Darren Clarke wins Sanford International via three-man playoff
Clarke, Steve Flesch and South Korea's K.J. Choi headed to a three-way playoff after tying atop the leaderboard at 12-under-par 198.
Published : Sep 20, 2021 08:31 IST
Darren Clarke of Northern Ireland made a birdie on the second playoff hole on Sunday to win the Sanford International for his third Champions Tour title of the season.
Clarke, Steve Flesch and South Korea's K.J. Choi headed to a three-way playoff after tying atop the leaderboard at 12-under-par 198 at Minnehaha Country Club in Sioux Falls, S.D.
Flesch could have won the tournament outright with a par on No. 18, but he bogeyed and dropped back into the tie. Then Flesch bogeyed at No. 18 again to open the playoff, which eliminated him from contention.
Choi nearly sank a winning birdie putt on that first go-round, but it drifted slightly left of the cup. He and Clarke returned to the 18th tee, eventually leading to Clarke's short birdie putt to claim the title.
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Prior to Sunday, Clarke had also won the TimberTech Championship last November and the Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai in January as part of the elongated tour season.
Clarke shot a final-round, 5-under 65. He rebounded from an opening bogey to make six birdies, four of them on the back nine. Choi, the 36-hole leader, managed just a 1-under 69 while Flesch had a 66.
Homa wins Fortinet Championship
Max Homa shot a 7-under-par 65 -- his second 65 in as many days -- to win the Fortinet Championship in Napa, Calif. Sunday by a stroke over Maverick McNealy.
It was Homa's second PGA win in 2021, and both came in California. Homa, 30, previously won at the Genesis Invitational in Los Angeles in February. Prior to 2021, Homa also won the Wells Fargo Championship in 2019.
Trailing by three strokes, the 30-year-old scored a two-shot eagle on 12 and then recorded three more birdies on the next five holes to claim the lead. A par 5 on 18 was good enough to secure the win