James Hahn Holds Up Wells Fargo

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James Hahn emerged from a slump to win the Wells Fargo Championship in a play-off against his fellow American Roberto Castro in North Carolina.

The South Korean-born Hahn made par on the first extra hole, the par-four 18th, sinking a four-foot putt to edge Castro at Quail Hollow in Charlotte. Castro made Hahn’s task considerably easier by pulling his drive into the creek left of the fairway.

Hahn, 34, who had missed eight consecutive cuts, recorded a closing 70 for a nine-under-par 279. He missed a six-foot putt at the 72nd hole that would have won it in regulation but made amends in the play-off to claim his second PGA Tour victory.

Hahn and Castro (71) finished one shot in front of Justin Rose while the Americans Phil Mickelson and Andrew Loupe, the third-round leader Rick Fowler and the defending champion, Rory McIlroy, were two strokes back.

McIlroy, who shot a final-round 66, has dominated the Quail Hollow tournament since 2010, with two wins and three other top-10 finishes.

The highlight of the Northern Irishman’s victory last year was a course-record 61 in the final round and he again impressed on Sunday with eight birdies. However, bogeys at the first and last undid his good work.

Bogeys at the 12th and 16th proving Rose’s undoing after three birdies. The Englishman tweeted: “Tough final day at the office, but many positives to take from this week.”

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Sports Quotes - Arnold Palmer

"I've always made a total effort, even when the odds seemed entirely against me. I never quit trying; I never felt that I didn’t have a chance to win."

Arnold Palmer

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Gidday Mr Jones

Matt Jones held off world number one Jordan Spieth and a charging Adam Scott on his home course to win the Australian Open by a stroke after a dramatic final round on Sunday.

Leading by three shots overnight, Jones gave his pursuers every chance with a double and triple bogey on the front nine, but four birdies in a two-over-par 73 proved enough for victory on eight-under-par at the Australian Golf Club.

Defending champion Spieth had a 15-foot eagle putt at the last to force a playoff but sent his ball wide of the hole and had to settle for a 71 and a share of second place with Scott.

“That was very stressful, it wasn’t comfortable out there for me,” an emotional Jones said after receiving the Stonehaven Cup for the first time. “I’ve watched the Australian Open for many years and just to have my name on that trophy is something I’ll never forget.“

Scott, still seeking his first title of the year, had surged up the leaderboard with a seven-birdie 65 to move to seven-under on another blustery day in Sydney.

His compatriot Rod Pampling had earlier sunk a 60-foot eagle putt on the 18th green for a course record 10-under 61, which was good enough for fourth on six-under.

Pampling’s stunning score bettered the 63 Spieth carded to win the title last year, a final round that had given the American high hopes he could overhaul Jones’s overnight lead.

The 35-year-old Australian dropped three shots by going bogey-double bogey on the first two holes but Spieth also bogeyed them and the final group dropped back towards the chasing pack.

Jones recovered with birdies at the fourth and sixth but a calamitous triple bogey at the ninth after hitting the trees and plunging into the water saw him drop to six-under, level with clubhouse leader Pampling.

Spieth drained an eight-foot downhill putt on the 11th to also move to six-under and Scott, ahead on the 14th, joined him to make it a four-way tie for the lead.

The American’s parity was short-lived and another visit to the greenside sand saw him bogey the 12th just before Jones brilliantly chipped in from a bunker to save par.

Jones inched ahead on seven-under with his third birdie at the par-five 14th, which Spieth matched to rejoin Pampling and Scott in second place.

Another fine approach shot to the 18th, which he eagled on Saturday to keep his title hopes alive, saw Scott birdie the last to move back to the top of the leaderboard with Jones.

Jones birdied the 16th to move a shot ahead again, however, and he held his nerve despite finding the trees twice on the 17th to clinch the Stonehaven Cup with a short par putt on the final green. 

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Q School Stressful - Paul Dunne

Paul Dunne has confessed that he found the final round of Qualifying School more stressful than his Open adventure earlier this year.

The Wicklow man was famously tied for the Open lead going into the final round before falling down the order at St Andrews in July.

Ahead of the last round of European Tour qualifying in Girona today, Dunne sat in 12th knowing that the top 25 plus ties would collect a card for next season.

After finishing tied for 13th spot, the 22-year-old told RTÉ 2fm’s Game on: “It’s different. You’ve to finish in the top 25 this week, you’re just trying to do as well as you can.

“But then going into today was a bit weird because I was in 12th. 

“You don’t know whether to try to push on and go forward or play more conservative and just to try stay in the top 25 so it’s a different mindset.

“It was a difficult one for me to really know how to think about how I want to play.

“Mentally, it was more difficult to know what to take on and what not to. It played a lot of mind games with me.

“This one was probably more stressful and the other one [The Open] was more exciting.”

“This one was probably more stressful and the other one was more exciting"

Qualifying School consisted of 14 rounds, including six this week and the Greystones man admitted the schedule was taking its toll.

“[I’m] wrecked, to the honest,” he said before revealing he plans to play in South Africa and Australia in the next fortnight. 

“The first five rounds weren’t too bad but today was quite stressful, start to finish, just trying to get through the line.

“It’s great, it’s been a long few months trying to get through so I’m glad it’s finally over.

