Golf: Bryson DeChambeau wins playoff to capture Memorial tournament title

Bryson DeChambeau finally got it right on his third try at the 18th hole and won the Memorial in a playoff on Sunday in Dublin, Ohio.

DeChambeau three-putted for bogey on the 18th for a one-under-par 71 to get into a three-way playoff at Muirfield Village. He missed the green from the fairway on the 18th on the first extra hole and had to scramble for par. On his third try, he hit his approach to within 12 feet behind the hole and made it for birdie to beat Byeong Hun An and win for the second time on the PGA Tour.

“I can’t believe I did it,” DeChambeau said.

Kyle Stanley ran off four straight birdies toward the end of his round until his final tee shot caromed off a tree and across the fairway into deep rough. He made bogey for a 70 and still got into a playoff, but he was eliminated on the first extra hole when his approach from deep rough and the ball well above his feet squirted to the right, leading to a bogey.

An closed with a 69.

Tiger Woods was never a serious factor. Starting five shots behind, Woods pulled to within three shots with a two-putt birdie on the par-five fifth hole. But his chances effectively ended when he missed a three-foot par putt on No. 10, and he put his tee shot into a backyard for the second time this week. He closed with a 72 and ended one of his best ball-striking weeks in a six-way tie for 23rd.

Woods was second-to-last in the key putting statistic among the 73 players who went all four rounds.

“If I just putt normally, I probably would be right there with those guys and up there in the last couple of groups,” Wood said. “If I just keep building on this, with how I’m hitting it right now, I’m in good shape for two weeks from now.”

The next stop for Woods is the U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills.

Patrick Cantlay also had a chance on Sunday, leading by two shots going to the back nine. But he didn’t make a birdie over his last 10 holes, and he fell back when he went bunker-to-bunker on the 17th and made bogey to fall two strokes behind. Cantlay narrowly missed a 25-foot birdie putt on the final hole, shot 71 and finished fourth. Peter Uihlein (66) was alone in fifth.

Joaquin Niemann, the 19-year-old from Chile, birdied the 18th hole to tie for sixth. That was enough for him to earn special temporary membership on the PGA Tour, meaning he can get unlimited sponsor exemptions.

Justin Thomas shot 68 and tied for eighth in his debut at No. 1 in the world. He will keep that ranking going into the U.S. Open.

Olesen wins Italian Open

Thorbjorn Olesen of Denmark sank a 10-foot putt on the final hole to win the Italian Open and avoid a playoff with home favorite Francesco Molinari.

Olesen finished one stroke ahead of the Italian for his fifth European Tour victory and first Rolex Series win.

When Olesen stepped up to the tee at the par-four 18th at Gardagolf Country Club in Brescia, he held a two-stroke lead over Molinari.

But ahead on the green, Molinari sank a 30-foot putt for birdie to slice the lead to one stroke and prompt roars from the crowd. Then Olesen hit his second shot into a green-side bunker after driving into the rough.

Olesen held his nerve, however, and got up and down.

He also claimed his first European Tour victory in Italy, at the 2012 Sicilian Open.