ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. — Moving on from a devastating summer of losing his child, Camilo Villegas made a 10-foot birdie putt on his final hole Thursday for a 6-under 64 and a share of the lead with Matt Wallace in the RSM Classic.

Villegas and Wallace each finished on the Seaside course at Sea Island with big putts. Villegas capped off a bogey-free round on the ninth hole for his lowest score on the PGA Tour in four years. Wallace hit into a hazard on the 18th and saved par with a 30-foot putt.

They were a shot ahead of eight players, a group that included Sea Island resident Patton Kizzire and Robert Streb, who won his only PGA Tour title at Sea Island five years ago. They each had 5-under 67 on the Plantation course, which played about three-quarters of a shot harder.

Villegas was trying to return from a shoulder injury that kept him out all of 2019 when he and wife learned early this year their 2-year-old daughter, Mia, had tumors developing on her brain and spine. She was going through chemotherapy when she died in July.

He’s trying to move on and hang on to memories, and he had one immediately while warming up with his brother, Manny, working as his caddie.

“Got on the range and see a little rainbow out there. I start thinking about Mia and said, `Hey, let’s have a good one.’ Nice to have Manny on the bag and yes, it was a good ball-striking round, it was a great putting round. I was pretty free all day.”

Villegas, a 38-year-old from Colombia, is a four-time winner on the PGA Tour, including the last two FedEx Cup playoff events in 2008. He has missed the cut in three of his five events of the new PGA Tour season, which began a little more than a month after his daughter died.

“I can’t change the past and since I can’t change the past, I’ve got to focus on the present,” Villegas said. “It’s not about forgetting because you never forget your daughter. It’s about being in the moment, being in the now and this is my now. It’s not with her, but it is with her at the same time.

“I love playing golf, I love doing what I do. The game of golf has been great to me,” he said. “I happened to have a shoulder injury there for the last couple years that kind of set me back a bit, but I’m excited. I think things are rolling the right way and obviously if I keep doing what I did today, it should be fine.”

Wallace tied for 46th last week at the Masters, and then learned on his way to Sea Island about three hours away that his caddie, Dave McNealy, tested positive for the coronavirus. Wallace tested negative, but he was in need of a caddie. With two courses in the rotation he didn’t know, he decided on a local caddie named Jeffrey Cammon.

“He’s really chill,” said Wallace, who can run the opposite side of that temperament. “He said, `What do you want me to say?’ That was the first question. I was like, `Listen, mate, I don’t need anything. I’ll ask you a question and you answer it just with pure facts of what you think.’ It worked well today.”

Roger Sloan of Merritt, B.C., and Corey Conners of Listowel, Ont., both shot a 3-under 67 during his first round, making them the top Canadian players so far at T21. Conners is playing the RSM Classic fresh out of a top 10 finish at the Masters last weekend.

Mackenzie Hughes (Dundas, ON) closed the round at 1 over, a shot ahead of fellow Canadian David Hearn (Brantford, ON). Abbotsford, B.C., players Nick Taylor and Adam Hadwin trailed them with respective scores of 3 and 4 over, while Michael Gligic (Burlington, ON) ended the day at 7 over.

The weather wasn’t as pleasant as it was at Augusta National, with cooler temperatures, strong wind and heavy clouds. Nearly half the 156-man field was at par or better.

Sungjae Im, a runner-up at the Masters, began his round at Plantation with double bogey and brought it back to even-par 72. Webb Simpson, at No. 6 the highest-ranked player in the field, had a 68 at Seaside. Tyrrell Hatton, the No. 10 player in the world, shot a 69 at Seaside.

Ralph Bauer is taking on the role of Director of Instruction at Hamilton Golf and Country Club (HGCC) starting December 1, 2020.

After spending the past 12 years coaching full-time on the PGA TOUR, Ralph is looking forward to working with members and calling Hamilton home in his new full-time position.

