Robert Streb beats Kevin Kisner in playoff to win RSM Classic

Robert Streb made an 8-foot par putt to stay alive in a playoff and ended it on the second extra hole Sunday with a pitching wedge that came an inch from going in, giving him a victory over Kevin Kisner in the RSM Classic.

Streb won for the second time on the PGA Tour, his other title also coming in a playoff at Sea Island six years ago.

He rallied from a five-shot deficit in 2014. This time, he lost a three-shot lead until a 6-iron to 12 feet on the par-3 17th hole for a birdie that allowed him to close with a 2-under 68 and force extra holes.

Kisner, whose first of of three PGA Tour titles came at Sea Island in 2015, closed with a 63.

They finished at 19-under 263, one shot ahead of Cameron Tringale (62).

Kisner had the advantage on the 18th hole on the Seaside course for the first playoff hole. His approach caught a good bounce and left him a 15-foot birdie putt, while Streb drove into the bunker, couldn’t reach the green and his pitch from about 30 yards away still came up some 8 feet short.

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Kisner missed, and Streb rolled in his par putt. They returned to the 18th again, and Streb had a flyer lie in the rough left of the fairway. He went with pitching wedge from 158 yards expecting it to come out hot, and it did. It was close to perfect, the ball landing softly and rolling just over the left edge of the cup.

Kisner’s tee shot settled in the Bermuda rough to the right of the fairway, and his approach bounded over the green. Knowing his chip had to go in, he ran it some 20 feet by and holed that for a meaningless par with Streb inches away.

The victory came at just the right time for Streb, who had to return to the Korn Ferry Tour Finals more than a year ago just to regain full status on the tour. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic that shut down golf for three months, no one lost his current status. Streb missed out on the PGA Tour postseason again, but kept his card.

Now he has a two-year exemption through the end of August 2023, and he returns to the Masters in April.

LPGA Tour

BELLEAIR, Fla. — Sei Young Kim won the Pelican Women’s Championship for her second straight victory, closing with an even-par 70 for a three-stroke victory over Ally McDonald.

The KPMG Women’s PGA winner way back on Oct. 11 in her last start, the second-ranked Kim won for the 12th time on the LPGA Tour to break a tie for third on the South Korean victory list with Jiyai Shin, behind only Inbee Park (20) and Se Ri Pak (25).

The 27-year-old Kim is the first player to follow her first major victory with a win in her next start since Ariya Jutanugarn in 2016 in the Women’s British Open and CP Women’s Open.

Kim finished at 14-under 266 at Pelican Golf Club in the first-year tournament originally set for the same week as the PGA Championship in May.

McDonald birdied the last for a 68. She was coming a victory in the Drive On Championship-Reynolds Lake Oconee in Georgia, her first on the tour.

Top-ranked Jin Young Ko tied for 34th at 3 over after a 71 in her first LPGA Tour event of the year. No. 1 in the world for the last 68 weeks, she was home in South Korea since the COVID-19 pandemic.

European Tour

JOHANNESBURG — Joachim B. Hansen of Denmark overturned a three-shot deficit with nine holes remaining to win his first European Tour title at the Joburg Open

Wilco Nienaber of South Africa took a one-stroke lead into the final round at Randpark Golf Club and extended his advantage to three with three birdies early in the round.

Hansen birdied the 10th, 12th and 14th holes to get into a tie for the lead before Nienaber bogeyed the 17th after almost finding the water to the left of the green.

Nienaber then dropped a shot on the last as Hansen saved par from a greenside bunker to seal a two-shot victory.