Top 10 but no Masters spot for Harrington in San Antonio
Padraig Harrington. Picture: USGA
PADRAIG Harrington missed out on a Masters spot, but a closing 71 in the Valero Texas Open gave him his first top-10 finish on the PGA Tour for nearly two years.
The three-time major champion (51) - a multiple winner on the PGA Tour Champions last season - was looking to win on the main US tour for the first time since the 2015 Honda Classic and secure a spot at Augusta National next week.
But a five-shot deficit proved to be too much of a handicap for the reigning US Senior Open champion at TPC San Antonio, where 2019 winner Corey Conners (31) of Canada came from a shot behind Patrick Rodgers, closing with a bogey-free, four-under 68 to win his second PGA Tour title by one stroke from Oklahoma rookie Sam Stevens on 15-under par.
Harrington knew he needed a low round to have a chance of winning, but he bogeyed the par-five second after a poor drive and never got any momentum.
While he got that shot back with a wedge to eight feet at the fifth, he didn’t make another birdie until the 12th.
He needed a blistering finish to have a chance of posting a threatening score but mixed birdies at the 14th and 17th with bogeys at the 13th and 15th.
He finished tied 10th on eight-under for his first top-10 on the PGA Tour since he finished fourth behind Phil Mickelson in the 2021 PGA Championship and a boost of confidence ahead of three Major appearances against the young guns at the PGA, the US Open and the Open lawyer this year.
Overnight leader Rodgers was seeking his maiden win and a dream trip down Magnolia Lane.
He picked up an early birdie at the second but dropped three shots in four holes from the fourth en route to a closing 73 and a tie for fifth.
Conners took a three-shot lead when he birdied the 15th to get to 15-under.
He faced a late challenge from Kansas hopeful Stevens (26), who had an eight-foot birdie chance at the last to tie but missed and tapped for a 66 featuring two eagles and five birdies.
Sam Ryder shot 66 and Matt Kuchar a 68 to tie for third, two shots adrift on 13-under.
On the LPGA Tour, Leona Maguire made an eagle three, one birdie and three bogeys in a level par 71 to finish tied 61st in the DIO Implant LA Open at Palos Verdes in her last stop before the first women’s Major of the season.
The Co Cavan golfer finished on three-over par as China’s Ruoning Yin close with a 70 to win her maiden LPGA Tour title by a shot from England’s Georgia Hall on 15-under par.
Starting the day with a two-stroke lead, Yin made her first and only par of the front nine on No. 1 before filling her card with color on Nos. 2-10. A birdie on 2 was followed by three-straight bogeys.
She turned it around right after with four-consecutive birdies that led to a front-nine 34, still two strokes ahead of the nearest challenger. It wasn’t until she made the turn that the Chinese golfer began to think about winning.
“I made a birdie on 2, which is good. But after that I just made three bogeys in a row. Just some small mistake out there. And after 5 I just told myself, can't make one more bogey. I just switch a ball, and, yeah, four birdies in a row,” Yin explained.
“I started think about if I'm going to win or not a little bit. But after 10 and 13, I made two bogey out there and I said, no, you can't think about that no more.”
After her tee shot on 10 found the right-side rough, Yin’s second shot hit a tree making par almost impossible. She kept things even over the next two holes before shooting her last bogey of the day on 13, where she needed three putts to close out the hole.
She hit another tree on the 14th but got a lucky bounce back onto the fairway that allowed her to make birdie. Throughout the round, and the entire week at Palos Verdes Golf Club, she said, it was Yin’s putting that was both her doing and undoing, and keeping three-putts of the card – she had just four in four rounds – played an important part in her success.
“I think before first round I talk to my coach, said I don't know, should I trust the line or trust myself? And my coach just told me, you spend like five minutes on the green, read the line, and putt on the line. You got to trust it or you're just wasting time, yeah,” she said.
“I mean, for my game, I have a goal that cannot make three-putts, cannot make double bogey. After I hit the tree (on 10) I said, let's just make bogey here. Don't even think about make par.”
Sitting two shots ahead of nearest chaser Georgia Hall after her birdie on 14, Yin made par on Nos. 15-17 and walked up to 18 green with just a one-shot lead after Hall closed the gap on 16.
The English golfer’s approach shot on 18 had the entire gallery convinced she would force a playoff for the second week in a row, but Hall was unable to sink the seven-foot putt for extra holes. Instead, Hall earned her second runner-up performance in as many events after losing in a one-hole playoff to Celine Boutier at last week’s LPGA Drive On Championship.
“I was really happy just to be in this position on the weekend, especially my 9-under yesterday. Yeah, just really proud of myself again,” said Hall, who broke the tournament scoring record during the third round with a 9-under 62.
“Just really gutted not to at least get to another playoff. But a bogey-free round on the final day in tough conditions out there, so just on to the next one.”
