PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. — Keith Mitchell made a 15-foot birdie putt on the final hole Sunday to win the Honda Classic for his first PGA Tour victory.
Mitchell closed with a 3-under 67 to finish at 9-under 271, a stroke ahead of Brooks Koepka and Rickie Fowler.
“I was trying to focus on what was going on,” Mitchell said. “My mind started wandering there a little bit at the end … and then I hit a great putt.”
Mitchell was tied for the lead after 36 holes and was tied for second going into Sunday. He birdied four of his final seven holes for his first win as a pro, including stints on the Web.com and Latinoamerica tours.
All he had to do for that victory was hold off two of the game’s best in Koepka and Fowler. Koepka shot a 66 and Fowler a 67. They both birdied the 18th, and Fowler had a huge charge late to get to 8 under with three birdies in his final four holes, including a 45-footer on the 17th.
LPGA: Sung Hyun Park came from behind to capture her sixth Tour victory in the HSBC Women’s World Championship at Singapore.
Four strokes behind No. 1 Ariya Jutanugarn at the start of the final round, the world No. 2 birdied five of her first seven holes and added four more birdies on the back nine for an 8-under 64 and a two-stroke victory.
Over the first three rounds, Park was 3 over on the back nine. Park had a four-round total of 15-under 273.
CHAMPIONS: Mark O’Meara seized control with five birdies on the front nine and closed with a 7-under 66 for a four-shot victory in the Cologuard Classic at Tucson, Arizona, his first victory on the Tour in more than eight years.
At 62 years, 1 month, 17 days, he’s the fourth-oldest winner in the history of the 50-and-over tour.
O’Meara had a one-shot lead going into the final round and stretched it to four going to the back nine. He was never seriously challenged the rest of the way to pick up his first victory since the Senior Players Championship toward the end of the 2010 season.
EUROPEAN: American golfer Kurt Kitayama won his second Tour title by one shot in the Oman Open at Muscat.
After coming through all three stages of Q-School in November to earn a place on tour, Kitayama won the Mauritius Open in his third start of the season, and now has won twice in 11 starts on the Tour.
NOTES
JOHN BODENHAMER, the USGA senior managing director of championships, said he hopes to meet with Justin Thomas in the coming days to discuss some of Thomas’ criticisms of the modernized Rules of Golf that took effect this year.
Thomas, the world’s No. 3 player, hasn’t been shy about airing his displeasure about the changes both verbally as well as on social media.
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