Tour round up: Rory 15th, Lowry 25th, Kearney 53rd
PGA Tour — As Caroline Wozniacki cavorted on Miami Beach with Serena Williams sporting a t-shirt bearing the slogan "Hello Lover, Goodbye Friend", her ex-fiancé Rory McIlroy finished tied for 15th in the Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village.
The Holywood man, 25, made five birdies and five bogeys in a level par 72 to finish seven shots outside a playoff for the title between eventual champion Hideki Matsuyama and Kevin Na.
Matsuyama birdied the 18th to force a playoff before holing a 10-foot par putt on the first extra hole to win his maiden PGA Tour title.
Masters champions Bubba Watson and Adam Scott threw away their chances of victory during the course of back nine that was a comedy of errors.
Matsuyama had the lead but then doubled the 16th and bogeyed the 17th before breaking the head off his driver after slamming it into the turf on the 18th when he bunkered his tee shot.
He hit a sensational approach to five feet to set up a birdie and a closing 69 that allowed him to match clubhouse leader Na, who had posted 13 under with a closing 64 some two hours earlier.
Matsuyama chose not to replace his broken driver in the playoff and hit a three-wood went into the bunker on the 18th.
Na drove left into the creek and still had about 10 feet for bogey on the 18th hole in the playoff when Matsuyama made his par putt after a sensational cut up wedge from a tough position left of the green.
"I'm really, really happy," Matsuyama said through his interpreter. "It's a dream come true to win at Mr. Nicklaus' course."
Watson, who started the final round with a one-shot lead, lost control of his swing and started hitting wild tee shots.
The first of them led to a bogey at the 14th before he blasted a four wood so far right on the par-five 15th that it went over trees and miles out of bounds.
That led to double bogey and he never recovered, closing with a 72 to miss the playoff by a shot.
Scott had a share of the lead after 11 holes and was poised for his second straight PGA Tour win but put his tee shot into the water on the par-three 12th for double bogey, took two shots to get out of a bunker on the 14th for bogey, and then dropped another shot at the 15th when his wedge hit the pin and ricocheted back into the fairway.
The Australian tied for fourth with Chris Kirk after a 71
Thongchai Jaidee with the Nordea Masters Trophy. Picture © Getty Images
European Tour — Michael Hoey (€18,650) shot a 67 to finish tied 18th as Shane Lowry (€14,700) saved the best for last, carding two eagles in a closing 66 to claim a share of 25th in the Nordea Masters in Malmo.
At the business end of the leaderboard, Thongchai Jaidee overcame European Ryder Cup hopefuls Victor Dubuisson and Stephen Gallacher with a birdie four at the first extra hole. The Thai carded a closing 65 at PGA Sweden National, where a host of players – including World No 2 Henrik Stenson – saw their chances of victory come and go.
Having set the clubhouse mark at 16 under par after carding six birdies and an eagle on the 11th hole, Jaidee then had to wait as the last four groups made their way down the par five last – with only Dubuisson (67) and Gallacher (68) able to reach his score, the latter holing a superb 20ft birdie putt.
On the first extra hole, Jaidee produced a magnificent third shot to three feet to set up a winning birdie and seal his sixth European Tour victory, claiming only his second title outside of Asia following the 2012 ISPS Handa Wales Open.
Joint overnight leader Stenson had led by two strokes during the early stages of a dramatic final day, but dropped costly shots on the six, ninth and 12 holes, before another bogey on the last hole finally ended his chances of a popular home win. It meant he had to settle for a total of 14 under par, finishing in fifth, with Dutchman Robert Jan Derksen (65) fourth on 15 under par.
Peter Lawrie (67) and Kevin Phelan (70) tied for 40th on four under to earn €9,150 each while Gareth Maybin (74) had to settle for €3,150 as he came tied 67th on two over.
Lowry is 16th in the Race to Dubai with Hoey 37th, one spot ahead of Graeme McDowell, with€326,449. Phelan is now 127th, Damien McGrane 128th, Maybin 145th and Lawrie 184th.
Thomas LInard. Picture
Challenge Tour — Niall Kearney bogeyed his last two holes, carding a 74 to finish tied for 53rd on one-under in the D + D Czech Open at Golf & Spa Kunetická Hora. He earned €578.
Frenchman Thomas Linard fired a superb 64 to finish at 19 under par and a stroke clear of Daniel Gaunt for his maiden professional title in his first season on the Challenge Tour, having only claimed a spot on European golf’s second tier by €23 through last year’s Alps Tour Order of Merit. While his English was limited, his delight was clear to see.
“I am very happy because I played very good this week,” said the man from Bourges. “It was fantastic, as this is my first professional victory and it is brilliant. I just focused on my game today, and that’s it. I have a flight tonight, but I will celebrate afterwards in Paris.”
