LA QUINTA, Calif. - Hudson Swafford thought about his late father Sunday at PGA West, where he won The American Express tournament for the second time in five years.
"I had a couple moments where I looked up and knew that he was following and knew that he was there," Swafford said. "I could just hear his voice saying, 'Just be confident in what you're doing. You're playing great.' And he goes, 'Just play to win.'"
David Swafford died Dec. 6 at age 83. He gave Hudson his first golf clubs at age 2.
"One of the best people I know, and he taught me everything I know," said Swafford, a 34-year-old from Tallahassee, Florida, who played for the University of Georgia. "How to be a dad, how to be a friend, how to be a champion and how to play golf. He's the one that got me into golf when I was young. He gave me every opportunity to succeed, but never pushed it on me."
Swafford broke a late tie with an eagle in an 8-under-par 64 on the Stadium Course. He finished at 23-under 265, beating Tom Hoge (68) by two strokes after beginning the day three shots behind rookies Paul Barjon and Lee Hodges.
He also won this event, which utilizes three courses over the first three rounds - La Quinta Country Club and PGA West's Nicklaus Tournament course - in 2017. This is his third PGA Tour title overall, with Swafford having won the Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship in the Dominican Republic in September 2020.
"I've fallen in love with this place," Swafford said. "This is kind of my West Coast home, honestly."
Tied for the lead with fellow former Georgia golfer Brian Harman and Italy's Francesco Molinari, Swafford pulled ahead with the eagle on the par-5 16th. From about 200 yards, he hit a 7-iron to eight feet away from the iconic hole with large, deep bunkers lining the left side.
Swafford ran in a 20-foot birdie putt on 17, a par-3 hole called Alcatraz with an island green ringed by jagged rocks. He saved par on the par-4 18th with an eight-footer to wrap up a spot in the Masters.
Harman (64), Hodges (70) and Lanto Griffin (67) shared third at 20 under.
Baylor School graduate Luke List (69) tied for 22nd at 13 under.
AP photo by Marcio Jose Sanchez / Hudson Swafford hits from the third fairway of the Stadium Course at PGA West during Sunday's final round of The American Express tournament in La Quinta, Calif.Kang closes well
ORLANDO, Fla. - Danielle Kang wasted no time making sure she didn't have another winless season on the LPGA Tour, capping a strong weekend at Lake Nona Golf and Country Club by closing with a 4-under 68 for a one-shot victory in the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions.
The 29-year-old American ran off five birdies in a seven-hole stretch in the middle of her round to post the low score on a blustery, cool day in Florida.
She finished at 16-under 272, one shot clear of Canada's Brooke Henderson (70). Mexico's Gaby Lopez (72) was another stroke back in third, with U.S. star Nelly Korda - the 54-hole leader and No. 1 player in women's golf - fourth at 10 under after a closing 75.
Kang, who shot a 69 on Saturday, was the lone player to break 70 in both weekend rounds and the only player to shoot in the 60s all four rounds. Winless in 2021 after having won in each of her previous four seasons, she now has six LPGA career victories.
"My mental game was really good," Kang said. "I had a really good attitude all day today and yesterday. I know I left some putts out there, but I never let it get to me, and I kept having to give myself birdie chances as much as possible."
Safe proves smart
ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates - Thomas Pieters earned the sixth and biggest European title of his career when he closed with a par round of 72 for a one-shot victory in the Abu Dhabi Championship.
Pieters had 16 pars in the final round of the DP World Tour event, choosing not to go for the green on the par-5 18th when he was told he had a two-shot lead. He finished at 10-under 278, one ahead of Spain's Rafa Cabrera Bello (70) and India's Shubhankar Sharma (71).
Pieters, who turns 30 on Thursday, said he was happy he can finally get his caddie, Adam Marrow, "a gold bib" for winning a Rolex Series tourney.
Norway's Viktor Hovland, going for his third win in his past four starts, closed with a 72 and finished two shots behind, along with France's Victor Dubuisson (69).
Going to Augusta
LA ROMANA, Dominican Republic - The flag of the Cayman Islands will fly at Augusta National in April.
Aaron Jarvis made a birdie on the final hole for a 3-under 69 and a one-shot victory at 7-under 281 in a tense ending to the Latin America Amateur Championship.
The victory means Jarvis, a 19-year-old UNLV freshman, earns spots in the Masters and the British Open at St. Andrews. He also is exempt into the final stage of U.S. Open qualifying.
"What a day," Jarvis said. "It means the world to me. The opportunity to go to the Masters, the British Open. There's no young golfer who doesn't dream of anything but going to those tournaments."
He will be the first player from the Cayman Islands to compete at the Masters and British Open.
Jarvis was one shot behind when his second shot into the par-5 18th on the Teeth of the Dog course at Casa de Campo came up just short and took a big hop onto the green. He two-putted for a birdie - and then he had to wait.
Four players wound up sharing second: Brazil's Fred Biondi (72), Mexico's Santiago De La Fuente (71) and Argentina's Mateo Fernandez de Oliveira (68) and Vicentie Marzilio (71).
Hawaiian punch
KA'UPULEHU-KONA, Hawaii - Miguel Angel Jimenez is off to another great start on the PGA Tour Champions in Hawaii.
Jimenez, the cigar-smoking, free-spirited Spaniard, birdied the par-4 18th hole in regulation for a closing 6-under 66 on Saturday, then beat Steven Alker on the second playoff hole to win the season-opening Mitsubishi Electric Championship for the third time.
Jimenez, who turned 58 three weeks ago, now has 11 career wins on the senior circuit. He won this event two years ago in a playoff, along with winning outright in 2015. The season opener is for winners on the 50-and-older tour from the past two years and senior major champions from the past five years, along with a few sponsor exemptions.
Alker had no Champions status late last year until getting it through a qualifier and then finishing in the top 10 each week to keep playing, eventually winning.
He closed with a 66 to join Jimenez at 17-under 199 in the 54-hole event. They finished one shot ahead of Stephen Ames and Vijay Singh, who each birdied the final hole for a 68.