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Golf roundup: Smylie Kaufman earns first PGA win
Posted On Oct 26 2015
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Emiliano Grillo won the Frys.com Open last week, and Na made it easier on him in the second playoff hole at Silverado by taking bogey on the par-5 18th. Hoffman shared the lead heading into the 18th hole but settled for a scrambling bogey from the desert that dropped him back to second place heading into Sunday.
The 32-year-old from Connecticut, in only his fifth start on tour, was among 14 players unable to finish before darkness.
The pair are both chasing their first PGA Tour titles, but they will be put under pressure on the final day by Kevin Na, Jimmy Walker and Chad Campbell, who are all lying on 11 under and have the experience of 10 wins between them.
Quote of the day: “So much more stressful than on the course”. The former LSU player sunk a 20-foot birdie putt at the par-four 18th, a birdie which would prove crucial as the remainder of the field fell just short.
He finished a shot clear of a group of six players, including fellow fast-finisher Patton Kizzire (63). Cameron Tringale, Jason Bohn, and Nick Taylor will all head into Sunday three shots back of the leader Stagmaier. “I think in the past it’s been at least 20 under wins, so you’ve got to keep making birdies and keep being aggressive”.
Kaufman started quickly with a birdie on his second hole, but then he leveled off and was still at 1-under for his round until he made birdie at No. 8. “That only helped me believe more and build more confidence to figure out how I’m going to accomplish my goals”. “But I feel like I played OK, and looking forward to tomorrow”. But now that I’m playing the Masters, it’s a joke.
The 18-year-old New Zealander holed a 30-yard pitch for eagle on the par-5 12th and finished with a 7-under 65 at Miramar for a nine-stroke victory. That is up 3.2 % over the $1.116 million that Ben Martin earned when he won this tournament past year. I play conservatively, so I usually have a lot of 20-30 footers, a lot of two-putt pars, which I knew was going to be good today, with the greens being firmer.
