There was plenty of intrigue and drama around the golf world this past weekend, which should make for a fun golf recap. That includes a pair of first-time winners on the European and LPGA Tours, and the most unlikely of playoffs on the PGA Tour at the Wells Fargo Championship. If you were a betting man, you probably found the landscape somewhat frustrating this past weekend. Nonetheless, here is our golf recap as we look at how this past week’s events unfolded from around the world.
Wells Fargo Championship
PGA Tour
The most unlikely of playoff victors was James Hahn, who had missed the cuts at his previous eight tournaments before finally breaking through with his second career PGA Tour victory at the Wells Fargo Championship on Sunday. The former shoe salesman navigated his way to the clubhouse with the outright lead only for Jason Castro to hit birdies on 16 and 17 and follow it up with a par putt on 18 to force the extra hole. However, Castro faded in the playoff with his tee shot landing in the creek, followed by a third shot that hit a fan in the head and ended up falling in to a shoe. Hahn was able to navigate the hole with a par putt to secure the victory. Hahn talked after the tournament about how his biggest fear was struggling on the Tour and eventually having to go back to being a shoe salesman but a victory at the Wells Fargo Championship guarantees that won’t happen anytime soon. Meanwhile, third round leader Rickie Fowler, who came undone with a double-bogey on the seventh hole and finished the round with a 2-over 74 to finish tied for fourth at 7-under for the tournament. Phil Mickelson rallied with five birdies in the final round to also finish tied for fourth at 7-under while Rory McIlroy looked absolutely dominant down the stretch with eight birdies in the final round to also finished tied for fourth.
Top 10 Scores From The Wells Fargo Championship
1. James Hahn -9
2. Roberto Castro -9
3. Justin Rose -8
4. Phil Mickelson -7
5. Rory McIlroy -7
6. Phil Mickelson -7
7. Rickie Fowler -7
8. Lucas Glover -6
9. Danny Lee -5
10. Fabian Gomez -5
Trophee Hassan II
European Tour
Our EPGA golf recap begins with Wang Jeung-hun of South Korea, who won his first title on the European Tour when he beat Nacho Elvira in a playoff on the second extra hole in the Trophee Hassan II over the weekend. Wang’s victory wasn’t nearly as dramatic as Hahn’s but he did make three clutch putts on the 18th green including a 20-foot birdie putt for the win on the second playoff hole. Robert Rock and Clement Berardo both finished one stroke back of Wang and Elvira while overnight leader Chris Hanson shot a 3-over 75 and tied for fifth.
Yokohoma Tire LPGA Classic
LPGA Tour
Our LPGA golf recap focuses around Ariya Jutanugarn, who completed the trifecta of first-time winners from the weekend when she earned her first LPGA Tour victory at the Yokohoma Tire LPGA Classic. The field featured some considerable talent despite the obvious exception of world No. 1 Lydia Ko, but it was Jutanugarn that delivered to become the first-ever Thai winner in LPGA history. It’s pretty clear that when Ko plays, she is the woman to beat. Every tournament she’s participated in this year, she’s been the favorite. The fact that she skipped this event really opened the door for a number of other players to step up, and it opened up the landscape for bettors to try and pick a winner for a field where no one player stood out above the crowd.
However, the 20-year-old winner fired a 1-under 71 to edge out Stacy Lewis, Amy Yang and Morgan Pressel by one stroke for the victory at 14-under par for the tournament. The other notables included Minjee Lee finishing tied for sixth at 11-under while Gerina Piller finished tied for 10th at 10-under.
Top 10 Scores From The Yokohoma Tire LPGA Classic
1. Ariya Jutanugarn -14
2. Amy Yang -13
3. Stacy Lewis -13
4. Morgan Pressel -13
5. Caroline Hedwall -12
6. Candie Kung -11
7. Hee Young Park -11
8. Ryann O’Toole -11
9. Minjee Lee -11
10. Brittany Lang -10
