Dustin Johnson acknowledges the gallery on the 18th green at Harbour Town Golf Links after putting out during the final round of the RBC Heritage. Johnson closed with a birdie, but his back-nine struggles on the way to a 77 took him from third-round leader to finishing tied for 28th.HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. - C.T. Pan watched the Masters last week with his wife and sometimes caddie, Yingchun Lin, thrilled by Tiger Woods' stirring victory at Augusta National Golf Club.
His wife, Pan recalled, told him point blank, "Hey, I'm not patient, so you better get me (to Augusta) as soon as possible."
Pan complied quickly, taking advantage of top-ranked Dustin Johnson's back-nine meltdown Sunday at Harbour Town Golf Links to win the RBC Heritage for his first PGA Tour victory.
Along with $1.242 million, the win opens a world of opportunities for the 27-year-old Taiwanese player: He's exempt on tour through 2020-21, in line to make the President's Cup International team this year and, with his invitation to the Masters, will have an opportunity he has dreamed about since taking up the game in the mid-1990s.
"It's a good problem to have," Pan said.
Pan shot a 4-under-par 67 to finish at 12-under 272, a stroke ahead of Matt Kuchar and two in front of Patrick Cantlay, Scott Piercy and Shane Lowry. Kuchar had a 67, Cantlay and Piercy each shot a 69 and Lowry finished with a 70.
The top-ranked Johnson, the third-round leader in his home-state event, had a 77 to tie for 28th at 4 under. He played a five-hole stretch in 7 over, making bogeys on Nos. 11-13 and double bogeys on Nos. 14-15.
Pan took the lead for good with a nine-foot birdie putt on the par-4 16th.
He headed to the practice range after the round to keep ready in case of a playoff, then raised his arms in triumph when he was told he had won.
"It's still really hard for me to believe," he said. "I'm processing. My phone has been vibrating the last 10 minutes. I'm so happy I finally got it done."
Pan won twice on the PGA Tour Canada in 2015 when he turned professional. He has finished second twice in PGA Tour events, once at the Farmers Insurance Open in 2017 and last year at the Wyndham Championship.
Johnson, a 20-time winner on tour, carried a one-shot lead into the final round and seemed a strong bet to add the prize from the Palmetto State's only tour stop to his trophy case. He never found a rhythm early, though, and lost all hope with his uncharacteristic drop-off.
Baylor School graduate Harris English, after opening with a 72, shot his third straight 69 to tie for 25th at 5 under. His final round featured four birdies, including one on the 18th. Luke List, another former Red Raider, tied for 41st at 1 under after closing with a 71 that had four birdies but as many bogeys. List was tied for second after opening with a 66.
Pan's wife was key to him playing at Harbour Town. He had planned to attend a junior event in Houston he helped organize, but Yingchun Lin told him to get back to work and let her handle things down there.
"Just listen to your wife," Pan said. "And you will have a good life. She's right, always."
TPC Sugarloaf is Scott McCarron's kind of place
DULUTH, Ga. - Scott McCarron completed a wire-to-wire victory in the PGA Tour Champions' Mitsubishi Electric Classic for his third victory at TPC Sugarloaf.
The winner of the PGA Tour's now-defunct BellSouth Classic at the course in 1997 and 2001, McCarron closed with a 1-under 72 for a two-stroke victory over Joe Durant, Kent Jones, Jerry Kelly and Kirk Triplett.
"Obviously, it's a golf course I like," McCarron said.
The 53-year-old McCarron finished at 7-under 209 for his ninth victory on the 50-and-older tour. He won three times on the PGA Tour.
"I'm having so much fun playing on the PGA Tour Champions," McCarron said. "This is like a new lease on life for me for my golf career, but I also know that there's an end in sight. Because of that, I'm putting everything I can into these whatever, 10, 15 years."
McCarron lost the lead with a slow start, playing the first four holes in 1 over with two birdies, a bogey and double bogey on the par-5 third. He birdied the par-4 13th to break a tie with Durant and opened a two-stroke lead with an 18-foot birdie putt on the par-4 15th.
McCarron earned $270,000 and took the lead in the season-long Charles Schwab Cup points race.
Kelly birdied the final two holes for a 67. Durant, Jones and Triplett each closed with a 69. Durant birdied four of the first six holes to take the lead. He bogeyed the par-4 ninth and closed with nine straight pars.
Chattanooga's Gibby Gilbert III closed with a 75 and shared 41st at 6 over.
Hall of Fame pitcher John Smoltz tied for 61st among the 77 golfers who completed the tournament, shooting 80-74-73 to finish 11 over. The former Atlanta Braves star was playing on a sponsor's exemption.
Brooke Henderson's eighth LPGA Tour win ties Canadian record
KAPOLEI, Hawaii - Brooke Henderson won the Lotte Championship for the second straight year, with her victory late Saturday tying Sandra Post's record for LPGA Tour victories by a Canadian with eight.
The 21-year-old Henderson closed with a 2-under 70 at windy Ko Olina Golf Club to finish at 16-under 272 and secure a four-stroke win over Eun-Hee Ji, who closed with a 73. Ji shot a third-round 74 after going 64-65 to start the tournament.
"When I was younger, it was just a goal to be on the LPGA Tour, to win my first event," Henderson said. "And when that happened and I won my first major the year after, things kind of just started to fall into place.
"I knew the record was eight. Last year put me into great position, and coming back this year it's been on the back of my mind every week that I tee it up. I'm just really happy that I have finally done it. Looking forward to overtaking it now."
Top-ranked Ariya Jutanugarn (73) and Minjee Lee (74), the 2016 tournament champion, tied for third at 11 under.
Sharing fifth at 10 under were Hyejin Choi (72), Gaby Lopez (67) and Danielle Kang (69), the highest-finishing American in the field.
Nelly Korda, who shared the third-round lead with Henderson, finished with a quadruple-bogey 8 for a 77 that left her seven strokes back at 9 under, alone in eighth. She hit into the water twice on 18, then threw her ball in after finishing.
The 20-year-old American also had a double bogey on the par-4 seventh.
"Pretty bad," Korda said. "I mean, it was a tough day, but I ended really poorly and I'm pretty disappointed in that. It was an unfortunate final round, but there is nothing I can do about it anymore."
Henderson rebounded from a bogey on the par-5 first hole with birdies on the par-4 third and par-5 fifth, also birdied the par-4 11th and closed with seven straight pars.