Late eagle lands DeChambeau another title

LAS VEGAS — Notes and observations from the fourth round of the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open at TPC Summerlin where Bryson DeChambeau claimed his fifth PGA TOUR title. LEADING LIGHT Bryson DeChambeau revealed earlier this week he will most likely take advantage of putting with the flagstick in next year when rule changes in golf allow for it. On Sunday he showed why he thinks it’s an advantage, dropping in a 57-foot, seven-inch putt from the back fringe of the par-5 16th hole for a tournament defining eagle. To be fair the putt probably would have gone in regardless as it was tracking at perfect speed the whole way but it was clearly the moment of the final round, particularly as defending champion Patrick Cantlay had chunked a bunker shot just moments earlier. DeChambeau knew how important it was, producing a fist pump that will lead highlight reels for some time. It gave him a cushion up top on the leaderboard and although Cantlay birdied the last ahead of him DeChambeau was able to make a stress-free par on the last to claim a fifth PGA TOUR win, his fourth since June. “When I hit it it’s like, all right, it’s pretty solid speed off the start. Then I saw it about halfway down there and I was like, ooh, that might be a little fast,â€� DeChambeau said of the putt. “For whatever reason the slope gradually declined and went to about like a two percent slope and the ball started just rolling perfectly to the right just like I had envisioned. “It just held straight that last little bit and was able to trickle in. I haven’t given a reaction like that in a while. That was pretty cool.â€� OBSERVATIONS CANTLAY COMES UP SHORT: Defending champion Patrick Cantlay was left to rue a poor bunker shot on the penultimate hole of the tournament. After an impressive 8-under 63 on Saturday Cantlay made another run Sunday and took the outright lead with a birdie on the par-5 16th hole. But his tee shot on the par-3 17th faded a little right into a greenside bunker and he caught the second shot heavy, barely getting it out of the sand. “Tricky shot,â€� he said. “When I dug my left foot in it didn’t have a bunch of sand, and then obviously when I hit my shot there was more sand under the ball and didn’t anticipate that. It was just a poor shot at the wrong time.â€� Impressively he was able to rebound immediately with a clutch birdie on the last, forcing DeChambeau to make par behind him for his win. “I really got off to a slow start Thursday and Friday, and that was too much to overcome. Played really well this weekend and I’m proud of that,â€� he said of his defense. His runner up finish moved him to seventh in the FedExCup standings. FOWLER FIRES LATE: Rickie Fowler’s season debut finished with a serious flourish as a final round 8-under 63 moved him into a tie for fourth. The bogey-free eight birdie effort may have been a little too late to seriously contend for the title but it put a nice dent in his fall season FedExCup point goals. It was the lowest final round of his career. Fowler now heads to next week’s Mayokoba Golf Classic in Mexico in 38th spot on the points list knowing another decent result can give him the base he needs for a huge season. He was runner up in the event a year ago. “Got things rolling on the back nine birdieing the first four out there. Couple slid by, but solid back nine. Nice to finish on a high note,â€� he said. “It was nice to kind of shake a bit of rust off every day. Today is the best everything has felt all together. Putted better. Felt like full swing and irons and driver were good all week but made some good up and downs. Definitely happy about it.â€� RYDER MAKES A RUN: Sam Ryder might be one to watch as the fall series continues after a sensational 9-under 62 on Sunday moved him into third place. While ultimately he fell two short of DeChambeau’s winning total Ryder moved to 10th in the FedExCup after finishing 101st in his rookie season. Ryder ranked first in proximity to the hole on Sunday and first in Strokes Gained: Putting. With a T4 at the Safeway Open he now has two top four finishes in his last three starts. “It’s kind of just been the process of me throughout my career in a way. I played a couple summers on the Canadian Tour. First year struggled a little bit; kept my card, and killed it the second year,â€� he explained of his career trajectory. “The Web.com Tour I was kind of getting my feet the first year and had an awesome second year. And then kind of last year (on the PGA TOUR) was slow coming. I missed my first four cuts of the year being really tired from the Web season. But then started playing Sam Ryder golf in the middle of the summer moving into the playoffs. “Now I have a lot more confidence and I’m just comfortable out here. I feel like I know where I belong and where I fit in. I’m trying to get better and work on the things I know I need to work on to improve and try and be in that top tier of player.â€� QUOTABLES Guy yells, “mashed potatoesâ€� right at impact, and I snapped it and it hits a rock and goes out of bounds.Just made maybe the best ball striking round of my life. SUPERLATIVES Low round: 9-under 62 – Sam Ryder with a bogey-free nine birdie effort. Longest drive: 382 yards – Cameron Champ on the par-5 9th. Longest putt: 53 feet, 11 inches – Ryan Moore. Toughest hole: Par-3 8th played to 3.311 with just five birdies, 24 bogeys and two doubles. Easiest hole: Par-5 16th played to 4.338 with four eagles, 42 birdies and just one bogey. SHOT OF THE DAY CALL OF THE DAY

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