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Charley Hoffman was in the mix from the beginning of the OHL Classic at Mayakoba, running off five birdies in a stretch of seven mid-round holes to open with a 66, placing him one behind a group of six leaders on Thursday evening.  A run of five more birdies in his opening six holes got Friday started on a high note, but a balky back saw him home in 68, three behind halfway leader Shawn Stefani - a margin that would remain (this time behind Jason Bohn) through 54 holes following a Saturday 67.  But Bohn, fresh off a runner-up finish at the Sanderson Farms Championship, struggled badly on Sunday, turning in 40 en route to a disappointing 74.  Initially this left the lead to be grabbed by 2008 U.S. Amateur champion Danny Lee, who carded sevn straight birdies at holes 3-9 to turn in 29.  But looking a potential first PGA Tour victory in the eye, the Korean-turned-New Zealander ran into putting problems on the inward half, and ultimately finished with a 67, good enough to tie for third.  This opened the door for Hoffman, who played impressive tee-to-green golf on Sunday, charging into the mix with an outgoing 32, then building a two-shot lead via birdies at the 13th and 16th.  But Stefani was still around to make things interesting, pulling within one by birdieing the par-4 17th before both man followed wayward drives at the last with bogeys, making Hoffman’s final victory margin one………………Despite having gained Special Temporary Membership status on the PGA Tour (and exempt status for 2015), American Brooks Koepka remained a European Tour player long enough to return for the penultimate event in the circuit’s lucrative Final Series, and in the process claimed his first major tour victory at the Turkish Airlines Open, in Antalya.  Initially Koepka – along with 76 other members of the strong 78-man field – seemed an afterthought, as 50-year-old Miguel Angel Jimenez topped the first-round leaderboard with a 63 before Ian Poulter stormed out to a massive six-shot halfway lead behind rounds of 64-66.  Koepka, however, was among the six players closest to Poulter, and thus factored more greatly into the 54-hole mix after the flashy Englishman posted three bogeys and a double-bogey en route to a disappointing Saturday 75.  Thus Koepka began Sunday two behind surprise leader Wade Ormsby of Australia, and one behind Poulter, a hot Marcel Siem and England’s Lee Westwood, who had charged into contention behind middle rounds of 68-67.  But during a final round which, in its opening half, saw Siem, Jimenez, Danny Willett and even a late-charging Henrik Stenson all creep into contention, play eventually boiled down to Kopeka and Poulter, with the American breaking a deadlock with an eagle at the 564-yard 13th, then hanging on via a clutch 17-foot par putt at the 337-yard 15th and a deft upand-down at the 392-yard 17th.  Poulter was not without his chances to tie, however, as he missed a 12-footer for birdie at the 15th and, following a superb long bunker shot, a five-footer for birdie at the last………………Thirty-three-year-old American David Oh was a quiet presence on the Japan Golf Tour in 2012 and ’13, going winless and finishing 94th and 31st in earnings.  But his relative anonymity disappeared at the 2014 VISA Taiheiyo Masters, where Oh overcame an ill-timed bogey at the 71st hole to rally for a one stroke victory, his first in the Land Of The Rising Sun.  The former USC Trojan opened with rounds of 70-68 to trail Hiroyuki Fujita by two on Friday night before charging home in 32 on Saturday to post a third round 68, good enough to take a one-shot 54-hole lead over fellow American Han Lee and China’s Wen-Chong Liang.  But Lee could do no better than 71 on Sunday while Liang drifted to a 72, leaving a seemingly open path for Oh who, with back-to-back birdies at the 13th and 14th, held a one-shot lead over Toshinori Muto.  The 36-year-old Muto played his final four holes in par figures and Oh seemed to be on his way – that is until missing the green and bogeying the 228-yard 17th, then bouncing back o birdie the 517-yard 18th to clinch his first major tour victory………………India’s 23-year-old Rashid Khan won for the second time on the 2014 Asian Tour, methodically carving out a Sunday 68 to claim a one-shot victory over countryman Jyoti Randhawa and Thailand’s Thanyakon Khrongpha at the Chiangmai Golf Classic.  Initially, it appeared as though the week might belong to one of the co-runners-up, as Randhawa’s opening rounds of 68-65 were good enough to hold a one-shot halfway lead over Krongpha, with the nearest pursuers – Khan and Australian Scott Barr – another three shots in arrears. Randhawa would post a 70 on Saturday, however, which allowed Krongpha (67) to assume the top spot, two up on both Randhawa and Khan, as the latter logged five birdies en route to a back nine 31 and a third round 66.  For Krongpha, the quest for an initially Asian Tour title brought out the inevitable nerves, and while a birdie at the last brought him home in 71, his up-and-down even par play over he first 17 holes proved his undoing.  That left the battle up to Khan and Randhawa, and while the latter played admirably in posting a 69, the former went him one better by riding four birdies over his final 10 holes to a 68, and the title………………Thirty-two-year-old Victorian Anthony Brown broke through for his first career Australasian Tour victory at the New South Wales Open, edging New Zealand’s Josh Geary on the second hole of sudden death.  For the first 54 holes, it looked rather more likely to be Geary’s week as he opened with rounds of 66-68-68, his 202 total leaving him tied atop the leaderboard with ex-PGA Tour player James Nitties, and two strokes ahead of reigning U.S. Amateur champion Gunn Yang.  Brown, for his part, stood three behind after opening with 71-65-69, and he made little in the way of an early move on Sunday, offsetting an opening birdie with a bogey at the 3rd, and turning in even par – and thus lost ground as both Geary and Nitties turned in one under.  But both of the leaders would stumble coming home, Nitties bouncing around to an inward 38, Geary to a slightly less tumultuous 37.  This paved the way for Brown, who methodically birdied all three of the homeward par 5s to post a 69 and finish on 274 – a total matched by Geary with a clutch birdie at the last.  Both men birdied the 18th on the first replay, but only Brown could do it a second time, and the title was his.

Posted on Sunday, November 16, 2014 at 08:31PM by Registered CommenterDaniel | Comments Off