Sunday’s golf: Robert MacIntyre wins Scottish Open; Ayaka Furue takes Evian Championship
North Berwick, Scotland — Robert MacIntyre won an Open that felt like a major to him Sunday when he made a 22-foot birdie putt on the final hole for a 3-under 67 to win the Scottish Open, becoming the first Scot in 25 years to win his national open.
MacIntyre seized on a huge break on the par-5 16th when he realized he was standing on a sprinkler head in rough so deep he could barely see his ball. He received a free drop in shorter grass and blasted his approach from 248 yards to 6 feet for eagle to tie Adam Scott for the lead.
His birdie putt took one last turn before falling, and MacIntyre dropped his putter and turned to a delirious Scottish gallery with a sweeping uppercut to celebrate.
The 27-year-old from the tiny coastal town of Oban won for the second time this year, also capturing the Canadian Open — the fourth-oldest championship in golf — last month. Colin Montgomerie in 1999 was the last Scot to win the Scottish Open.
And next week is the big one — the British Open, the final major of the year, across Scotland at Royal Troon. It has been just over a century since a British player won at Troon. But this felt just as big to the little lefty.
Scott closed with a 67.
Rory McIlroy closed with a 68 and tied for fourth, his first appearance since he lost a late lead in the U.S Open last month at Pinehurst No. 2.
LPGA Tour and Ladies European Tour
Evian-Les-Bains, France — Ayaka Furue of Japan made a 12-foot eagle putt on the par-5 18th hole to win the Evian Championship for her first major title.
The 24-year-old Furue closed with a 6-under 65 for a one-stroke victory over Australian Stephanie Kyriacou (67). Thailand’s Patty Tavatanakit was another stroke back after a 63.
Heading to the 18th hole, Furue and Kyriacou were tied at 17 under with Tavatanakit, who was already in the clubhouse.
Furue also won the 2022 Women’s Scottish Open.
Top-ranked American Nelly Korda tied for 26th at 5 under after a 68.
PGA Tour Champions
Akron, Ohio — Ernie Els won the Kaulig Companies Championship for his first senior major title, closing with a 2-under 68 for a one-stroke victory over Y.E. Yang at breezy Firestone.
A stroke behind defending champion Steve Stricker entering the round, Els rebounded to par the final two holes after hitting in the water and making a bogey on the par-5 16th. Yang bogeyed the par-4 18th in a 66.
Els became the PGA Tour Champions’ first three-time winner this season, winning for the sixth time on the 50-and-over tour. The 54-year-old South African has won four regular major championships – the U.S. Open in 1994 and ’97 and the British Open in 2002 and ’12.
Els finished at 10-under 270 after opening with rounds of 68 and 64. The Hall of Famer earned $525,000 and a spot in The Players Championship in March.
Jerry Kelly, the 2020 and 2022 champion, was third at 7 under after a 69. Stricker, also the 2021 winner at Firestone, shot 73 to tie for fourth at 6 under.
PGA Tour and European Tour
Nicholasville, Ky. — Harry Hall chipped in for birdie from 45 feet on the third hole of a playoff to win the ISCO Championship for his first PGA Tour title.
The 26-year-old Englishman closed with a 3-under 69 to get into the playoff with Matt NeSmith, Pierceson Coody, Zac Blair and Rico Hoey. They finished at 22-under 266 on Keene Trace’s Champions Course in the event co-sanctioned by the European tour.
Hall scrambled for par on the par-4 18th on the first extra hole, driving well left into long grass, hitting into the front greenside bunker and blasting out to a foot. He stayed alive when NeSmith’s 8-foot birdie try slid by to the right, while Blair and Hoey dropped out. On the next trip down 18 in the playoff, Hall, NeSmith and Coody all missed birdie putts, with NeSmith the closest at 12 feet.
Hall ended it on the 209-yard, par-3 ninth, getting his chip from the right side to fall before NeSmith and Coody missed their attempts.
NeSmith and Blair each shot 64, playing in back-to-back groups about two hours in front of the final pairing.
Hoey (69) took a one-stroke into the final hole of regulation, but made a bogey after his wedge approach bounced over the green and into rocks along the bank of a pond.
LIV Golf League
Sotogrande, Spain — Sergio Garcia won LIV Golf Andalucia for his first victory on the Saudi-funded tour, overcoming a seven-stroke deficit and beating Anirban Lahiri on the second hole of a playoff.
The 44-year-old Garcia thrilled the home fans with a 5-under 66 to match Lahiri (73) at 5 under at Valderrama, then won with a par on the second extra hole. Garcia ended a four-year winless with his 37th professional title.
García’s Fireballs team also won the team title, winning a playoff over the Crushers — the first time in LIV Golf that both individual and team titles had been decided in playoffs.
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