Finau ends drought, captures N. Trust in playoff

Trailing 3-1 to the U.S. after the morning matches, Europe took a 5-3 lead in the afternoon foursomes by sweeping its first Ryder Cup session since 1989.

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LAS VEGAS (AP) — Martin Laird lost a chance to win by making bogey on the 18th hole, only to redeem himself in a three-way playoff by making a 20-foot birdie putt on the second extra hole Sunday to win the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open. RELATED: Final leaderboard | What’s in Laird’s bag? Laird ended seven years without a victory in a year filled with so much doubt, which included knee surgery right about the time golf was set to resume from the COVID-19 pandemic. The 37-year-old Scot suddenly is flying high. He needed a sponsor exemption to play the tournament he won in 2009. He ended it with a birdie to beat Matthew Wolff and Austin Cook. It was the third three-man playoff in Las Vegas for Laird, who won in 2009 and lost the following year when Jonathan Byrd made a hole-in-one on the 17th hole at the TPC Summerlin. Laird contributed a pair of big shots on the par 3. He had a one-shot lead with two holes to play Sunday when he sent his tee shot on the par-3 17th off a cart path and some 30 yards right of the green with the pin to the right. He hit a chip-and-run over the cart path, under the trees, between a pair of bunkers and then made a most improbable par with an 18-foot putt. But he missed the green to the right on the 18th and chipped to 30 feet, two-putting for bogey and a 3-under 68 to fall into a playoff at 23-under 261 with Wolff and Cook, who each closed with a 66. They all made par on the 18th in the playoff, and then Laird ended it on the 17th with his birdie. Laird, at No. 358 in the world, becomes the third winner in the last four regular PGA TOUR events to be ranked outside the top 300. Now he has a two-year exemption and stands at No. 4 in the FedExCup standings. Laird appeared to have everything going his way when he caught a buried lie near the lip of a bunker while facing a front pin on the par-5 ninth. He blasted away, turned his head and looked back to see the superb shot trickle into the cup for eagle. That gave him a three-shot lead heading to the back nine. But he couldn’t hold it. Cook never really went away, closing within one shot with a 40-foot birdie putt on the 17th and burning the edge of the cup on his birdie attempt on the closing hole. Wolff was never far away and arrived in a powerful burst with a two-putt birdie on the reachable par-4 15th, blasting a 375-yard drive on the par-5 16th and stuffing wedge to 10 feet for eagle. Laird never lost the lead, though he was grinding to the finish line. He had to make a 15-foot birdie putt on the 15th, the easiest hole at TPC Summerlin. He played away from the flag and water on the par-5 16th to 70 feet and came up 15 feet short, leading to a three-putt par. And then he made his great escape on the 17th after a tee shot off the cart path. A par on the 18th was all he needed for the victory, and he hung it out to the right, down to a collection area with a drain a yard in front of his ball. Patrick Cantlay, who shared the 54-hole lead with Laird, was the biggest surprise of the day. Cantlay won the tournament in 2017 and was runner-up each of the last two years. Fourteen of his 15 rounds at the TPC Summerlin were under par. He opened with four bogeys in six holes and didn’t make birdie until the 13th, closing with a 73. Bryson DeChambeau closed with a 66, and that was the worst he could have done. With a helping wind, he played the par 5s on the back nine in 1 over. He also bogeyed the last from a bunker. Abraham Ancer birdied the last two holes for a 67 to finish alone in fourth. Will Zalatoris closed with a 69 for a three-way tie for fifth, leaving him just short of enough FedExCup points to earn special temporary membership on the PGA TOUR. His next chance is in three weeks in Bermuda.

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Tiger Woods’ revolutionary state-of-the-art entertainment complex PopStroke is set to reveal its first location outside of Florida next week with the 82-time PGA TOUR winner taking to Twitter on Tuesday to confirm the new Houston, Texas location will open on December 16. The complex is a modern take on miniature golf that features two 18-hole putting courses designed by Woods’ TGR Design team along with a restaurant, full-service bar and family-friendly amenities. The Houston PopStroke location will be the fifth fully operational venue, with the first opening in Port St. Lucie, Florida earlier this year and others already running in Fort Meyers, Sarasota and Orlando. Future plans have locations opening in Glendale and Scottsdale, Arizona, as well as Tampa and Delray, Florida, both scheduled for 2023. “Putting is a universal part of golf that can be enjoyed by people of all ages and skill levels,” Woods stated in a press release last year. “It has been rewarding to see the broad and diverse group of guests enjoying their experience at PopStroke, and I look forward to seeing players make those long putts in locations throughout the South and Southwest. Each new location will have a different course design and layout giving players unique putting challenges as they travel across the country.” Gone are the windmills and animatronics of old, replaced by brutal bunkers, swerving undulation, and hole locations fitting the tastes of the 15-time major winner himself. While playing a full-length Tiger Woods’ designed course might break the bank of the average golfer, a full day of play at PopStroke will run around $25 for adults, with discounted rates for children. “Some of my happiest memories are spending time with my pops on the golf course having putting contests,” Woods says via the PopStroke website. “I’m looking forward to others enjoying time with their kids at PopStroke.” Woods will take to the course with his own son, Charlie, at the PNC Championship later this month. The duo will look to win this year after coming in second to John Daly and his son in last year’s event in one of the most popular events of the fall season.

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