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Thirty-year-old Australian Steven Bowditch had only logged two top-10 finishes in eight seasons on the PGA Tour, but in windy, demanding Sunday conditions at the Texas Open, he broke through for career-altering first victory.  On a day which saw as many players (two) fail to break 80 as break 70, Bowditch struggled throughout his round, carding four bogeys and one double-bogey en route to a closing 76 – the highest final round by a winner since Vijay Singh’s 76 at the 2004 PGA, and the highest in a non-major since Fred Couples shot 77 in winning the 1983 Kemper Open.  The halfway and 54-hole leader, Bowditch – a two-time Web.com Tour winner – also recorded two birdies on Sunday, with the second (at the par-5 14th) giving him a two-shot lead which he nursed right up until missing a three-footer for par at the last.  Second place was shared by a hot Will MacKenzie (who bogeyed the 1st hole on Sunday before going three-under-par the rest of the way) and Daniel Summerhays, whose closing 71 helped him make up significant ground on the pack………………In one of the more dramatic finishes in recent Japan Tour history, Michio Matsumura fired a closing 68 to claim the season-opening Indonesia PGA Championship by a single shot over Australian Rhein Gibson and Juvic Pagunsan of the Philippines.  The initial drama was provided by the 28-year-old Gibson, who gained fame by shooting a non-competitive 16-under-par 55 during a 2012 round, and seemed on his way to more fireworks when standing 11-under-par through 15 holes on Sunday.  A three-putt bogey at the par-4 16th then slowed his momentum, but his 10-under-par 62 was good enough to take the clubhouse lead.  Enter Matsumura, who began Sunday one shot behind 54-hole leader Sang-Hyun Park before falling well off the pace after going out in 38.  The three-time Japan Tour winner righted the ship coming home, however, making three birdies through the 14th to pull back within two, then reeling off clutch birdies at the 16th, 17th and 18th to steal the title.

Posted on Sunday, March 30, 2014 at 07:38PM by Registered CommenterDaniel | Comments Off