DALLAS — Aaron Wise cruised to his first PGA Tour victory Sunday, shattering the AT&T Byron Nelson record at 23 under on a new course in a race to finish before nightfall after a four-hour rain delay.
The 21-year-old rookie shot a 6-under 65 to beat Marc Leishman by three strokes as both became the first to finish the Nelson at 20 under or better in the first year at Trinity Forest. The treeless links-style layout was defenceless with softer fairways and greens and no wind once the morning storms passed.
The Nelson celebrated its 50th anniversary with a return to Dallas after 35 years at the TPC Four Seasons in suburban Irving. Rory Sabbatini set the previous record on that par-70 layout at 19-under 261 in 2009.
Wise, the 2016 NCAA individual champion at Oregon, reached 20 under with his third birdie in the first seven holes.
Branden Grace matched his career-best 62 from last year’s British Open — which was the lowest round ever in a major — and finished at 19 under with J.J. Spaun and Keith Mitchell, who had matching 63s.
Hometown star Jordan Spieth shot 67 to finish 11 under.
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PGA TOUR CHAMPIONS
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — Miguel Angel Jimenez won the Regions Tradition for his first senior major title, closing with a 2-under 70 for a three-stroke victory.
Jimenez held or shared the lead after every round, taking a three-shot edge into the final round at Greystone Golf & Country Club. The Spaniard finished at 19-under 269 for his fifth PGA Tour Champions victory.
Steve Stricker, Joe Durant and Gene Sauers tied for second.
It was the third time Jimenez had entered the final round of a senior major with at least a share of the lead. He tied for third at the 2016 Senior British Open and was runner-up in the 2016 U.S. Senior Open.
Durant and Sauers finished with matching 69s, and Stricker shot 70.
Bernhard Langer finished five strokes off the lead in his bid to become the first to win the Tradition three straight years. He closed with a 66 and 67 over the final two rounds after a slow start.
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LPGA TOUR
WILLIAMSBURG, Va. (AP) — Ariya Jutanugarn birdied the second hole of a playoff to win the Kingsmill Championship for the second time in three years.
Jutanugarn closed with a 5-under 66 to match Nasa Hataoka (67) and In Gee Chun (68) at 14-under 199.
Jutanugarn and Hataoka both birdied the first extra hole, with Chun dropping out. Hataoka putted first on the second extra hole and missed badly before the 22-year-old Jutanugarn rolled in a 15-footer for her eighth career victory.
Her older sister, Moriya, won the HUGEL-JTBC Championship in Los Angeles in April for her first LPGA Tour victory
Jutanugarn started the day two shots behind Chun and had a two-shot lead before making bogey at the par-5 15th. Hataoka, playing with Chun in the final threesome, birdied No. 15 to join Jutanugarn at 14 under, and Chun made a long birdie putt on the par-3 17th to also get to 14 under.
The tournament was cut from 72 holes to 54 when rain washed out play Saturday.
The LPGA Tour now has gone 12 tournaments to start the year without a multiple winner.
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EUROPEAN TOUR
ANTWERP, Belgium (AP) — Adrian Otaegui of Spain defeated Benjamin Hebert by two shots in the final medal match to win the inaugural Belgian Knockout.
The nine-hole final match was tied when Otaegui ran off three straight birdies starting at the par-3 sixth. The Frenchman countered with a birdie at No. 7, but Oategui birdied the par-5 eighth to go two ahead with one hole to play.
Otaegui won for the second time on the European Tour. His other title was the Paul Lawrie Match Play last season.
This was 36 holes of stroke play to reduce the field to 64 players, following by nine-hole matches of medal play concluding with the championship match at Rinkven International Golf Club.
Otaegui defeated Jorge Campillo by two shots in the quarterfinals and David Drysdale by four shots in the semifinal. Hebert defeated James Heath to reach the final match. Drysdale won the consolation match to finish third.
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WEB.COM TOUR
GREER, S.C. (AP) — Michael Arnaud got off to another hot start and converted it into an 8-under 63 and a five-shot victory in the BMW Charity Pro-Am.
Arnaud shot a 27 on the front nine — with a bogey — at Thornblade Golf Club on Friday and had a chance to shoot 59 until making par on the final hole. Starting one shot out of the lead on Sunday, he had five birdies and an eagle to go out in 28 and seize control. Arnaud added a pair of birdies late in his round for a cushion.
He finished at 27-under 257 for a five-shot victory over Kyoung-Hoon Lee (64) and Robby Shelton (69).
Shelton and Bhavik Patel shared the 54-hole lead. Patel closed with a 70 and tied for fourth with Joseph Bramlett (62).
Arnaud won for the first time on the Web.com Tour, and he wasn’t even in the field until Kent Bulle withdrew on Wednesday. Arnaud missed the cut in his only Web.com Tour start this year. He earned $126,000 in his 50th career start on the Web.com Tour. In his previous 49 starts, the 36-year-old Arnaud had earned $130,358.
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OTHER TOURS
MEN
John Catlin overcame a slow start by closing with a 3-under 69 for a two-shot victory in the Asia-Pacific Classic, the first Asian Tour title for the 27-year-old American. Natipong Srithong of Thailand and Adam Blyth of Australia tied for second. … Ryuko Tokimatsu closed with a 1-under 71 for a one-shot victory over Kunihiro Kamii in the Kansai Open on the Japan Golf Tour. … Justin Harding closed with a 6-under 66 and beat Jake Roos on the sixth playoff hole with a birdie on the par-3 18th to win the Lombard Insurance Classic. Harding won for the second time in two weeks on the Sunshine Tour. Roos shot 63 in the final round to force a playoff. … Liam Johnston won his first European Challenge Tour title by beating roommate Grant Forrest by one hole in the final match to capture the Andalucia Costa del Sol Match Play 9 in Spain. … Andres Gallegos of Argentina shot 6-under 65 for a six-shot victory over M.J. Maguire in the Puerto Plata DR Open on the PGA Tour Latinoamerica. … Sung-yeol Kwon closed with a 3-under 69 and won the SK Telecom Open in a playoff over Hyun-woo Ryu on the Korean PGA Tour.
WOMEN
Inbee Park won the Doosnam Match Play Championship with a 1-up victory over A. Lim Kim on the LPGA Korean Tour. … Jenny Haglund of Sweden closed with a 5-under 67 and then won the rain-shortened Symetra Classic with a 45-foot birdie putt on the first playoff hole to beat Dottie Ardina. The tournament ended Saturday after 36 holes because of rain in North Carolina. … Hee-kyung Bae closed with a 7-under 65 to win the Chukyo TV Bridgestone Ladies Open for her first Japan LPGA Tour title.