PGA: a first coronation for Will Zalatoris

Will Zalatoris won the St. Jude Championship at the end of the third hole of overtime, taking the honors under the nose and beard of Sepp Straka, Sunday in Memphis.

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It was by virtue of a bogey at the 11th pennant that Zalatoris triumphed in this first tournament of the playoffs. It’s the first PGA title for him, having lost twice in overtime earlier this year.

The two players had shown the same performance, at 265 (-15), after 72 holes. Americans Lucas Glover (66) and Brian Harman (67) finished second at 268 (-12).

Corey Conners (68) was the top Canadian, finishing 28th at 273 (-7). Mackenzie Hughes (68), Adam Svensson (73), Taylor Pendrith (73) and Adam Hadwin (77) finished 46th, 51st, 68th and 69th respectively.

A penalty

The world number 2, Australian Cameron Smith, was also penalized two strokes for playing the ball from a prohibited area on Saturday. The decision, issued the next day, comes days after Smith announced he would leave the PGA for the LIV Tour at the end of the season.

Smith finally delivered a final card of 70 (N) to finish 13th, at 271 (-9).

The second of three FedEx Cup playoff tournaments will be the BMW Championship. It will take place next week, in Wilmington in the United States.

LPGA: A record and a title for Maya Stark

Maya Stark set a new record at Galgorm Castle Golf Club by virtue of a 63 (-10) card to win the ISPS Invitational on Sunday in Antrim, Northern Ireland.

It is the 22-year-old’s first title at an LPGA-sanctioned event and fifth on the European Tour. His five pro wins have come in the last 12 months.

Stark, who started the final round in fourth place, birdied 10 times. She thus showed a final return of 271 (-20), needing five shots less than the American Allisen Corpuz (68) to conclude the tournament.

Georgia Hall (70) took third place with a cumulative 277 (-14), while a quartet of Linn Grant (69), Emily Kristine Pedersen (70) and Peiyun Chien (71) shared the fourth rung.

Leading after three rounds, American Amanda Doherty slipped to eighth place with a 74 (+1) card. She finished her round with a double bogey at 17th and a bogey at 18th.

No Canadians participated in the weekend rounds. Only registered, Alena Sharp finished 73rd at +3, suffering the ax on Friday.

The LPGA will now turn to Ottawa, where the CP Women’s Open will take place on August 25. South Korean Ko Jin-Young is the defending champion at the event which has been canceled for the past two years due to COVID-19. The Canadian Brooke M. Henderson triumphed in 2018.


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