“After the US Open at Winged Foot in September, I decided it was time to transition off the PGA TOUR and stay closer to home, the Director of Instruction job at HGCC was always my dream job since the day I first applied for it 25 years ago,” says Bauer, who has spent four stints in quarantine and isolation as a result of COVID-19 and has had lots of time to consider his options moving forward. He called his PGA TOUR players and other students to let them know of his change of plans and he is thrilled to have accepted the job.

This is the next step in elevating the member learning experience at HGCC.

“Ralph’s down to earth personality, dedicated skill set to improve the player and increase enjoyment in the game is one that fits well within the HGCC Golf Academy’s mission, visions and values,” says HGCC Head Golf Professional, Emerson Mahoney. “The mission of the HGCC Golf Academy is to provide the HGCC membership with access to world-class instruction and coaching. Under Ralph’s leadership, we will develop programs to improve and elevate the enjoyment of our most novice to most seasoned members of the club.”

Ralph says his goal is to continue to improve as a coach and an instructor. The 25-year member of the PGA of Canada views himself as a holistic golf coach/teacher. He teaches his students to practice properly and efficiently, so they get the most out of their time on the range, avoid injuries and enjoy the game more. He has a deep and abiding love of the game and everything that goes into enjoying it more and all things related to game improvement.

“I have spent the past two decades trying to become the best golf coach in the world and now I’m focused on being the best Director of Instruction in the world,” Ralph says. He has collaborated with many of the top trainers and coaches in the world, has visited and taught students at more than half of the top-100 courses in the world and seen vibrant teaching programs in action. He was the Golf Ontario Head Coach for several years and also had several roles with Team Canada, notably as the Assistant Coach from 2010 to 2012.

Ralph has coached competitors at all four majors, the past two Presidents Cups, the 2016 Summer Olympics and at every PGA Tour stop. His past and present students include Adam Hadwin, Mackenzie Hughes, David Hearn, Graham DeLaet, Nick Taylor, Adam Svensson, Lucas Glover, Gary Woodland, Kyle Stanley, Jhonny Vegas, JJ Spaun, Kevin Chappell, Anirban Lahiri and Brandon Harkins. His players have won 25 Golf Ontario provincial championships and 19 of the last 20 years, he has had a student make Golf Canada’s national amateur team.

“I don’t treat a tour player any different than I would any other student. My goal is to work with the student to improve their game” says Bauer. “I started in the business teaching beginner women golfers at Turkey Point GC 27 years ago. I still remember it as a nerve-racking experience. It took me a few years to understand that my students were nervous too. Now, I try to get my students to feel relaxed during a lesson, so they can be in a calm mental state and ready to learn and improve.”

He lives in Turkey Point, with his wife Margaret. They have three grown daughters; Rebecca, who was the Women’s Golf Team Captain at McMaster University; Rachel who is the Women’s Golf Team Captain at the University of Guelph and Leah, who attends King’s College.

Bauer is looking forward to developing a strong junior program at HGCC. “I believe we can have the best junior program in the world right here at HGCC,” he added.

Breaking the scoring record was on his mind, because, of course it was. Dustin Johnson wanted it, too. He just hadn’t bothered to look the number up.

“It was 19 (under) before?” Johnson asked a Masters official to his right in the interview room late Sunday afternoon. They had on identical green jackets.

Told it was 18 under (shared by Tiger Woods and Jordan Spieth), Johnson flashed a shy grin. His expression rarely gives much away; his answers seem designed to deflect attention. A moment later, Johnson admitted that he hadn’t looked at a scoreboard all day, either.

Not after shaky back-to-back bogeys at Nos. 3 and 4 peeled his four-shot lead back to one; nor after three straight birdies on the back nine left Cameron Smith and Sungjae Im, Johnson’s last two pursuers, in the dust. He didn’t see the need to complicate things.

“I didn’t want it to affect the way I played,” Johnson said. “I just didn’t look at it. I took what the course gave me and hit the shots I felt I could hit.”

Coming down 18, though, he finally gave in. Johnson turned to his brother Austin, who conveniently doubles as his caddie, and asked where he stood.

