THE WOODLANDS (AP) — Former Masters champion Mike Weir won his first PGA Tour Champions event Sunday when he held steady with pars down the stretch for a 4-under 68 and let John Daly make the last mistake in the Insperity Invitational.
Weir and Daly were tied going down the stretch at The Woodlands, which was reduced to 36 holes because of heavy rain earlier in the week.
Daly, playing in the group ahead of Weir, was posing over his 9-iron over the water to the 18th green when it came up a fraction short and splashed next to the bulkhead. He made double bogey for a 69 and had to settle for runner-up.
Weir, who missed birdie chances inside 10 feet on the 16th and 17th holes, watched it all unfold and knew what he had to do. He fired his approach to about 15 feet behind the hole, and pumped his fist as he walked toward the green. He wound up winning by two shots.
“J.D. played great. It was unfortunate for him on the last,” Weir said. “This means a lot. I played really well today. I’m still a little off with my putting. I made it hard on myself. But I hit the shots that I needed. It feels very good.”
Because of rain that washed out the opening round Friday, the first round wasn’t finished until Sunday morning and the tournament was reduced to 36 holes. That turned it into a shootout, and Daly and Weir provided most of the action.
Daly holed a 25-foot eagle putt on the par-5 13th to take a two-shot lead, and it looked as though he was on his way. In the next group, Weir hit his approach to 3 feet on the 13th for a matching eagle to tie for the lead again.
Weir fell back with a bogey on the 14th, but he caught a break when Daly missed his 3-wood into the par-5 15th and had to settle for par, and Weir made birdie to catch him again.
Daly couldn’t believe he hit into the water on the final hole.
The 50-and-over circuit plays the first of its five majors next week at the Regions Tradition.
Weir finished at 10-under 134.
Daly tied for second with David Toms and Tim Petrovic, who each closed with a 71. Bernhard Langer (69) and Bob Estes (68) tied for fifth.
PGA TOUR
PALM HARBOR, Fla. (AP) — Sam Burns figured all those close calls would eventually teach him how to win on the PGA Tour.
Twice this season, he had the 54-hole lead and failed to convert. Six other times, he was atop the leaderboard at the end of a round, just never the round that mattered — Sunday.
That changed, finally, at the Valspar Championship. And the lesson was not what he expected.
“I always felt that you had to play perfect golf to win,” Burns said after a 3-under 68 for a three-shot victory. “I always felt that you had to play your absolute best on a Sunday to win. And after those experiences I realized that it’s not the case. I was trying to do too much.”
He did just enough, and got some help from Keegan Bradley.
Tied for the lead with six holes to play, Bradley hit 8-iron short and into the water for a double bogey on the par-3 13th hole, and Burns put him away with two big birdies and a celebration he had reason to feel was a long time coming.
Burns was all smiles coming up the 18th hole with a four-shot lead, and he was fighting back tears when his wife, parents and other family spilled onto the green after he won.
The victory moves him to No. 44 in the world and all assures the 24-year-old from Louisiana a spot in the U.S. Open, along with his first trip to the Masters next spring.
EUROPEAN TOUR
TENERIFE, Spain (AP) — Dean Burmester ended a four-year winless streak in style with a five-stroke victory at the Tenerife Open on Sunday.
The South African closed with a bogey-free 9-under 62 that left him at 25 under for the tournament and secured his first victory since the Tshwane Open in 2017.
lpga tour
SINGAPORE (AP) — Hyo Joo Kim shot a final-round 8-under 64 and then watched from the comfort of the clubhouse as Hannah Green bogeyed her final two holes to hand Kim a one-stroke victory Sunday in the LPGA’s HSBC Women’s World Championship.
Kim sat in the dining room at Sentosa Golf Club and munched on some late afternoon snacks while watching Green take a one-stroke lead to the 17th. But Green three-putted the par-3 hole to leave Kim tied for the lead. Then the Australian bogeyed the 18th after she missed the green and a comeback putt for par after a poor chip.
Kim finished with a 72-hole total of 17-under 271. It was Kim’s fourth LPGA title.
, including a major at the 2014 Evian Championship, and her first LPGA Tour win in five years.
Green’s 69 left her in second place. Three players were tied for third — Patty Tavatanakit shot 65 and third-round leader Lin Xiyu and world No. 2 Inbee Park had 70s to finish two strokes behind.
The LPGA Tour moves to Thailand next week for a tournament outside of Bangkok.