Inspired Min Woo Lee Wins Scottish Open

MIN WOO LEE says that a 90-minute weather delay and the chance to watch Novak Djokovic clinch a sixth Wimbledon singles title inspired him to secure the Scottish Open after a playoff at the Renaissance Club.

The Australian birdied the 18th to defeat Matthew Fitzpatrick and Thomas Detry after the trio were locked on 18 under par in East Lothian. England's Ian Poulter was one of three players a shot adrift after his 63.

Lee, who carded six successive birdies on the front nine of his flawless 64, used the delay to watch Djokovic triumph at Wimbledon. "It was nice to see Djokovic come in and do his interview," said the 22-year-old after claiming his second European Tour title. "I thought that was a good feeling and I might want to do that.

"It was an awesome day. I was pretty proud of the way I played and six birdies in a row was pretty sweet. It's crazy. I dreamed of it last night and to the people back home staying up late watching me and sending me messages, this one's for you too."

England's Fitzpatrick and Belgian Detry, who were co-leaders after three rounds, both posted a four-under 67. Richie Ramsay was the top Scot on 12 under, with his closing 69 matched by Robert MacIntyre, who finished a shot further back.

Poulter had set the clubhouse lead at 17 under, but settled for a share of fourth with Ryan Palmer and last week's Irish Open winner Lucas Herbert.

US Open champion Jon Rahm was another stroke back in seventh, a result which sees him replaced as world number one by Dustin Johnson.

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On a congested leaderboard in East Lothian, Detry had emerged from a five-way tie for top spot with a birdie on the 13th. However, he then missed from close range for par on the 14th at the moment the hooters sounded to suspend play due to the threat of lightning.

When action resumed, Lee was the first to take advantage of the pivotal par-five 16th and his birdie was matched by Detry and Fitzpatrick. Lee left a birdie putt on the 18th inches short, but was clinical when the trio returned to the 18th hole again for sudden death, holing from nine feet to claim the first prize of £956,000.

Lee and Detry also secured places in The Open championship next week, with England's Jack Senior claiming the final one on offer thanks to a tie for 10th. Australia's Wade Ormsby had earlier won 204 bottles of whisky for making a hole-in-one on the 12th, one bottle for each yard of the hole.

PGA TOUR

FORMER US Open champion Lucas Glover ended 10 years without a victory when he birdied five of his last seven holes for a seven-under 64 to win the John Deere Classic by two shots.

Glover won for the fourth time in his career, the most recent in 2011 at Quail Hollow. He was among two dozen players separated by three shots on the rain-softened TPC Deere Run when he went on a sensational run on the back nine.

It started with a 15-foot birdie putt on the par-three 12th hole. He hit his approach into four feet and seven feet on the next two holes, and then flushed a 7-iron to three feet on the 15th hole to take the lead.

Glover finished his run with a 12-foot birdie on the par-five 17th, and a six-foot putt to save par from the bunker on the 18th that he figured would come in handy.

It never got to that. No one could catch him.

Glover kept it simple, with his game and his observations, saying he “ironed” it well and made a bunch of putts. That's the recipe on a course with smooth greens and soft conditions.

“They went in and I kept the pedal down,” Glover said when he finished at 19-under 265. “There's a lot of birdies out there. It's been a long 10 years. There's been some struggles. I knew it was in there. I had to clean up my brain a little bit and just hit some shots, just play golf. I never lost sight of believing I could do this and win again. It's always nice to prove yourself right.”

Kevin Na, who has opted not to play at Royal St George’s this week, tried to make a run with three birdies in four holes until he was slowed by a bogey on the 15th and couldn't make up enough ground. He shot a 68. Ryan Moore also closed with a 68 for a runner-up finish.

Sebastian Munoz of Colombia, who started the final round with a one-shot lead, hit a shank from an awkward stance with the ball above his feet on the first hole. He made bogey and it was a sign of struggles to come. He closed with a 71 and tied for fourth, three shots back. “It took me three holes to readjust from that, and then did a good job from there," Munoz said.

Also finishing three shots behind were Adam Schenk (67), Luke List (68) and Scott Brown (69).

Schenk had a one-shot lead with five holes to play as he sought his first PGA Tour victory. But on the reachable par-four 14th hole, he went well right into a nasty lie in the thick, wet rough. He came up short of the green in more deep grass, chipped some 20 feet long and made bogey.

Glover was playing alongside him and made another birdie for a two-shot swing. Glover kept going and Schenk had to settle for pars.

The victory sends Glover back to The Masters, the US PGA Championship and allows him to start next year in Maui for the Sentry Tournament of Champions, a place he hasn't been in a decade.

Glover already was in The Open Championship from having reached the Tour Championship in 2019. Moore earned the lone spot at Royal St. George's, though it was unclear if he was going to take it.

US SENIOR OPEN

JIM FURYK recovered from a poor start in the final round of the U.S. Senior Open to hold off Retief Goosen and Mike Weir by three strokes. Making his debut in the event, Furyk closed with a one-over 71 to become the eighth player to win both the U.S. Open and Senior Open, joining the likes of Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Lee Trevino, Billy Casper and Gary Player.

Furyk finished at seven-under 273 at Omaha Country Club. He won the US Open in 2003, is a 17-time winner on the PGA Tour and won his first two PGA Tour Champions events upon turning 50 last year. This was the third senior major he’s played. He tied for 16th in the Senior PGA and was sixth in the Senior Players Championship.

Furyk played the first three holes in three over, finding the rough three times on the second hole and a tricky lie in a greenside bunker on the third. Suddenly, his four-shot lead was down to one.

Furyk righted the ship with a birdie on the par-five sixth and, after going out in 37, regained the four-shot lead by the time he made the turn.

It wasn’t until he stuck his 109-yard approach to three feet to birdie the par-five 16th that he could finally relax. It put him three up with two holes to play.

Furyk played his final 15 holes in two under to win the Francis D. Ouimet Memorial Trophy and $720,000. Weir tied for lowest round of the day with a 67, and Goosen shot 69.

Furyk looked to be in control after following his 64 on Friday with a 66 in the third round. But he bogeyed the par-five second hole after his layup attempt from the right rough rolled across the fairway and into the left rough, and his next shot found the greenside cabbage. Then he put his tee shot just below the lip of the left bunker on the par-three third and needed two swings to get out. He two-putted for a double bogey that dropped him to five-under for the tournament.

Goosen birdied the first hole and tapped in for another on the sixth to get to four under. But he bogeyed two of his next four holes before playing his last seven in two under.

Weir started the day seven shots off the lead. He rolled in a 26-foot eagle putt on the par-five sixth, and then birdied the 12th, 13th and 16th just before Furyk bogeyed the 15th.

Rod Pampling (67) birdied two of the last four holes to finish at three-under,

Bernhard Langer, who has won a record 11 senior majors, made putts of 32 and 25 feet for birdies on Nos. 11 and 12 and tapped in for another on No. 13 to pull within four of the lead. The 63-year-old could get no closer in his bid for his first senior major win since 2017. He had a 68 to tie for fifth at one-under.

Stephen Ames, paired with Furyk, couldn’t take advantage of his partner’s early struggles. Ames plugged his tee shot into the face of the left greenside bunker on the third, took an unplayable lie and double bogeyed. He bogeyed the first two holes on the back nine to fall out of contention. His 75 left him one-over.

Steve Flesch, who matched Furyk for low round of the tournament with his 64 Saturday, couldn’t sustain his momentum and shot 74 to finish at four-over.