“I told him he had a five-shot lead,” Austin recalled. “I could kick it in from there. He had no clue.”

Green suits you well, DJ. Congrats ?#TeamRBC pic.twitter.com/4qcQ7AHW8x

— RBC Canadian Open (@RBCCanadianOpen) November 15, 2020

Johnson’s distaste for drama is often mistaken for indifference. He came out on tour in 2007 looking to all the world like he was born to play golf – long arms, a slow heartbeat and a syrupy swing that belies its raw power – then won early and, with the exception of the majors, often.

Johnson completed the climb to No. 1 in the world the first time in 2017 and stayed there for the better part of the three years since. He’d won twice already this year and still held that lofty spot when he arrived at Augusta, having already spent nearly two weeks in quarantine after testing positive for the coronavirus to boot. If anyone had a storyline that ran straight through this strange, pandemic-disrupted season, it was Johnson.

Yet nobody was happier when the pre-tournament spotlight focused on Tiger Woods’ chances of reprising his improbable 2019 win, and bulked-up Bryson DeChambeau’s grand plan to carve up Augusta National the way he sliced and diced Winged Foot at the U.S. Open. Predictably perhaps, both were old news by the time Johnson stretched out to a four-shot lead heading into the final round.

That move brought Johnson’s haunting past at the majors back to the fore. In his lone triumph, the 2016 U.S. Open, he came from four shots behind on the final day to win. On four other occasions, Johnson had at least a share of the lead after 54 holes and failed to cash in. Though you wouldn’t have known by watching him play – at least after those early bogeys – the suspense was taking its toll on him, too.

“I proved to myself that I do have it, ” Johnson began, “because I’m sure a lot of y’all think …” and then paused. “Like, when am I going to have the lead and finish off the golf tournament or finish off a major?”

Johnson saved the real surprise, as it turned out, for afterward. In a post-match interview on CBS, Amanda Balionis tried several times to get Johnson to explain what finally slipping on the green jacket meant. Every time he tried to answer, Johnson choked up, fighting back tears.

“I’m sorry,” he said apologizing more than once. “It’s hard to talk. I’ve never this much trouble gathering myself.”

Not on a golf course, perhaps, because inside the ropes, Johnson knew where he was headed. But at age 36, he again faced the question of whether all that talent would be enough when it mattered most, and finally answered it by proving how much it mattered to him.

AUGUSTA, Ga. – Phil Mickelson was either speaking from experience or ignoring a big part of his history.

The topic was Rory McIlroy and his quest for the career Grand Slam, the most exclusive club in golf. McIlroy only needs to win the Masters to make it a clean sweep of the majors.

Mickelson is not part of that club, either, lacking only the U.S. Open but not effort. He holds the record with his six runner-up finishes. And so he was asked Tuesday if he had any advice for McIlroy as he embarked on his sixth attempt to complete the Grand Slam at Augusta National.

“First of all, there’s not much advice I can give him,” Mickelson said. “The guy is as complete a player as there comes.”

Lefty liked what he saw Tuesday. They played a nine-hole match Tuesday, the San Diego squad of Mickelson and Xander Schauffele losing to McIlroy and Dustin Johnson.

“He’s playing beautifully,” Mickelson said. “I would be shocked if he wasn’t in contention with a great chance on Sunday, whether it’s this year, whether it’s a few months from now, whether it’s a few years. I remember when I was trying to win a major – any major – and I struggled for many years. But I always believed it would happen.”

It did in 2004 at age 33 at the Masters. And then Mickelson won a major each of the next two years, followed by another Masters, and then a mild surprise at Muirfield with one of the greatest closing rounds to win the British Open.

But still no U.S. Open.

“He has so many majors already and such a strong game that winning a Masters will happen,” Mickelson continued. “And when it does, I think he’s going to win a few.”

If only it were that simple.

Greg Norman surely felt he would win the Masters and perhaps a few more when he threw away his first good chance in 1986 with a bogey on the final hole. The Shark never won a green jacket. Neither did Ken Venturi, Tom Kite, Johnny Miller, Tom Weiskopf, Ernie Els, David Duval. It’s a long list.

