SCHUYLER DIXON ADVERTISING SCHUYLER DIXON AP Sports Writer IRVING, Texas — Steven Bowditch already had wedding photos from the 18th green at the home of the AT&T Byron Nelson. Now there are plenty of images of the Australian holding a
SCHUYLER DIXON
AP Sports Writer
IRVING, Texas — Steven Bowditch already had wedding photos from the 18th green at the home of the AT&T Byron Nelson.
Now there are plenty of images of the Australian holding a big trophy after winning in his adopted home.
Bowditch rode his best birdie binge on the PGA Tour to a 5-under 64 and a four-shot victory Sunday in the Nelson, making him two-for-Texas in career titles after winning the Texas Open in San Antonio last year.
A Dallas-area resident for 10 years, Bowditch had 27 birdies while becoming the seventh player to lead all four rounds of the event. Playing next to the resort hotel where he got married four years ago, the 31-year-old Bowditch finished at 18-under 259 on the rain-altered TPC Four Seasons layout.
“You know, taking photos on the green today was probably — wasn’t probably, it’s definitely the second best time I’ve had on that green — since we got married,” Bowditch said in the interview room while wife Amanda watched from the back.
Charley Hoffman (65), Texan Jimmy Walker (66) and Scott Pinckney (66) tied for second at 14 under. Zach Johnson shot a 63 to finish alone in fifth at 13 under.
Hometown favorite and Masters champion Jordan Spieth stayed at 7 under after an even-par 69.
Playing with Bowditch in the final group, Dustin Johnson briefly overtook him early in the round before making an 8 at the par-4 sixth. He finished at 11 under with a 69.
Before the highs of getting married and winning at the home of the Nelson, Bowditch endured the low of a suicide attempt at his Dallas home while battling depression in 2006, not long after he moved to the U.S.
“My personal life is my personal life,” said Bowditch, who jumped 52 spots to No. 16 in FedEx Cup points and qualified for next year’s Masters. “It’s closed doors and, you know, it’s built me into the person I am today. Every win is special. This is just another one.”
A sunny day wrapped up two otherwise soggy weeks of golf in Dallas-Fort Worth starting with Colonial. A 5-inch overnight downpour after the first round of the Nelson turned one of its toughest holes — the par-4 14th — into a pitch-and-putt par 3 of barely 100 yards for the final three rounds.
While birdies were the norm after easy wedge shots from what might normally be a drop area in front of a greenside pond, Bowditch had to save par from about 12 feet to keep a three-shot lead, pumping his right fist after the ball dropped in.
SHOPRITE LPGA CLASSIC
GALLOWAY TOWNSHIP, N.J. — Anna Nordqvist birdied the 16th and 17th holes to break out of the pack and went on to win the ShopRite LPGA Classic by a stroke.
With her mother visiting from Sweden, the 27-year-old Nordqvist closed with a 2-under 69 in windy conditions to finish at 8-under 205 at Stockton Seaview’s Bay Course.
The former Arizona State player has five career LPGA Tour titles, winning twice each in 2009 and 2014.
Nordqvist made a 12-foot birdie putt at the par-4 16th to break a tie with France’s Christel Boeljon and get to 8 under. Nordqvist hit her tee shot on the short par-3 17th to 8 feet to the left of the hole and drained that putt as well to move to two strokes in front. She bogeyed the 18h.
Boeljon was a career-best second after a 68.
Second-round leader Morgan Pressel, who fell out of the lead following a bogey-double bogey stretch on the front nine, tied for third at 5 under after a 73. Rookie Kelly Shon got within a stroke of the lead, but a tough finish dropped her to a 70 and a tie with Pressel.
IRISH OPEN
NEWCASTLE, Northern Ireland — Denmark’s Soren Kjeldsen won the Irish Open, beating England’s Eddie Pepperell and Austria’s Bernd Wiesberger with a birdie on the first hole of a playoff.
Kjeldsen closed with a 5-over 76 to finish at 2-under 282. Pepperell had a 69, and Wiesberger shot 73 at wind-swept and rain-battered Royal County Down.
The 40-year-old Kjeldsen two-putted from 35 feet for his winning birdie on the par-5 18th hole. Wiesberger finished with a par, and Pepperell had a bogey.
Kjeldsen has four European Tour titles.
Rickie Fowler shot a 73 to tie for 30th at 7 over. The American was coming off a victory three weeks ago in the PGA Tour’s Players Championship.
Top-ranked Rory McIlroy missed the cut Friday.
REX HOSPITAL OPEN
RALEIGH, N.C. — Kyle Thompson became the first player in Web.com Tour history to win an event three times, taking the Rex Hospital Open in a playoff.
Thompson also won at TPC Wakefield Plantation in 2007 and 2011.
The 36-year-old former South Carolina player, making his second start of the season, won with a 4-foot birdie putt on the second hole of a playoff with Patton Kizzire and Miguel Angel Carballo.
Thompson earned $112,500 to move into 15th place on the money list. He has four career tour victories, also winning the 2007 Oregon Classic.
Thompson closed with a 4-under 67 to match Kizzire and Carballo at 17-under 267. Carballo birdied the final two holes for a 64. Kizzire finished with a 66.
Kizzire earned $55,000 to jump from fourth to first on the money list with $217,099.
NCAA TOURNAMENT
BRADENTON, Fla. — SMU’s Bryson Dechambeau shot an even-par 72 o top the NCAA leaderboard when third-round play was suspended for the day because of lightning.
Dechambeau had a 7-under 209 total at The Concession Golf Club. Alabama-Birmingham’s Paul Dunne was a stroke back after a 69.
Georgia led the team standings at 1 over, with the Bulldogs still on the course when play was stopped. Southern California was second at 4 over, also with holes to play.
After the round is completed, the top 15 schools and top nine individuals not on an advancing team will playing an additional round of stroke play to determine the top eight schools for match play and the 72-hole individual champion. The eight schools will then compete in match play for the team championship.