“If you looked at it simply, all I had to do was finish in the top 20 three in tournaments in a row.

"When you break it down and put it in a simpler term it seems a lot more achievable.

“I knew if I played well for three weeks I’d get through without much hassle but the last few stages were a bit more stressful than I would have liked.

“I played well around the tougher courses, the tougher courses suited me more. I was delighted to finally get over the line.”

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Spieth Wins Player of Year

Twenty-two-year-old Spieth, who won two major championships in 2015, becomes youngest player of the year since Tiger Woods in 1997.

He won two major championships, the FedEx Cup, and took over as world No 1 – so it’s no surprise that Jordan Spieth has been named the PGA tour player of the year for 2015.

Spieth, 22, became the youngest player to win the award since Tiger Woods in 1997, when Woods won the US Masters at the age of 21. Spieth certainly had a season to remember, winning five tour titles, making 21 of 25 cuts, and setting the single-season mark for official prize money winnings by earning more than $12m.

Spieth, who grew up in Dallas, said: “It’s a season to remember. It’s an honor to win player of the year because it is MVP of our league and it’s voted on by the players and for them to recognize the hard work we’ve put in and what we’ve been able to do with it is truly special.”

PGA tour commissioner Tom Finchem said: “Our young stars shone brighter than ever before, but none brighter than Jordan Spieth.

“He captivated us throughout a memorable year that included the FedExCup and five victories, highlighted by two major championships. And the sportsmanship he displayed in both victory and defeat was a stirring indication of the role model and ambassador he has become in a very short period of time.”

PGA tour members who played in at least 15 official money events this past season were eligible to vote. The balloting process ended on October 1.

Daniel Berger won the rookie of the year award. The 22-year-old was the only rookie at the season-ending Tour Championship last week after a runner-up finish in the penultimate playoffs event, the BMW Championship.

Finchem said: “He capped his first season on tour with a strong showing in the FedExCup Playoffs and demonstrated great character and sportsmanship on and off the course, as evidence by this peer vote.”

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Spieth Eases Ahead of Stenson

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Jordan Spieth birdied the final hole to take a one-shot lead into the final round of the PGA Tour's season-ending Tour Championship.

The 22-year-old, one of five players who will automatically claim the FedExCup title this week, carded a birdie-two at the par-three last to close a two-under 68 and move one-shot clear of overnight leader Henrik Stenson in Atlanta.

After bouncing back from a dropped shot at the first with an eight-foot gain at the third, Stenson temporarily saw his lead cut to one when he followed a blemish at the tenth with a three-putt bogey at the 11th.

Paul Casey had closed the gap with back-to-back birdies at the sixth and seventh but failed to pick up another stroke all afternoon, while Rory McIlroy's four gains in a seven hole stretch around the turn briefly moved him within one of the Swede.

Stenson restored his two-shot cushion by rolling in a 22-footer at the 14th, only to see Spieth half the gap by sliding in an eight-foot gain at the next.

A double-bogey at the last from McIlroy saw him back four adrift, as a missed long-range par-save from Stenson at the penultimate hole saw Spieth move in to a tie for the lead heading to the last.

As the Swede two-putted from 30 feet for par to close a two-over 72, Spieth rolled in 20-foot gain to take the outright lead at eight under.

Four birdies on the back nine helped Rickie Fowler to a round-of-the-day 67 in tricky conditions to claim a tie for third alongside Casey, with Zach Johnson joining McIlroy a further stroke back.

World No 1 Jason Day posted consecutive gains on the back nine, but will still head in to the final round in the group eight shots off the pace after a level-par 70 at East Lake.

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Things Go Better for Stenson

Henrik Stenson will take a convincing lead in to the weekend at the Tour Championship, where Jordan Spieth surged up the leaderboard.

Stenson's previous appearance at East Lake saw him lead from start to finish to win the FedExCup title and US $10m bonus to go with the tournament first prize of US $1.4m.

And the Swede remains on course to repeat the feat after a two-under 68 gave him a three-shot lead over nearest challenger Spieth, who pulled himself back into contention with a round-of-the-day 66.

Any time you can maintain or extend your lead is always going to be a good day," Stenson said. "I did not feel like I played my best golf today but made some nice putts for birdie and kept it together pretty nicely."

Resuming two shots clear of Paul Casey after an opening round of 63, Stenson was able to double his advantage by the turn in difficult scoring conditions at a rain-soaked Atlanta.

Casey briefly moved within a stroke of the lead with a seven-foot gain at the first, only for the Swede to birdie two of his opening four holes.

After Stenson and Casey bogeyed the fifth, the Englishman lost further ground by double-bogeying the next after hooking his tee shot in to a water hazard.

That temporarily left Zach Johnson in second spot after the Open champion posted back-to-back gains at the seventh and eighth, only to run up a double-bogey seven and bogey the following two holes.

Gains at the ninth and 12th lifted Casey into joint-second alongside Spieth, who completed his bogey-free round with a 20-footer at the last.

A birdie on the 12th kept Stenson comfortably in front, although the Swede missed the chance to restore his four-shot cushion with a two-putt par from nine feet at the last.

Casey lies four shots off the pace after a blemish at the last, with Johnson a further stroke adrift despite closing his round with back-to-back gains.

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