McIlroy can appreciate Mickelson’s belief as it relates to the Masters. But this is about more than the Masters. It’s the final link to the career Grand Slam, achieved only by Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods.

“Nothing is given in this game,” McIlroy said.

Mickelson didn’t seriously contend on the final day of any major until the 1999 U.S. Open. And those six silver medals came before he got the third leg of the Grand Slam. He won the British Open when he was 43.

McIlroy is 31. He captured the third leg at British Open when he was 25, his entire career ahead of him. And it still is. There is no reason to believe he can’t be fitted for a green jacket in November or April, or even a few years down the line.

Sarazen is the only player to complete the Grand Slam at the Masters, in 1935, and that requires an asterisk because the Squire didn’t even know what he had achieved. The modern Grand Slam wasn’t part of the conversation until Arnold Palmer started it in 1960.

What adds to the burden of completing it at Augusta National are memories – scar tissue, in most cases – from returning to the same course to face the same demons.

McIlroy had a four-shot lead going into the final round in 2011 and coughed it up with an 80. That was before he had won a major. His next real chance was two years ago, when a birdie on the final hole of the third round left him three shots behind but in the final group with Patrick Reed.

All eyes were on McIlroy. All cheers were for McIlroy. He shot 74 and finished six back.

“I’ve always felt like I had the game to do well around here,” McIlroy said. “It’s just a matter of getting out of my own way and letting it happen. But as I said, you have to go out and earn it. You can’t just rely on people saying that you’re going to win one. Greg Norman never did. Ernie Els never did. There are a lot of great people that have played this game that have never won a green jacket.

“It’s not a foregone conclusion, and I know that.”

Even so, there was a quiet confidence about McIlroy, fitting for what will be a quiet course. He fixed a few flaws, which has given him more freedom and trust in his full swing. He likes not being a hot topic of conversation at the Masters.

One reason his bid for the Grand Slam is getting so little attention is because there’s so much more to talk about – the Masters in November, devoid of spectators and roars. And his recent form doesn’t help.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic shut down golf for three months, McIlroy had a chance to win every week – seven straight tournaments finishing no worse than fifth. Since the return, he has not contended in any of the 12 events he has played.

He has suffered from the lack of energy from not having spectators, though it’s been the same for other stars. It’s time to move on, and McIlroy realizes the adjustment period should be over by now.

Especially now.

HOUSTON — Carlos Ortiz held off Dustin Johnson and Hideki Matsuyama by closing with a 5-under 65 to win the Houston Open on Sunday, becoming the first Mexican to win on the PGA Tour in 42 years.

He earned every bit of it, caught in a tight battle on the back nine with the world’s No. 1 player and Japan’s biggest star. Ortiz delivered the winner with a 6-iron to 8 feet on the par-5 16th. He had to settle for a two-putt birdie, and it held up when Johnson and Matsuyama narrowly missed birdie chances coming in.

Ortiz finished in style. Needing two putts to win, the 29-year-old holed a 20-foot birdie putt for a two-shot victory.

Mackenzie Hughes was the top Canadian, finishing six shots off the lead in a tie for seventh place.

Ortiz held back tears as he waited for his playing partners to putt. The victory sends him to the Masters next April. He was there a year ago to watch his brother, Alvaro, who qualified by winning the Latin American Amateur.

“It feels awesome,” said Ortiz, who grew up in Guadalajara and played at North Texas with Sebastian Munoz of Colombia, the most recent Latin American winner on tour. “This is like my second home. There was a bunch of people cheering for me, Latinos and Texans. I’m thankful for all of them.”

It was the loudest cheer for a winner since March. The Houston Open was the first domestic PGA Tour event that allowed spectators, with 2,000 tickets sold daily. They were treated to a good show.

The last Mexican-born player to win was Victor Regelado, who captured the Quad Cities Open in 1978.

