NAPA, Calif. — Emiliano Grillo of Argentina won his PGA Tour rookie debut Sunday at the Frys.com Open by holing a 25-foot birdie putt on the 18th for a 3-under 69, and then making the most out of a second chance in the playoff to beat Kevin Na.

Nearly as impressive as his closing birdie was the way the 23-year-old Argentine bounced back from a shocking miss.

Grillo had a 3-foot birdie putt on the first playoff hole to win and was stunned when it caught the left lip and spun away. Then, he drove into the fairway bunker on the 18th on the second extra hole with Na in the fairway.

The next mistake belonged to Na.

He used driver off the fairway for the second time and hooked it behind a tree, leaving him little chance of getting his third shot on the green. Na wound up with a bogey. Grillo hit a bold approach shot over the edge of a bunker to just inside 10 feet. Needing two putts for the win, he made it for birdie.

Earlier this year, Grillo missed a short birdie putt to win the Puerto Rico Open, and wound up losing in a playoff.

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“The difference was I hit this one good,” Grillo said. “My caddie said, ‘Are you OK?’ I said, ‘Yeah, sure. Third time a charm.’ I stayed positive and hit a great shot in there.”

Grillo has won his last two tournaments in thrillers. He made a 25-foot birdie putt on final hole of the Web.com Tour Championship two weeks ago and earned $180,000. This one was worth a lot more.

Not only did he earn $1.08 million, he’s going to the Masters next April.

LPGA TOUR: Lexi Thompson broke out of a crowded pack to win the LPGA KEB Hana Bank Championship for her second victory of the year and sixth overall, in Incheon, South Korea.

The 20-year-old American closed with a 3-under 69 to beat Taiwan’s Yani Tseng and South Korea’s Sung Hyun Park by a stroke. Thompson finished at 15-under 273 on Sky 72’s Ocean Course.

Park shot a 71, and Tseng had a 68.

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Lydia Ko missed a chance to take the top spot in the world from Inbee Park, finishing with a 72 that dropped her into a tie for fourth at 13 under with Amy Yang and Gerina Piller.

Yang birdied the final nine holes for a 10-under 62. She tied the LPGA Tour record for consecutive birdies set by Beth Daniel in the 1999 Philips Invitational, broke the nine-hole mark for relation to par at 9 under, and matched the record for the lowest nine-hole total at 27. Yang tied the course record set by Sung Hyun Park on Thursday.

CHAMPIONS TOUR: Bernhard Langer rallied to win the San Antonio Championship for his second victory of the year and 25th overall on the tour.

The 58-year-old German star birdied the final two holes – making an 18-footer on the par-4 18th – for a 7-under 65 and a three-stroke victory over Scott Dunlap.

Langer won on TPC San Antonio’s AT&T Canyons Course after losing playoffs in the event to David Frost in 2012 and Kenny Perry in 2013.

In June in Massachusetts, Langer successfully defended his Senior Players Championship title for his fifth senior major victory.

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Three strokes behind defending champion Michael Allen and Scott McCarron entering the round, Langer had eight birdies and one bogey Sunday to finish at 12-under 204.

Langer earned 270 Charles Schwab Cup points to pull within 66 points of leader Colin Montgomerie with two events left.

EUROPEAN TOUR: Andy Sullivan of England easily won the Portugal Masters in Vilamoura, Portugal after extending his lead to finish nine strokes ahead.

Sullivan led the field from round one and had built a five-stroke lead as he entered the final round at the Oceanico Victoria course, which started late due to heavy overnight rain. He increased that margin by hitting five birdies for a flawless 5-under 66 to finish with a total of 23-under 261.

Sullivan’s nine-shot winning margin shattered the previous event record of three strokes by Alexander Levy from last season.

It was the 28-year-old Sullivan’s third European Tour win after victories at the South African Open and the Joburg Open earlier this year.


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