Wyndham Clark wins after Pebble Beach golf pro-am shortened to 54 holes due to weather
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Wyndham Clark of the United States playing his shot from the 14th tee during the Pebble Beach Pro-Am, on Feb 3.
PHOTO: AFP
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CALIFORNIA – Wyndham Clark is the winner of the Pebble Beach Pro-Am, after the tournament was shortened to 54 holes due to weather conditions in Northern California.
The final round was postponed on Feb 4 due to inclement weather and safety concerns on the course. But plans to play the final 18 holes on Feb 5 were changed the previous night due to more poor weather on the way.
The decision by the PGA Tour Rules Committee made Clark the winner with a 17-under 199 through three rounds. It is the 30-year-old’s third career PGA Tour victory.
He captured his first last May at the Wells Fargo Championship, then struck again in June for his first Major at the US Open.
Clark shot a course-record 60 on Feb 3 to move into the lead.
“The storm affecting the Monterey Peninsula throughout the day on Sunday is forecast to continue into the early hours of Monday with very strong winds,” a statement by the committee said.
“Although conditions are forecast to improve through the morning Monday, after consultation with Monterey County emergency authorities, who have implemented a Shelter in Place order until early tomorrow morning for the greater Pebble Beach community, and out of an abundance of caution for the safety of all constituents, there will be no play on Monday.
“Therefore, in accordance with the PGA Tour Regulations the tournament results will be final through the conclusion of 54 holes.”
Sweden’s Ludvig Aberg finished one shot back of Clark. Frenchman Matthieu Pavon was two shots back. Mark Hubbard and second-round co-leader Thomas Detry tied for fourth at 202.
The course was closed to all volunteers and spectators on Feb 4 because of rains and a forecast of hurricane-force winds.
Meanwhile, in the LIV Golf Mayakoba season-opener, Chile’s Joaquin Niemann sank a birdie putt on the fourth play-off hole to defeat Spaniard Sergio Garcia to triumph in the dark on Feb 4 in Playa del Carmen, Mexico.
After Niemann missed a birdie putt to win outright on the final hole of regulation, he and Garcia replayed the par-four 18th hole at El Camaleon Golf Course and made par three times over.
With light fading fast, Niemann asked Garcia, “Play one more?” and the 2017 Masters champion agreed.
Niemann posted a final round of one-under 70 while Garcia fired a 66 to force sudden death with both tied on 12-under.
Newcomer Jon Rahm and Legion XIII locked up the team victory in their LIV debut. They finished 24 under for the week, four shots ahead of Bryson DeChambeau’s Crushers GC.
Rahm, who left the PGA Tour in the off-season, finished joint-third with South Africa’s Dean Burmester on 10 under in the individual event. Both closed with 70s.
Rahm said: “It’s very nice, in a day in which in any normal tournament I probably would have been upset at my (bogey-bogey) finish, to actually have something to celebrate...
“That is one of the big reasons why I decided to transition, to share the stage with those three guys and compete for something else is what it’s all about. It means a lot.” REUTERS