Johnson was making his first start since the U.S. Open after a positive coronavirus test knocked him out of the CJ Cup at Shadow Creek and the Zozo Championship at Sherwood.

After opening with a 72, Johnson rallied with two rounds of 66 and a closing 65. His one regret would be the 16th hole. Tied for the lead, Johnson fanned a 7-iron for his second shot on the par 5, leaving a tough chip to 18 feet and a birdie putt that grazed the left edge of the cup.

Johnson had another birdie putt catch the lip on the next hole.

Matsuyama briefly tied for the lead with birdies on the 16th and 17th, making a 15-footer on the 17th just moments before Ortiz made his birdie on the 16th.

Ortiz finished at 13-under 267.

Sam Burns, the 54-hole leader, had a 72 and Jason Day closed with a 71. Neither was a factor for much of the day. This was about Ortiz holding off two players with plenty of experience winning and tasting it for the first time.

Mackenzie Hughes, from Dundas, Ont., was the top Canadian in the tournament, leapfrogging Conners and scoring a 63 — the lowest final-round score of his PGA Tour career. His previous low was a 65 at the 2018 John Deere Classic. Hughes ended the Houston Open tied for seventh place.

“It really felt like a relatively stress-free 63, which you can almost never say,” Hughes said. “It’s pretty rare to say that. Yeah (I) left a few putts out there that would have been really nice to make. Just really thrilled with the round.”

Corey Conners of Listowel, Ont., (68) finished in a tie for 24th at 3-under 277.

HOUSTON — Jason Day, eyeing his first PGA Tour victory in more than two years, was a stroke out of the lead in the Houston Open on Saturday, shooting a 3-under 67 two weeks after withdrawing during the final round at the CJ Cup because of neck discomfort.

Sam Burns shot a 68 to hold onto the lead at 9-under 201 at difficult Memorial Park.

Mexico’s Carlos Ortiz was tied with Day after a 67.

Top-ranked Dustin Johnson was another two shots back after a bogey-free 66. This was his first start since the U. S. Open following a six-week break brought on by a positive test for the novel coronavirus.

Corey Conners of Listowel, Ont., was eight shots off the lead, posting a 73 for the round. Mackenzie Hughes (70) was another stroke back after a 68 left him at even-par 210. Canadian players Graham DeLaet and David Hearn missed the +3 cut.

Johnson nearly put himself out of the tournament after opening with a 72 on the public Memorial Park course near downtown that’s hosting a Tour event for the first time since 1963.

HOUSTON — Jason Day was back in contention on the eve of the Masters after two eventful days alongside Phil Mickelson.

Winless in 2 1/2 years and fighting lingering back and neck problems, Day shot a 2-under 68 on Friday in the Houston Open to pull within two strokes of second-round leader Sam Burns at difficult Memorial Park.

The Australian watched the 50-year-old Michelson hit into the water twice en route to an 8 on the par-3 ninth, then hole out from 193 yards for eagle on the par-4 18th. Lefty missed the cut, following an opening 76 with a 73.

“He kind of left himself in some pretty tough positions and you’re just struggling the whole day,” Day said. “It’s one of those courses where you’ve just got to be patient and try to get your birdies when you can.”

Day had three birdies and a bogey.

“It’s one of those courses where you can walk off kind of shaking your head even though you play some good golf,” Day said. “I was chatting to Phil about that on the second hole today because he went out there and hit a nice 9-iron, pulled up short, rolled away off the green and you’ve got a 60-footer putting back up that hill. It’s one of those golf courses where it can be a little bit frustrating at times, so just got to kind of be smart about it.”

Day was in contention three weeks ago in Las Vegas in the CJ Cup when the neck problem forced him to withdraw early in the final round. The 12-time PGA Tour winner returned the next week at Sherwood to tie for 60th, and took last week off.

“It’s been very inconsistent, obviously, because I’m trying to change my swing a little bit just to try and help the back out,” Day said. “I guess I’m stuck in between patterns right now, what I want to feel, my body just won’t handle it and sometimes it just compensates elsewhere. That’s why it happened to my neck at CJ.”

