Rookie Brandt Snedeker took advantage of a quiet week on the PGA Tour before the PGA Play-offs to add to the list of first-time winners this season.
The 26-year-old from Tennessee shot a nine-under-par 63 to win the Wyndham Championship in Greensboro, North Carolina and take home his highest-ever pay-cheque of $900,000.
Snedeker finished on 22-under 266 for the tournament, two strokes ahead of Billy Mayfair, Tim Petrovic and Jeff Overton. A further stroke back was tournament board member Carl Pettersson.
On the European Tour, there was a second victory in 2007 for Finland’s Mikko Ilonen, who triumphed at the Scandinavian Masters in Stockholm.
Ilonen added to his Indonesian Open victory in February by shooting a final round of two-under-par 68 at Arlandastad Golf for a four-round total of six-under 274 and the first prize of 266,660 euro.
England’s Nick Dougherty was among a group of five golfers who finished in second place, two strokes behind Ilonen, at 276. Dougherty closed with a 70 to join Frenchmen Christian Cevaer and Jean-Baptiste Gonnet, Sweden’s Peter Hedblom and German Martin Kaymer.
The Englishman has now had seven top-10 finishes this season on the European Tour but has gone a long time without claiming his second career title since he burst on to the scene with victory at the Singapore Masters in 2005.
The main Major season may be behind us but there are another big tournaments being played on various tours. One of them is The Tradition, which was played at Sunriver, Oregon, on the Champions Tour.
The honours went to Zimbabwe’s Mark McNulty, who claimed his first major on the Tour. McNulty shot 68, despite a double bogey at the 18th, to finish at 16-under-par 272 for the tournament.
It was his sixth victory on the Tour for golfers aged 50 years and older since he made his debut in 2004 and was named Rookie of the Year.
The Tradition is the fourth of five majors on the Champions Tour, which also includes the British Open, US Senior Open, Senior PGA Championship and the Senior Players Championship in Maryland this October.
Tom Watson won the British Open, Brad Bryant triumphed at the US Open while Denis Watson took home the PGA Championship.
On the LPGA Tour, Lorena Ochoa continued her good form with victory at the Canadian Open. It was her second consecutive victory and fifth of the season.
Ochoa, who won the Women’s British Open two weeks ago at St Andrews, closed with a two-under 69 on the Royal Mayfair course in Edmonton, Alberta, to finish at 16-under 268.
Victory for the Mexican, which was worth $337,500 in prize money, strengthened her lead in the LPGA money-winner’s list to $2,636,590.
Youngster Paula Creamer finished second, three strokes behind, after closing with 68 while Ahn Shi-hyun was third on 10-under. Brittany Lang and Laura Diaz tied for fourth on nine-under for the tournament.
Ochoa is one of the hottest players in the world at the moment as she picked up her 14th career victory.
