New-look Ottawa Senators expect to step up after off-season of change

HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. — Satoshi Kodaira made a 25-foot birdie putt on the third playoff hole to defeat Si Woo Kim after coming from six shots behind in the final round of the RBC Heritage for his first PGA TOUR victory on Sunday. Kodaira, 28, had finished off his round of 66 to get to 12-under par about an hour before Kim finished. Kodaira matched Kim with two pars on the 18th hole before rolling in his winning putt on the par-3 17th. Kim came up short on his 21-footer for birdie to keep the playoff going. Bryson DeChambeau (66) and Luke List (72) were tied for third. Third-round leader Ian Poulter’s bid for a second tour title in three weeks ended with a 75 and a tie for seventh.

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MEXICO CITY – Justin Thomas felt tired in the legs as he stood up to begin preparations for the World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship on Tuesday morning. He wasn’t worried. He’s not worried about losing a four-shot lead and finishing second to J.B. Holmes at the weather-interrupted Genesis Open last weekend, either, in case you were wondering. “It will bother me the rest of my life, 100 percent it will,â€� Thomas said at Club de Golf Chapultepec. “There are tournaments I didn’t win my rookie year that still bother me and that was a lot worse than that, so I’m sure that will bother me. But in terms of being over it, it’s done with.â€� Was he angry? No. “More shocked and upset,â€� he said. All those bogeys, the final-round 75, let his pursuers back in it, and Holmes (70) took advantage. They were among those forced to play 34 holes on Sunday, when gusts reached north of 30 mph. It caught up to Thomas on the greens, as he three-putted the 10th and 14th holes and four-putted the 13th. It was, to his point, a shocking result, what with Thomas having closed out six of eight tournaments in which he had at least a share of the 54-hole lead. “I feel like I know what I did,â€� he said. “I just didn’t — I played well, I just didn’t make the putts and I just made the mistakes that in the past that I usually don’t do when I’m playing with a lead.â€� Now it’s time to turn the page. Thomas has flirted with winning in Mexico. He was T5 two years ago, his week highlighted by a hole-in-one. And he lost to Phil Mickelson in extra holes last year, but not before hitting the shot of the tournament, a hole-out from the fairway on the last hole of regulation. He planned on only nine holes Tuesday, followed by rest and treatment for his legs, then maybe nine more Wednesday. The course has not changed, even if the sunny, 80-degree weather has. Thomas will take it after a dreary West Coast Swing punctuated by cold, wet and windy L.A. “Last week was one of the most bizarre weeks I’ve been a part of,â€� he said. “You don’t know what day it is, you don’t know what round you’re in, and it was a lot.â€� The scenery, the altitude, the newly allowed short pants in practice rounds (Thomas was not partaking Tuesday), the presence of Tiger Woods for the first time — all of these things will help him forget last week. Asked if he thinks more about his losses or his wins, Thomas said, “I hate to lose more than I like to win, if that answers the question.â€� He allowed there have been players whose careers might be derailed by a tough loss like the one he suffered at the Genesis. “But I would like to think I’m a little bit stronger than that,â€� he said, “that this isn’t going to have an impact on my career.â€� Given that Thomas, 25, already has nine TOUR wins, has won the FedExCup and a major, and has played in the Presidents Cup and Ryder Cup, that seems very, very possible. Losing a late lead? Hey, it happens. “There’s a chance I could win this week,â€� he said, “and nobody would talk about it ever again.â€�

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