Burns birdied all three par-5 holes in a bogey-free 65 to reach 7 under.“

It takes a lot of discipline around here,” Burns said. “You get out of position, you just try to get it back to where you can get it up-and-down or get it in a section of the green where you can lag putt it. Fortunately, early we got some good looks and I was able to convert, so solid.”

Winless on the PGA Tour, the 24-year-old Burns also took a two-shot lead into the weekend in the season-opening Safeway Championship in September. He ended up tying for seventh that week at Silverado.

“I think slowing down a little bit, really talking through the shot with Travis (caddie Perkins) and making sure we have a clear picture of what we’re trying to do,” Burns said. “I think that was really helpful to learn that.”

Carlos Ortiz of Mexico had a 68 to match Day at 5 under.

First-round leader Brandt Snedeker followed his opening 65 with a 71 to drop into a tie for fourth at 4 under with Dawie van der Walt (66), Aaron Wise (66) and Patton Kizzire (67).

Corey Conners of Listowel, Ont. (67) also ended the round tied for fourth. Conners had four birdies and a bogey, improving his score and jumping twelve spots from Thursday.

Mackenzie Hughes of Dundas, Ont., made it to the weekend, following an opening-round 70 with a 2-over 72.

David Hearn, from Brantford, Ont., (77) missed the plus-3 cutline, while Graham DeLaet of Weyburn, Sask., pulled out before the second round after a 6-over 76 on day one.

Top-ranked Dustin Johnson followed an opening 72 with a 66 to get to 2 under in his return after a positive coronavirus test knocked him out of the CJ Cup and Zozo Championship.

“It was very solid today,” Johnson said. “ I felt like I played pretty well yesterday, just a little rusty. … I swung it pretty well, just hit a couple bad iron shots. But I think that was more just from not trusting what I was doing, just from not being out there. But today did a lot better, hit a lot of really nice iron shots and felt like I managed my game very well, drove it well, hit a lot of quality shots.”

The tournament — at public Memorial Park for the first time since 1963 — is the first domestic PGA Tour event to have fans since March. Tickets are capped at 2,000 a day.

Brooks Koepka was 2 over after a 70 on the course where he served as a consultant on architect Tom Doak’s renovation. Koepka s playing for the second time since a two-month layoff to heal injuries.

Jordan Spieth, playing alongside Koepka, missed the cut with rounds of 73 and 71.

HOUSTON (AP) — Brandt Snedeker found a lot of fairways and greens at difficult Memorial Park, top-ranked Dustin Johnson returned from the coronavirus, and fans were back, too, Thursday at the Houston Open.

Snedeker shot a 5-under 65 in the afternoon to take a two-stroke lead in the last event before the Masters. He’s one of 37 players in the field this week set to play at Augusta National.

“Drove it great,” Snedeker said. “Around this golf course you have to be in the fairway, otherwise it’s going to be a long day for you. Did a great job of that. Made some putts. And the par 5s, birdied every par 5 out there. This course is a long, tough golf course, so to play well you need to take advantage of the scoring holes, which I did a great job of today.”

The tournament — at public Memorial Park for the first time since 1963 — is limiting ticket sales to 2,000 a day. It’s the first domestic PGA Tour event to have fans since The Players Championship on March 12.

“I think that’s a big reason why I played well today,” Snedeker said. “I love having fans out here. I kind of feed off their energy. It’s great to hear some claps and people excited for good shots and some birdies.”

Johnson had a 72 — bogeying five of the last seven holes on his front nine — in his return after a positive coronavirus test knocked him out of the CJ Cup at Shadow Creek and the Zozo Championship at Sherwood.

The 39-year-old Snedeker won the last of his nine PGA Tour titles in 2018. He followed a birdie on the par-4 13th with a bogey on the par-4 14th after driving into the right rough, then birdied the par-3 15th and par-5 16th.

