CROMUEL, Connecticut (AP) – Xander Schaufele celebrated his one-year wedding anniversary on Sunday with a dramatic victory in the Travelers Championship.
The Olympic champion won with a three-stroke swing on the last hole, hitting up to 3 feet per bird after rookie Sahit Teegala fired two shots to get out of the bunker and made a double backgammon in the group ahead.
With a kick from the front entering the day, Schaufele finished 2-under 68 at TPC River Highlands to beat Teegala and JT Poston with two shots. Schaufele had a total of 19 under 261.
“My mind was telling me to do a good drive and then use your sand wedge or lobby wedge there and make a bird,” Schaufele said. “Sitting there and watching what happened was a bit of a shock, obviously. I really had to try to focus on the task at hand. “
Tiegala shot 67 and Poston had 64.
Schaufele won for the sixth time in the PGA Tour and for the second time this season, after partnering with Patrick Cantlay to win the Zurich Classic at New Orleans in April. It was his first win after a 54-hole lead.
Theegala lurked near the top of the leaderboard all day and grabbed a share of the lead at 15, scoring a par-4 hole and making a 4-foot shot. He overtook Schauffele with an 11-foot birdie at 17, clenching his fist.
But the former Pepperdine star had a lap without shots as his tay shot to 18 on the left and in front of the fairway bunker. It took him two attempts to get out of the sand.
“Somehow my body is simple, I just aimed it with a knife,” he said. “I had a place there. I don’t know what it looked like, but I had a place there. I just didn’t think I could afford to touch it. But I guess the time was – and then we have to try to make 5 now. “
His 12-foot silence disappeared, and he fell to his knees in agony.
“I did everything I thought I had to do and everything just happened to culminate in one hole,” he said. “I did so much good.”
In February at the Phoenix Open, Theegala – after leading after each of the first three days – entered the water at 17 for a mascot and completed a kick from the playoffs that Scottie Scheffler won over Cantlay.
Tiegala was trying to become only the second rookie to win this season, joining Chad Rami, who won in the Dominican Republic. 2020 Travelers was his first professional start, but he missed the part.
Schaufele was consistent on Sunday with two birds and a mascot in front before reflecting that result from behind.
He brings home just under $ 1.5 million, not a bad gift for the celebration he is planning with his wife Maya.
“It’s actually a happy anniversary,” he said. “This is my one-year anniversary with my wife. So I’m going to try to go home and see my wife.
Amateur Michael Thorbjornsen of nearby Wellesley, Massachusetts, was fourth with 15 fewer after 66.
The Stanford star aspired to become the first amateur to win the tour after Phil Mickelson in 1991. He shot 31 in the top nine, including Eagle at number 6, after approaching 261 yards per foot from the hole. He finished with 66.
“I felt very good and comfortable there, and then I had a few hiccups towards the end, which happens sometimes,” said Thorbjornsen, who added that he plans to return to college in the fall. “I don’t think I was too nervous, just a few missed executions.”
The previous best amateur finish in the Connecticut tournament came in 1966, when Tim Grant finished a draw in sixth place at the nearby Weatherfield Country Club in what was then known as the Insurance City Open.
Poston, who was co-leader after shooting in the first round of 62, started the day with a tie for seventh place with nine rebounds. He exhibited 64 without gods, finishing with his sixth bird of the day.
“I set it up well, I drove it well, I hit my iron well,” he said
Cantlay started the day just one shot behind his good friend Schaufele. But last year’s FedEx Cup champion, who had a combined four stoppers in the first three rounds, shot five of them in the previous nine on Sunday.
He finished 76th and tied for 13th with 10 less.
Luke List, who shot 65 on Sunday to finish 9-under, had the kick of the day, opening his round with a 119-yard approach at No. 1 that took a short rebound into the eagle hole.
Rory McIlroy, who shot 62 in the first round, also finished 9th with 67 on Sunday. It was his fourth consecutive № 2 tournament in the world, which he said he would not play again before the St. Andrews Open next month.
Morgan Hoffman, who is battling facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy, finished 2nd in his third and final tournament of the year with a medical exemption from three events. The 32-year-old, who took a few years off from the Tour to focus on his health, shot 71 on Sunday, ending his morning with a birdie after hitting his approach at 18 less than 2 feet from a skittle.
The New Jersey-born Hoffman, who now lives in Costa Rica, said he hopes to get a few exceptions from sponsors this summer and appreciates golf as he tries to inspire others by staying healthy.
“I’m just going to keep doing what I’m doing, cleansing up every month, eating nutritious food and training hard and continuing to build muscle, while building a wellness center (in Costa Rica) to help other people do the same. “, he said.
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