really could do was stay patient. I just didn't have much of a game. I don't know if it was the nerves or what. I felt like that was my only chance, to stay patient and not force the issue and hopefully do something at the end to separate myself.''

He parred the next eight holes before bogeying 18, missing a terrific opportunity after driving to 7 feet at No. 17.

''I probably have to get a lot stronger mentally,'' Bryant said. ''Hopefully, this will propel me.''