PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. (AP) - The best field in golf was no match for Jason Day at The Players Championship.
Day caused only a little drama Sunday in what otherwise felt more like another coronation for the 28-year-old Australian. He led by at least two shots the entire round, played bogey-free again on the back nine at the TPC Sawgrass and closed with a 1-under 71 to win golf’s richest tournament.
Along the way, he put a stamp on his No. 1 ranking. Day won for the seventh time in the last 10 months, titles that include a major, a World Golf Championship and a pair of FedEx Cup playoff events. He became the first wire-to-wire winner in 16 years at Sawgrass.
Day won $1.89 million from the $10.5 million purse. He won by four shots over Kevin Chappell, who closed with a 69 to pick up a $1,134,000 consolation check.
The greens at the Stadium Course were not nearly as severe as Saturday, when only six players managed to break par and Day made a pair of double bogeys to slow what had been shaping up as a runaway. This time, Day inflicted his own damage by missing greens and flubbing three chips on his way to a bogey on the par-5 ninth that cut his lead to two shots going to a back nine filled with possibilities.
With two quick birdies, the outcome soon was inevitable.
Day poured in a 15-foot birdie on No. 10 and another one from that range on No. 12. His last challenge was to make sure he found land on the island-green 17th, and his wedge made it with about 10 feet to spare. He finished at 15-under 273.
The consolation for Chappell is his third runner-up finish this year moves him well inside the top 50 in the world, assuring him exemptions into the U.S. Open and British Open.
MAURITIUS OPEN
BEAU CHAMPS, Mauritius (AP) - South Korea’s Wang Jeung-hun won the Mauritius Open for his second straight European Tour title, closing with an even-par 72 for a one-stroke victory.
The 20-year-old Wang won last week in Morocco. He finished at 6-under 282 on the Ernie Els-designed Four Seasons. Wang is the first player to win European Tour titkes in consecutive weeks since Rory McIlroy in 2014 at WGC-Bridgestone Invitational and PGA Championship.
Banglasesh’s Siddikur Rahman was second after a 74.
The tournament also was sanctioned by the Asian Tour.
REX HOSPITAL OPEN
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) - Trey Mullinax won the Rex Hospital Open for his first Web.com Tour title, shooting a 3-under 68 for a two-stroke victory.
The 23-year-old former Alabama player finished at 14-under 270 at TPC Wakefield Plantation. He earned $117,000 to jump from 33rd to fourth on the money list with $154,486. The top 25 at the end of the regular season will earn PGA Tour cards for next season.
After playing the front nine in 2 over, Mullinax birdied the next three holes, chipped in from 20 feet for eagle on the par-5 15th and two-putted from 45 feet for par on the par-4 18th.
Brady Schnell was second after a 72. He bogeyed the final two holes, three-putting from 50 feet on the par-4 17th and hitting into the back bunker on 18.
SYMETRA CLASSIC
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) - Erica Popson won the Symetra Classic for her first Symetra Tour title, rallying for a two-stroke victory at Raintree Country Club.
The 25-year-old former Tennessee player birdied the par-4 17th and parred the par-3 18th for a 2-under 70 and an 8-under 208 total. She earned $22,500 to jump from 45th to fourth on the money list with $27,946. The final top 10 will earn LPGA Tour cards for next season.
Second-round leader Kendall Dye tied for second with Jenni Jenq and Australia’s Emma de Groot.
A day after shooting a tournament-record 65, Dye birdied two of the last three holes for a 76. She birdied the par-5 fourth to reach 11 under, then played the next 11 holes in 7 over with two double bogeys and three bogeys. Jenq shot a 68, and de Groot closed with a bogey for a 71.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.