Our golf fantasy recap starts with a former world No. 1, who returned to dominant form down the back stretch of the Dean & DeLuca Invitational in his home state. We’ll also recap what happened with the Englishmen who dramatically improved his chances of making the Ryder Cup team with a win at the BMW Championship and in the LPGA, a dominant rookie made history with her third consecutive victory on the LPGA Tour. Here is a golf fantasy recap of the events from around the world over the weekend.
Dean & DeLuca Invitational
PGA Tour
Jordan Spieth entered the final day of the Dean & DeLuca Invitational with a one stroke lead. After an even front nine the lead had slipped from his grasp and suddenly the pressure was on him to deliver down the stretch. Spieth did exactly that as he fired six birdies on the back nine including one on each of the final three holes to rally for his eighth-career victory. That was an encouraging sign for golf fantasy players as you might recall that Spieth has had some issues closing out this season. He looked to be in good shape in the final round at The Masters as well but remember how badly he flopped down the home stretch? There was no such case of that kind of crumbling this weekend. Granted, the pressure was much lighter.
It was also Spieth’s first-career win in his home state of Texas. With a 17-under 263 for the tournament, Spieth finished three strokes ahead of Harris English, Ryan Palmer and Webb Simpson for the win. Speith’s eighth-career win broke a tie with Tiger Woods for the most before his 22nd birthday. Horton Smith, who recorded 14 wins between 1928 and 1930, is the only golfer ever to record more victories before turning 22. Next up for the PGA Tour is the Memorial Tournament from the Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio.
Top 10 Results At Dean & DeLuca Invitational
Jordan Spieth -17
Harris English -14
Ryan Palmer -13
Webb Simpson -13
Kyle Reifers -12
Anirban Lahiri -9
Jason Dufner -9
Matt Kuchar -9
Martin Piller -9
Chad Campbell -8
BMW PGA Championship
European Tour
Our golf fantasy recap in the EPGA focuses in on Chris Wood, who boosted his chances of making the Ryder Cup team with a win at the BMW PGA Championship over the weekend. Wood matched the course record by taking just 29 shots on the front nine and that left him a little breathing room down the stretch as he finished nine-under for the tournament for a one-stroke win over Sweden’s Rikard Karlberg. This year’s Masters winner Danny Willett was in the mix until the final round when he shot a double-bogey on the way to a 71 in the final round. Willett would settle for a third-place finish at seven-under followed by Romain Wattel, Thomas Aiken and Julien Quesne tying for fourth at six-under.
Top 10 BMW PGA Championship
Chris Wood -9
Rikard Karlberg -8
Danny Willett -7
Thomas Aiken -6
Julien Quesne -6
Romain Wattel -6
Tyrrell Hatton -5
Andrew Johnston -5
Martin Kaymer -5
Jaco Van Zyl -5
LPGA Volvik Championship
LPGA Tour
Our golf fantasy recap on the LPGA Tour focuses in on 20-year-old rookie Ariya Jutanugarn, who continued her dominance with a five-stroke victory at the LPGA Volvik Championship over the weekend. Jutanugarn became the first player in three years to win three straight tournaments on the LPGA Tour and she did it in dominant fashion. Jutanugarn closed with a five-under 67 to finish at 15-under for the tournament – five strokes ahead of runner-up Christina Kim. Other notables included Brooke Mackenzie Henderson and Jessica Korda tying for third at nine-under while Lexi Thompson was one of four golfers to tie for sixth at seven-under. World No. 1 and tournament betting favorite Lydia Ko finished tied for 16th at four-under. Jutanugarn will have the opportunity to add a fourth straight win to her resume at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship two weeks from now.
Top 10 Results At Volvik Championship
Ariya Jutanugarn -15
Christina Kim -10
Brooke M. Henderson -9
Jessica Korda -9
Belen Mozo -8
Lexi Thompson -7
Azahara Munoz -7
Marina Alex -7
Hyo Joo Kim -7
Angela Stanford -6
Brittany Altomare -5
