England’s Aaron Rai and Matt Wallace recorded birdie strikes as they edged out Byron Nelson to win the CJ Cup on the PGA Tour before Taylor Pendrith snatched victory from Ben Kohls on a dramatic final hole in Texas.
Rai went out in six under, started with consecutive birdies, made two more at five and eight and then cleared the par-5 ninth to move to 19 under, but he slowed on his back nine as he finished at 20 under Fourth place was shared by Wallace and South Korean duo SH Kim and Byeong Hun An, three places behind Pendrith.
Wallace was an over after seven holes on Sunday, but a series of four birdies in five holes between nine and 13, including a chip-in from the green at 12, pushed him back up the leaderboard after he finished his round at 17 under had begun. two strokes behind 54-hole leader Pendrith.
Pendrith and Kohls traded the lead in the final round, but it was Kohls who had the advantage going into the final round with consecutive birdies at 16 and 17, giving him a one-shot lead over his rival at 23 under.
But Canadian Pendrith birdied 18 and American Kohls suffered a bogey after missing a five-foot par save as the players’ scores turned, with Alex Noren in third place at 21 under.
The victory was Pendrith’s first on the PGA Tour after two previous successes on the PGA Tour Canada and left Kohls still awaiting his first triumph on the circuit after four on the Korn Ferry Tour, including two last year.
English amateur Kim sputters in the final round after an excellent week
The headline-maker of the week was 16-year-old English amateur Kris Kim, who became the youngest player to make it to a PGA Tour event since 2015 after earning a spot in the tournament thanks to a sponsor’s invitation.
Kim, who was inches away from a hole-in-one on Saturday, shot under par in each of his first three rounds, peaking at four-under 67 on the second day.
He shot a two-over 73 on Sunday, while a four-bogey back nine dropped him to six under for the tournament, but he can look back on an outstanding week – ahead of his English GCSE exams next Thursday.
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16-year-old English amateur golfer Kris Kim was inches away from a PGA Tour hole-in-one in the third round of the CJ Cup Byron Nelson
Kim said: “I learned so much and had so much fun this week, I just realized how big it is and how much fun it is to play golf on tour.”
“I think endurance-wise I need to get better, I just felt so tired in the last 18 holes. It definitely makes a difference what you eat and how you exercise and so on.”
The PGA Tour travels to North Carolina next week for the Wells Fargo Championship, the season’s newest signature event, but world No. 1 and Masters champion Scottie Scheffler will not be in action.
Scheffler is missing the event because his wife, Meredith, is expecting the couple’s first child.
Watch the Wells Fargo Championship live Sky Sports Golf from Thursday. Early day one coverage begins at 12:30 p.m., with full coverage beginning at 6:00 p.m. You can also stream with NOW.
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