PGA TOUR
Sepp Straka started the final round with a four-shot lead and survived two late bogeys over the final three holes to win The American Express by two shots. It was his third career PGA Tour win and he becomes just the seventh different international winner of the event. The late bogeys prevented him from becoming the first player since 2022 to play 72 bogey-free holes in a win. Justin Thomas made six birdies in his first 11 holes to trim Straka’s lead to three but could only muster pars the rest of the way to finish runner-up. Justin Lower and Jason Day were tied for third. Day was looking for his first tour win since 2018. Defending champion Nick Dunlap, who became the first amateur to win on tour in 33 years, finished tied for 34th. …For the second week in a row, Nick Taylor finished first in Shots Gained: Total and top five in Shots Gained: Approach to the Green.
POS | SCORES | TOTAL | |
T12 | Nick Taylor | 65-66-73-67 | -17 |
T58 | Mackenzie Hughes | 70-68-66-75 | -10 |
MC | Adam Hadwin | 69-70-71 | |
MC | Adam Svensson | 71-71-70 | |
MC | Ben Silverman | 72-72-74 |
NEXT EVENT: Farmers Insurance Open (Jan 23)
CANADIANS ENTERED: Taylor Pendrith, Ben Silverman, Adam Svensson
PGA TOUR CHAMPIONS
Ernie Els birdied three of the last five holes to hold off three other golfers and win the season-opening Mitsubishi Electric Championship by two strokes. It is his seventh career win on the Champions Tour and his fourth win since the start of last season. Bernard Langer, Miguel Angel Jimenez and Alex Cejka all finished tied for second. After winning the season-ending Charles Schwab Cup Championship, Langer was looking to start the new season by winning for the 19th straight year on the 50-and-over tour. He missed a long birdie try on the final hole that would have tied him for the lead before Els made a 10-footer to seal the win. Langer shot a final round 66 to shoot his age or better for the 25th time on the Champions Tour. …Stephen Ames also finished T8 a year ago to begin the 2024 Champions Tour season. It’s the third time in the last four years he’s posted a top-10 result at this event.. …Mike Weir posted his third top-30 finish in his last five tour starts.
POS | SCORES | TOTAL | |
T8 | Stephen Ames | 66-70-67 | -13 |
T27 | Mike Weir | 75-68-67 | -6 |
NEXT EVENT: Trophy Hassan II (Feb. 6)
KORN FERRY TOUR
Hank Lebioda made a birdie putt on the first playoff hole to defeat S.H. Kim and win the Bahamas Golf Classic, the season-opening event on the Korn Ferry Tour. It was his first career victory in just his 62nd start on the tour. Lebioda started the final round four shots behind the leader before posting a 66 and set a new tournament record 18-under 262 which was also matched by Kim. It also equalled the best come-from-behind win at the event. Davis Shore birdied three of the last six holes to finish one shot behind the leaders. John VanDerlaan, the leader through the first three rounds, carded a 76 which was the second-highest final-round score to finish tied for 9th.
POS | SCORES | TOTAL | |
T31 | Myles Creighton | 70-66-66-70 | -8 |
MC | Sudarshan Yellamaraju | 68-70 | |
MC | Matthew Anderson | 70-71 | |
MC | Étienne Papineau | 71-73 | |
MC | Stuart Macdonald | 75-73 | |
WD | Wil Bateman |
NEXT EVENT: The Bahamas Great Abaco Classic (Jan. 19)
CANADIANS ENTERED: Matthew Anderson, Myles Creighton, Stuart Macdonald, Étienne Papineau, Sudarshan Yellamaraju
EUROPEAN TOUR
Tyrrell Hatton birdied the 16th hole and then made a seven-foot par putt to hold off New Zealander Daniel Hillier and win the Dubai Desert Classic by one shot. It is his eighth career European Tour title in his 200th start. The victory also gave the Englishman five Rolex Series titles which equals Jon Rahm’s record. Rory McIlroy, who was looking to win the tournament for the third time, finished tied for fourth three shots back. It gives him 11 straight top-10 finishes at this event dating back to 2009.
POS | SCORES | TOTAL | |
MC | Aaron Cockerill | 76-75 |
NEXT EVENT: Ras Al Khaimah Championship (Jan. 23)
CANADIANS ENTERED: Aaron Cockerill