“I’ve been driving it well, so it just kind of depended how I hit my irons and kind of hung in there,” Snedeker said. “Did a great job of kind of thinking my way around the golf course.”

Jason Day was tied for second with Scottie Scheffler, Harold Varner III, Carlos Ortiz, Michael Thompson and Cameron Davis.

“The golf course kind of forces you into being patient just because you can’t really miss too many greens,” Scheffler said. “Around the greens out here is very, very difficult to get up-and-down and you can get into some spots where you start playing ping pong across these greens.”

Corey Conners posted a score of 69 at the end of his first round, placing him in a tie for 16th and making him the highest scoring Canadian of the day. Mackenzie Hughes of Hamilton, On., trailed one point behind. David Hearn of Brantford, Ont., shot a 3-over 73, while Graham DeLaet, from Weyburn, Sask., came in with a 6-over 76.

Brooks Koepka also had a 72. He’s playing for the second time since a two-month layoff to heal injuries. Player partner Lanto Griffin, the winner last year at Golf Club of Houston, also shot 72. Jordan Spieth rounded out the morning threesome with a 72.

“It certainly felt more normal as we were playing today and especially as we were finishing up,” Spieth said about the fans. “Just the look of it is way more normal than when it was just so bare.”

Koepka served as a consultant on course architect Tom Doak’s renovation.

“I think every time Jordan hit it in the water, he told me that was my fault,” Koepka said.

Phil Mickelson shot 76. He had two double bogeys and two bogeys.

SOUTHAMPTON, Bermuda — In the 20-plus years and more than 600 times Brian Gay has played on the PGA Tour, he realizes the game is still full of surprises.

Sunday was a big one.

Gay rallied from a three-shot deficit on the back nine, hit gap wedge to 3 feet for birdie on the 18th hole for a 7-under 64 and then beat Wyndham Clark on the first extra hole with a 12-foot birdie putt in the Bermuda Championship.

Since golf returned from the coronavirus-caused shutdown in June, the 48-year-old Gay was missing enthusiasm and putts, not a good combination for one of the shorter hitters in golf. He missed the cut in nine of his last 11 tournaments.

“Crazy game,” Gay said. “You never know what’s going to happen.”

He piled up nine birdies over his last 14 holes, including one extra hole in a sudden-death playoff, for his fifth career PGA Tour title and his first in nearly eight years. Just over a year away from being able to join the PGA Tour Champions, Gay is now exempt through August 2023 because of his playoff victory over Clark.

He’ll be at Kapalua to start the new year. He’ll be back at Augusta National in April.

“I’ve always known I have the game to compete,” Gay said. “It easy to doubt yourself. The players are so good and so young. A lot of them are my daughter’s age.”

Gay was happy to see at least a limited number of fans at the Bermuda Championship as the PGA Tour slowly gets back to having some spectators. What he could have used was a video board to show him where he stood.

Only after he gunned a birdie putt some 5 feet by the hole for a three-putt bogey on the par-5 17th did he realize that cost him a share of the lead. On the closing hole at Port Royal, from a side hill lie with the ball slightly above his feet and the wind at his back, he hammered a gap wedge that was so good Gay could be heard saying, “Go in the hole.”

It settled 3 feet away for birdie to finish at 15-under 269.

In the final group behind him, Clark had a birdie putt that stopped a turn shot on the 17th. His approach to 18th was 10 feet behind the hole, and the birdie putt for the win just skirted the right edge. He made par for a 65 and a playoff.

Back to the 18th, Gay holed his birdie putt and Clark missed from about 7 feet, which would have extended the playoff.

“I’m pretty bummed,” Clark said. “I knew I had a one-shot lead. I thought I made that putt on 17 and same on 18. I had chances, I just didn’t capitalize.”

It was a lost opportunity for Clark, who birdied seven of his opening 11 holes to take a three-shot lead.

Gay, the 48-year-old who finished his final year of college at Florida six months after Clark was born, hit his best drive on the 14th hole — a tee shot that gave him fits in the opening round — that set up a 9-iron he converted for birdie. Then, he hit a gap wedge that took a big hop off the right side of the green to 4 feet for birdie to get within one.

