The PGA tour schedule is gearing up for the U.S. Open Golf Championship in June and this past weekend Bae Sang-moon gave himself some momentum heading into the weeks before facing names like Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy by winning his first PGA Tour event at the Byron Nelson Championship in Irving, Texas.
The South Korean star has won multiple times before on other tourney, but never on the PGA and despite not having bug names like Tiger Woods in attendance, he took the championship. He shot a one under par 69 on the final day of the tournament and was four strokes ahead as he had 11 holes to play but was able to keep up his lead to win. Keegan Bradley was previously in the lead after a record opening round and after winning it in 2011, he couldn't finish things off this time around.
Bae, who had charged four strokes clear with 11 holes to play, fell back into a tie for the lead with overnight pacesetter Keegan Bradley after bogeying the 15th but recovered with a birdie on 16 to post a 13-under total of 267. Bae, the 26-year-old, an 11-time champion on various professional tours in Asia, held his nerve in difficult conditions on a firm, fast-running layout to close with a one-under-par 69 at the TPC Four Seasons Resort Las Colinas.
Bae tightened his grip on the tournament with three consecutive birdies from the fifth, sinking a 22-footer, a five-footer and then two-putting at the par-five seventh to forge four strokes clear at 16 under. Bae's advantage was briefly cut to one after he found the right rough off the tee and a bunker with his approach to bogey the 10th but Bradley faltered with a three-putt bogey at the 11th to slip two behind the Korean.
Bae immediately rebounded with a birdie at the par-five 16th, hitting a spinning wedge to six feet and calmly sinking the putt. Bradley horseshoed out with his birdie attempt from just four feet to hand the Korean a one-stroke advantage.
Bradley's title bid effectively ended at the tricky par-three 17th, where he bogeyed after overshooting the green off the tee.
Two ahead playing the difficult par-four 18th, Bae split the fairway with his drive, then struck a brilliant six-iron to 18 feet to set up a rock-solid par.
"Actually I was a little nervous the last hole but that was not a big thing. I did it. This course was really tough and the winds were very strong but I did very well this week."
(Reuters quotes)