Bubba Watson wins HSBC Champions after making spectacular shot

Even in the midst of a meltdown, Bubba Watson never lost hope Sunday in the HSBC Champions.

He stood on the 16th tee with a two-shot lead. He trudged off the 17th green facing a one-shot deficit behind five players suddenly tied for the lead. And right when it looked as though Watson had blown it, he delivered a finish that not even the creator of “Bubba golf” could have imagined.

From some 60 yards away in a bunker left of the green on the par-5 18th hole, Watson blasted out of the sand and watched his ball roll 25 feet before it dropped for eagle. Watson was so stunned that his eyes widened and he screamed. He didn’t know what else to do.

Moments later, he rolled in a 20-foot birdie putt on the 18th in a playoff to beat Tim Clark and capture his first World Golf Championship.

“You never know what he’s going to do,” said Rickie Fowler, who watched it all unfold at Sheshan International.

Watson closed with a 2-under 70, a score that doesn’t even begin to describe his wild ride — an eagle, birdie, par, bogey and double bogey filled his scorecard over the last five holes.

The two-time Masters champion looked like a lost cause when he stood in the bunker on the 18th in regulation, waiting his turn to play. That’s when he turned to his caddie and told him, “It’s been a miserable couple holes here, but this will change everything if it goes in.”

Talk about a Shanghai surprise.

“You always joke about holing it,” Watson said. “And then it actually went in. I didn’t know how to react and so I just kind of screamed, and I lost my voice a little bit. It was one of those shots, a one-in-a-lifetime kind of shot. And so it was pretty neat.”

Clark made a 5-foot birdie on the final hole for a 69 to join Watson at 11-under 277. Fowler’s hopes of joining them ended when he tried to hit a 5-wood from 228 yards over the water to a back pin position. The ball didn’t make it over the front bank and rolled back into the water. He scrambled for a par and a 70.

All three players in the final group had a chance at birdie to join the playoff.

Graeme McDowell, who led after each of the three rounds, missed a 12-foot putt and shot 73. Hiroshi Iwata of Japan, the mystery guest on a world-class leaderboard, narrowly missed from 8 feet. U.S. Open champion Martin Kaymer hit a wedge that bounded off the green and into the water, leading to double bogey and a 73.

Nick Taylor shoots 66 to win Sanderson Farms Championship

Nick Taylor overcame a four-shot deficit to win the Sanderson Farms Championship, shooting a 6-under 66 for a two-stroke victory over Boo Weekley and Jason Bohn.

The 26-year-old Taylor, the first Canadian winner on the PGA Tour since Mike Weir in 2007, played the front nine in 4 under to pull even with the leaders and took control with birdies on Nos. 13, 14 and 15.

A former University of Washington player from Abbotsford, British Columbia, Taylor three-putted for bogey on No. 18 after taking a three-shot lead into the final hole. He finished at 16-under 272 at the Country Club of Jackson and earned $720,000.

Weekley also had a 66, and Bohn shot 69.

John Rollins had a two-shot lead coming into the final round, but faded with a 73 to tie for fourth.

Mi Hyang Lee wins Mizuno Classic

Mi Hyang Lee of South Korea birdied the fifth hole of a three-way playoff to win the Mizuno Classic for her first LPGA title.

Lee sank a birdie putt to beat compatriot Ilhee Lee and Japan’s Kotono Kozuma. Lee shot 69 in regulation to finish tied at 11-under 205 with Ilhee Lee (70) and Kozuma, who also had a 69 in the final round.

Kozuma made a two-foot par putt on the final playoff hole and Ilhee Lee missed a long birdie putt before Lee secured the win and the $180,000 winner’s prize with a short putt.

Laura Davies, who held a share of the lead after the second round and was bidding to become the oldest winner in LPGA history at 51, had a 71 to finish one stroke back of the leaders.

Karrie Webb of Australia and Morgan Pressel of the United States were also among the group of nine players tied for fourth place.