Clark had not missed a green the entire final round until hitting into a bunker on the par-3 16th. He took a short back swing and barely got the ball out of the sand, and Clark did well to get up-and-down for bogey to tie for the lead.

Ollie Schniederjans, playing on a sponsor exemption, closed with a 66 and finished third, two shots out of the playoff. Denny McCarthy (63) and Stewart Cink (64) tied for fourth, along with Matt Jones and Doc Redman, who each shot 67.

Canadians David Hearn (Brantford, ON.) , Michael Gligic (Burlington, ON), and Roger Sloan (Merritt, B.C.) held on to their positions and finished the weekend in the top 20. Hearn and Gligic saved the best for last — they both posted a 66 on Sunday, climbing up three and four positions respectively. Hearn’s T8 finish makes him the top Canadian at the Bermuda Championship, with Gligic not far behind in a tie for 11th. Sloan shot a 68 in round 4, ending the weekend tied for 16th.

SOUTHAMPTON, Bermuda — Doc Redman found the wind far more manageable Saturday, and he took advantage with a 4-under 67 for a one-shot lead going into the final round of the Bermuda Championship.

The wind came out of the opposite direction as the previous day and it wasn’t quite as strong. It showed in the scores and in the number of opportunities for players who never won or have gone without winning in years.

Redman was at 10-under 203, one shot ahead of Ryan Armour (70), Wyndham Clark (70) and Kramer Hickok (69), who took three putts from a tough spot on the fringe on the 18th at Port Royal.

Another shot behind were Matt Jones (66), Brian Gay (67) and Ollie Schniederjans (69). Jones was bogey-free in the third round, which to him was as impressive as any of his five birdies.

Redman, the 2017 U.S. Amateur champion, is among 10 players separated by four shots who have never won on the PGA Tour. A victory Sunday comes with an invitation to the Masters next April.

“I feel like with the wind switching, it was a little easier,” Redman said. “And it was still really windy. But yesterday was incredible. We couldn’t have been far away from stopping play yesterday. That made it a little easier. And the greens roll great, so if you have looks at it you can make birdies.”

Redman still was mindful of the wind, particularly on the par-5 17th when he made decisions to play short off the tee because of the strong left-to-right wind off the Atlantic Ocean and potential problems it could have created.

The wind also made it tough on Armour, the 44-year-old from Ohio who picked the wrong day to not be swinging his best. What saved him was a short game that enabled him to break par for the third straight da and to stay very much in the mix to win on Sunday.

“I’m going to have to go figure out what was going on,” Armour said. “Toward the end there, I started hitting the centre of the face a little more. As you know, when the winds are this high, you’ve got to hit in the centre or else it’s going to get blown all over.”

He took a little off a pitching wedge for a beautiful third shot just below the pin for birdie on the par-5 17th, and he narrowly missed a 15-footer on the 18th that would have given him a share of the lead.

Jones is used to windy conditions from his roots in Australia, and he handled it well. He will be going for his first PGA Tour victory since the 2014 Houston Open, although Jones won the Australian Open at the end of last year, and that tournament had a stronger field than what he’s facing in Bermuda.

Gay, 48, whose putting stroke atones for his lack of power, has not won since 2013. He was long enough on the 507-yard 17th to make eagle to cap off his 67 and put him in prime position.

Three Canadian players occupy spots in the top 20 going into the final day in Bermuda, with David Hearn (67) of Brantford, Ont. reaching the highest rank — he is currently tied for 11th at 6 under. Michael Gligic (69) of Burlington, Ont., and Roger Sloan (71) of Merritt, B.C., were tied for 15th at 5 under. Graham DeLaet of Weyburn, Sask., missed the cut on Friday.

The only player from the top 50 in the world was defending champion Brendon Todd, who missed the cut.

The oldest player in the field, 64-year-old Fred Funk, didn’t fare so well. He shot 75 and was 13 shots behind.