Power Rankings: Fortinet Championship

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. – Tommy Fleetwood started Sunday as the only player in the top 20 of the world ranking without a win. He looked ready to ditch that title after making birdie on the first two holes to take a three-shot lead early in The Honda Classic’s final round. He had another short birdie putt on the third hole, but missed that and had to wait 14 holes for his next birdie. RELATED: Leaderboard | Slow and steady, Im withstands pressure | Playing for late friend, Hughes turns season around He still had a chance on the last hole to win The Honda Classic. A 24-foot birdie putt on 17 pulled Fleetwood within one stroke of Sungjae Im, who’d already signed for his 66. Fleetwood was in the fairway of the par-5 finishing hole, but hit his 235-yard approach into the water. The closing bogey dropped him into third place, two shots behind Im, who won his first PGA TOUR title. Mackenzie Hughes finished alone in second. Fleetwood shot 71 on Sunday after starting the final round with a one-shot lead. “I didn’t do much wrong,� Fleetwood said. “It came down to slim margins. It’s disappointing. It was close. “At the end of the day, I felt like I was really good mentally, hung in there until the end and gave myself a chance.� Fleetwood moved to 62nd in the FedExCup with his best finish since his runner-up at last year’s Open Championship. This was Fleetwood’s third consecutive top-5 on the Florida Swing. He finished fifth at THE PLAYERS Championship last year and third in the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard.

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LOS ANGELES — Joaquinn Niemann survived a few nervous moments at Riviera and polished off a big week Sunday when he closed with an even-par 71 to become the first wire-to-wire winner of The Genesis Invitational in 53 years. RELATED: Final leaderboard | What’s in Niemann’s bag? Staked to a three-shot lead, Niemann’s margin was down to one when he made a 7-foot birdie on the eighth hole and PGA TOUR rookie Cameron Young sailed the green and made bogey. The 23-year-old from Chile chipped in for eagle on the par-5 11th to stretch his lead to five, and he held on for a two-shot victory over Open champion Collin Morikawa (65) and Young, whose last hopes ended with a bogey from the bunker on the 16th. Young shot 70. About the only thing Niemann missed was a chance to break the longest active tournament scoring record on the PGA TOUR. With two bogeys on the back nine, Niemann finished at 19-under 265, one short of the score Lanny Watkins had in 1985. Morikawa holed an eagle chip on the infamous and reachable 10th hole that one-hopped into the cup, and two late birdies gave him a chance. But he missed a 10-footer on the 18th in his bid to win and reach No. 1 in the world. Young, making only his 12th career TOUR start, was a runner-up for the second time this season. He also tied for second in Mississippi. Given the prestige of the tournament hosted by Tiger Woods, Young earned $1,068,000 for his tie for second. The purse was $12 million. As for Niemann, Riviera hasn’t had a 23-year-old winner since Phil Rodgers in 1962, the tournament best known for Jack Nicklaus making his pro debut. Nicklaus tied for 50th and earned $33.33 that year. Niemann picked up $2.16 million for his second PGA TOUR victory. No one else had much of a chance on a cool, breezy afternoon at Riviera. This was Niemann’s tournament from the start, when he opened with a pair of 63s and set or matched a tournament scoring record of some variety each day but the last one. Charlie Sifford in 1969 was the last player to go wire-to-wire in The Genesis Invitational, significant because the elite tournament — it attracted everyone from the top 10 in the world this week — offers an exemption in Sifford’s name to promote diversity in golf. This year is the 100th anniversary of when Sifford, the first Black golfer to win on the PGA TOUR, was born. The No. 100 was on the first hole. Niemann carved his own way around the fabled course. The most important birdie was at No. 8. He got plenty of breathing room with the eagle on No. 11. Young stayed close, even after a bogey on No. 10 when his flip wedge from short of the green failed to clear a bunker. He blasted out nicely to 4 feet but missed the par putt, slamming his bag with a putter as he left the green. He still had a chance. Young drove into a bunker on the 15th, could only get out to the fairway and then holed out for birdie from 50 yards. Niemann missed a 4-foot par putt and took his second straight bogey, and the lead was down to two with three holes to play. Young found a bunker for the second straight day on the par-3 16th. It wasn’t plugged like it was on Saturday, but he failed to get up-and-down. He birdied the par-5 17th to get back within two shots and needed some help. Niemann didn’t provide it, splitting the middle of the fairway, hitting to the back level of the green and two-putting for par from just inside 30 feet. And then the celebration was on as his closest friends — Sergio Garcia of Spain, Mito Pereira of Chile and Carlos Ortiz of Mexico — formed a big group hug on the 18th.

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