McKINNEY, Texas — Taylor Pendrith tried his best to ignore Ben Kohles’ meltdown on the final hole.
Instead, he focused on his own eagle putt — which Pendrith thought he might have to make just to force a playoff — as he walked toward the 18th green at TPC Craig Ranch.
Several stunning minutes later, a three-footer for a birdie gave Pendrith his first PGA Tour victory.
Kohles overtook Pendrith with birdies on Nos. 16 and 17 for a one-shot lead, then made a bogey on the 18th after hitting his second shot into greenside rough. Already in shock after two chips from the rough, the second with his feet in a bunker, Kohles missed a six-foot putt that would have forced a playoff in the CJ Cup Byron Nelson.
“Wasn’t really trying to pay attention to what they were doing, although it really mattered, obviously,” Pendrith said. “I feel for Ben. He played really, really good today, especially down the stretch. I’ve been on the other side of it a couple times, and it sucks. But it’s golf. It’s a hard game.”
Pendrith shot a 4-under-par 67 to finish the 72-hole tournament at 23-under 261. The 32-year-old Canadian won in the 74th start of his PGA Tour career.
Kohles, playing just north of his native Dallas, shot a 66 to finish a stroke back. The 34-year-old who now plays out of North Carolina is winless in 68 starts.
“Honestly, hadn’t seen any rough like that all week,” said Kohles, whose family moved to North Carolina when he was 10. “Just needed a little bit more umph on it. Did so many good things this week, and I’m just going to keep reminding myself of that and try to get myself back in this position.”
Alex Noren, a 41-year-old Swedish player who is also seeking a first PGA Tour victory, was another stroke back. He wowed the crowd on the stadium hole at the par-3 17th with a tee shot to 2 1/2 feet, but he followed that birdie with a par knowing he probably needed an eagle on 18. Noren shot a 65 and was alone in third at 21 under.
Aaron Rai (64) and England’s Matt Wallace (68) were at 20 under along with the South Korean pair of Byeong Hun An (64) and S.H. Kim (65).
A trio of Baylor School graduates played the event and made the cut, with Stephan Jaeger and Keith Mitchell each closing with a 68 to finish among those tied for 20th at 16 under, while Luke List also had a 68 but shared 30th place at 14 under.
Pendrith, the third-round leader, and Kohles were separated by just one shot or tied most of the day. After Kohles made a 20-footer to take the lead on 17, Pendrith’s par putt rolled all the way around the cup and went in.
“It just curled in, that putt on the last second there, which was unreal just to give me a chance,” said Pendrith, who set it up with a chip from an awkward stance with his heels hanging over the lip of a bunker — and that after saving par with another testy putt at the par-4 16th.
The victory qualified Pendrith for the PGA Championship in two weeks at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky, as well as next year’s Masters. He’s also in the next three $20 million signature events on the PGA Tour, starting with the Wells Fargo championship that begins Thursday at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, North Carolina. Kohles and Noren also played their way into the signature event with their Byron Nelson showings.
With back-to-back big tournaments ahead, just three of the top 30 players in the Official World Golf Ranking were in the field when the Nelson began, with No. 20 Jordan Spieth missing the cut and No. 22 Jason Day and No. 23 Tom Kim finishing near the bottom of the leaderboard.
AP photo by LM Otero / Taylor Pendrith hits an approach shot on the 16th hole at TPC Craig Ranch during the final round of the PGA Tour’s CJ Cup Byron Nelson tournament Sunday in McKinney, Texas.Koepka wins LIV-Singapore
SINGAPORE — Brooks Koepka closed with a 3-under 68 to win the LIV Golf League’s Singapore tournament, his fourth victory on the circuit that launched in the summer of 2022.
Koepka finished at 15-under 198 in the 54-hole event at Sentosa Golf Club, two shots ahead of Australian players Marc Leishman (66) and Cameron Smith (64). Talor Gooch (67) was another stroke back in fourth.
Koepka, who had four birdies and a bogey in his final round, was an eight-time winner on the PGA Tour before leaving that circuit. He now has four LIV victories to go with five major championships, with the latest of those the PGA Championship a year ago.
Koepka was the seventh different winner in seven LIV events this season.
“It’s all starting to come around,” said Koepka, who had struggled with his game this year. “I’ve put in a lot of work — on the golf course, off the golf course — so to see it pay off here is huge.”
Jon Rahm, the former world No. 1 who has yet to win after joining LIV in December, ended up six strokes behind after a 67 and tied for 10th. He is the only player to have finished in the top 10 in all seven events in 2024.
The team title went to Ripper GC — led by Leishman and Smith — which was 32 under for the tournament and three strokes ahead of two other teams: Fireballs GC and Cleeks GC.
LIV Golf photo by Jon Ferrey via AP / Brooks Koepka, right, celebrates with his wife, Jena Sims, and son, Crew, on the 18th green at Sentosa Golf Club after the final round of the LIV Golf League’s Singapore tournament on Sunday. Koepka won by two strokes.Big comeback in China
SHENZHEN, China — Adrian Otaegui overturned a five-shot deficit on Sunday to win the DP World Tour’s China Open, the Spanish golfer’s fifth tour title.
Otaegui had been trailing Sebastian Söderberg after Friday’s round — Saturday’s play was canceled because of lightning — and he closed with a 7-under 65 to finish at 18-under 198 in the 54-hole event and win by one shot over Guido Migliozzi (67).
“I was starting five shots back and I tried not to look at the leaderboard, not think about the result,” Otaegui said. “I knew if I had birdie chances that I could potentially hole a few. I think I was actually feeling more calm through the round.”
The 143rd-ranked Otaegui stayed flawless and holed seven birdies in the final round on his way to earning a spot in the PGA Championship later this month.
Söderberg tied for third after starting Sunday with a bogey. The Swedish made four birdies but was undone by another bogey on the 15th and a double bogey for a 72. He tied for third at 16 under with Switzerland’s Joel Girrbach (67) and England’s Paul Waring (69).
Seniors cut short again
THE WOODLANDS, Texas — Scott Dunlap was declared the 36-hole winner of the Insperity Invitational when rain washed out the final round Sunday, giving Dunlap his first PGA Tour Champions title in nearly 10 years.
Devastating rain in the Houston area previously washed out the opening round Friday. Players managed to play 36 holes on Saturday, and Dunlap posted a 2-under 70 to take a one-shot lead over Joe Durant and Stuart Appleby.
That proved to be the winning score when rain soaked The Woodlands Country Club. It was the second 36-hole event in the last three weeks on the 50-and-older tour because of weather. The other was in the Dallas area.
The 60-year-old Dunlap finished his 65-70 marathon with a bogey on the final hole that put him at 9-under 135.
“I think everyone knew there is a chance it could be a two rounder, but it is very dangerous to be in that mindset — ‘Oh, you are going to win,’ and then well, ‘We’re going to play,'” he said after his round Saturday. “I did good work for the two rounds we knew were going to play.”
His only other PGA Tour Champions win was in the 2014 Boeing Classic.
Steven Alker tied for fourth and regained the lead in the season-long Charles Schwab Cup standings. Bernhard Langer, playing for the first time since surgery on his left Achilles’ tendon three months ago, had rounds of 69-74 and tied for 31st in his return.