Marc Leishman shot an 8-under-par 62 on Sunday in the Travelers Championship, then went back to the TPC at River Highlands clubhouse to eat, watch soccer and wait to see where he would finish.
More than two hours later, after Charley Hoffman blew a two-stroke lead on the final two holes, Leishman was hoisting his first trophy on the PGA Tour.
“I think Charley was on the 15th when I turned the golf on,” Leishman said. “I watched that, then just went over and hit some balls and putted for a bit and it turned out well.”
The 28-year-old Australian began the day in Cromwell, Conn., six strokes behind the leaders but made eight birdies in a bogey-free round. He finished at 14-under 266.
“I didn’t think it was going to be enough,” he said. “Golf is a funny game, a really funny game.”
Hoffman was 16 under heading to the 17th, but his tee shot went right and into the water. He made a double bogey, and bogeyed the 18th from a greenside bunker.
“When it’s said and done, obviously (it is) a bad finish and a bad taste in my mouth, but you learn from it,” Hoffman said.
Hoffman closed with a 66 to tie for second with Masters champion Bubba Watson, who shot a 65.
Leishman’s 62 was the lowest final round by a champion on tour this season.
LANG RALLIES
Brittany Lang won for the first time on the LPGA Tour. She shot a 4-under 67 then made birdie three times in a playoff on the par-5 18th hole at Grey Silo to win the Manulife Financial LPGA Classic in Waterloo, Ontario.
Lang missed a birdie try on the hole in regulation, leaving her tied with Hee Kyung Seo (67), Inbee Park (69) and Chella Choi (63) at 16-under 268.
Choi was eliminated on the first extra hole, and Park out on the second.
CALC SETS RECORD
Mark Calcavecchia shot a course-record 8-under 64 to run away with the Montreal Championship by four shots. It was his second victory on the 50-and-over Champions Tour.
He won the 2011 Boeing Classic in Snoqualmie.
The 52-year-old Calcavecchia had six birdies and a chip-in eagle on the par-5 16th hole on Richelieu Valley’s Vercheres Course in Sainte-Julie, Quebec.
He finished at 16-under 200.
ELSEWHERE
Casey Wittenberg shot a 5-under 66 to make the Wichita (Kan.) Open his second Nationwide Tour win this season. He earned $108,000 to jump to No. 2 on the money list. The top 25 advance to the PGA Tour next year. Olympia’s Andres Gonzales (71), who tied for 29th, is fourth on the money list. … England’s Danny Willett (73) won the BMW International Open when Australia’s Marcuus Fraser (71) made bogey on the fourth hole of a sudden-death playoff in Pulheim, Germany. … England’s Melissa Reid shot a 72, including a 6-foot birdie on No. 18, to win the Prague Golf Masters, four weeks after her mother died in a car accident.
TRACKING LOCALs on the pga tour
Last WEEK: Travelers Championship, TPC River Highlands, Cromwell, Conn.
In the field: Puyallup’s Ryan Moore, Gig Harbor’s Kyle Stanley, University Place’s Michael Putnam and Tacoma’s Troy Kelly.
Moore’s fourth-round score: 2-under-par 68.
Stanley’s fourth-round score: Even-par 70.
Position: Moore (4-under 276) tied for 47th, and Stanley (3-under 277) tied for 60th – all behind winner Marc Leishman (266). Kelly (1-over 141) and Putnam (4-over 144) missed the cut Friday.
Recap: It was a little different story for Moore this time around – a year removed from shooting a final-round 63 to lose by a stroke to winner Fredrik Jacobson. In fact, it was a steady, almost uneventful final round for the Cascade Christian graduate (three birdies, one bogey). He made early birdies at No. 2 (5-foot putt) and No. 4 (14-footer), then made six consecutive pars. … Stanley was 2-over through 12 holes but rallied with birdies at No. 13 (two-putt from 23 feet) and No. 18 (5-footer).
Next: Moore and Stanley are in next week’s AT&T National at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Md. Kelly is off but will return at the Greenbrier Classic starting July 5 at the Old White TPC in White Sulphur Springs, W.Va.
todd.milles@thenewstribune.com
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