CALEDON, Ontario (AP) — Ryan Fox of New Zealand won for the second time in five weeks on the PGA Tour with another memorable shot in a playoff, this time a 3-wood to 7 feet on the fourth extra hole Sunday to beat Sam Burns in the RBC Canadian Open.
Fox won the Myrtle Beach Classic last month by chipping in for birdie to win a three-man playoff. This one on the TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley took a little longer.
What turned out to be the winning shot might be more memorable. Fox smoked a 3-wood that landed softly just left of the pin and settled 7 feet away. Burns pulled his 3-wood some 55 feet left of the front right pin. He ran his eagle putt 8 feet by and missed that one.
Fox missed his eagle try before tapping in for birdie.
Fox holed a birdie putt from just inside 18 feet on the par-5 18th in regulation for a 4-under 66 that allowed him to join Sam Burns at 18-under 262. Burns had finished some two hours earlier with a birdie on the final hole for a 62.
They played the 18th four more times — the PGA Tour moved the pin position from far left to front right after two extra holes — and there was nothing compelling about the extra holes.
Fox delivered the goods on the final hole and now has two wins in just over a month. The victory moved the 38-year-old Fox from No. 75 to No. 32 in the world, getting him into the U.S. Open next week for being among the top 60 in the world ranking.
LIV Golf League
GAINESVILLE, Va. (AP) — Joaquin Niemann of Chile won LIV Golf Virginia for his fourth victory in the Saudi-funded tour’s first eight events of the season, closing with an 8-under 63 to beat Graeme McDowell (66) and Anirban Lahiri (68) by a stroke.
Niemann broke out of a logjam at the top with birdies on Nos. 14-17 and parred the par-4 18th to finish at 15-under 198 at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club. The 26-year-old Niemann also won this year in Australia, Singapore and Mexico. He has six career LIV victories after winning twice on the PGA Tour.
Bryson DeChambeau, preparing for his U.S. Open title defense at Oakmont, had a 65 to tie for fourth with Phil Mickelson (65) and Bubba Watson (67) at 13 under.
LPGA Tour
GALLOWAY, N.J. (AP) — Jennifer Kupcho closed with an 8-foot birdie putt in light rain to hold off Ilhee Lee in the ShopRite LPGA Classic, ending a drought of nearly three years without winning.
Kupcho, whose four LPGA Tour titles include a major at the Chevron Championship, birdied three of the last five holes for a 5-under 66. She took the lead with a 20-foot birdie putt from just off the green on the 14th, and avoided a playoff with the putt on 18.
Lee was the 36-hole leader going into the final round on a rain-soaked Bay Course at Seaview Hotel, so drenched that the par-3 17th was moved up to play only 76 yards. She had two early bogeys and shot 39 on the front to fall back.
But the South Korean finished strong, with five birdies on the back, including the last two holes, for a 68. It wasn’t enough to catch Kupcho, who finished at 15-under 198 in one of only two LPGA events contested over 54 holes.
European Tour
AMSTERDAM (AP) — Connor Syme of Scotland captured his first European tour title when he held steady for a 1-under 70 for a two-shot victory over Joakim Lagergren on Sweden in the KLM Open.
Syme went into the final round with a two-shot lead and Lagergren never got any closer at The International course. The Swede was still in range with four holes to play, but Lagergren came up woefully short on the par-5 15th and took two to reach the green, making bogey.
Lagergren also missed an 8-foot par putt on the par-3 17th to fall four shots behind. He closed with an eagle for a 70.
Syme finished on 11-under 273 to win in his 182nd start on the European tour.
PGA Tour Champions
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — European Ryder Cup captains and teammates Darren Clarke and Thomas Bjorn won the American Family Insurance Championship, shooting a 7-under 64 in better-ball play for a four-stroke victory over four teams.
The tournament hosted by Steve Stricker — who tied for second with brother-in-law Mario Tiziani — switched to the team format this year, giving the PGA Tour Champions its only team event.
Clarke and Bjorn finished at 32-under 181 at TPC Wisconsin. They opened with a better-ball 59 and shot a 58 on Saturday in a scramble round.
The 56-year-old Clarke, from Northern Ireland, won for the fifth time on the 50-and-over tour. The 54-year-old Bjorn, from Denmark, won his first Champions title.
Stricker and Tiziani closed with a 65 to match the teams of Alex Cejka-Soren Kjeldsen (59), Doug Barron-Dicky Pride (69) and Steve Flesch-Paul Goydos (64) at 28 under.
Korn Ferry Tour
GREER, S.C. (AP) — Austin Smotherman birdied three of his last four holes and closed with a 4-under 67 for a three-shot victory in the BMW Charity Pro-Am on the Korn Ferry Tour.
Smotherman won for the second time on the Korn Ferry Tour, his other title coming in 2021 during a season that first sent him to the PGA Tour. This win moves him to No. 4 on the Korn Ferry points list. He finished at 25-under 260.
Sebastian Cappelen (66), Pierceson Coody (67) and Carl Yuan (71) tied for second.
Yuan had a one-shot lead to start the final round and opened with four birdies in seven holes. But he made two double bogeys in a three-hole stretch around the turn and never caught up.
Other tours
Samantha Wagner closed with 7-under 65 for a two-shot victory over Sophia Schubert in the FireKeepers Casino Hotel Championship on the Epson Tour. ... Taiga Semikawa birdied two of his last three holes for a 5-under 66, and then birdied the first playoff hole against Mikumu Horikawa to win the BMW Japan Golf Tour Championship Mori Building Cup. It was his first Japan Golf Tour win in two years. ... Felix Mory of France closed with a 2-under 69 and made birdie on the first playoff hole against Santiago Tarrio to win the Swiss Challenge on the Challenge Tour. ... Sara Kouskova of the Czech Republic had a bogey and double bogey late in the final round and then held on with three pars for a 1-under 71 and a one-shot victory in Tenerife Women’s Open on the Ladies European Tour. ... Samuel Simpson won his first Sunshine Tour title when he rallied from a six-shot deficit with a 3-under 69 to win the Mopani Zambia Open over Herman Loubser, who shot 76. ... Aihi Takano pulled away with an 8-under 64 for a four-shot victory over Min-Young Lee in the Yonex Ladies on the Japan LPGA. ... Gayoung Lee won a three-way playoff in the Celltrion Queens Masters on the Korea LPGA, making birdie on each of the extra holes to defeat Shihyun Kim and Jinseon Han.
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