MIAMI — Steve Stricker and Sean O'Hair captured the QBE Shootout on Sunday, finishing off a wire-to-wire victory with a best-ball eight-under 64 in the final round.
The duo finished two strokes ahead of Graeme McDowell and Shane Lowry to win the 24-player unofficial PGA Tour team event in Naples, Florida.
Pat Perez and Brian Harman placed third, four strokes adrift of O'Hair and Stricker. Lexi Thompson, the lone woman in the event, tied for fourth with her playing partner Tony Finau.
O'Hair and Stricker finished the tournament at the Tiburon Golf Club at 26-under 190. The Americans set the tone in the tournament with a superb 15-under 57 during the opening round scramble.
"We just really jelled well together," Stricker said. "With his length the first day, getting some clubs into the greens, some short irons for me, we just fed off that first day quite a bit. We felt comfortable with one another."
This is the second time both players have won this event — Stricker having won in 2009 with partner Jerry Kelly and O'Hair five years ago with Kenny Perry.
O'Hair and Stricker are the second team paired together for the first time to win the tournament. The first was Brad Faxon and Scott McCarron in 2000. "This is always a great event to finish the year off with and to pull this off is special," O'Hair said.
The 50-year-old Stricker has won a dozen times on the USPGA Tour with his most recent victory coming at the 2012 Tournament of Champions. He captained the US to victory at the Presidents Cup two months ago.
O'Hair has won four times on the Tour with his most recent victory coming six years ago at the Canadian Open.
Sharma wins South African event he nearly missed
Indian Shubhankar Sharma completed his maiden European Tour triumph Monday in Johannesburg by winning the Joburg Open tournament he almost did not compete in. He carded a three-under-par last-round 69 to finish three strokes clear of South African Eric van Rooyen in an event that stretched to five days because of bad weather.
The final round was suspended Sunday due to torrential rain, lightning and hail and resumed Monday at 0730 local time (0530 GMT). Sharma birdied three holes on the outward trek, then parred all the inward-nine holes with immaculate approach shots and putting highlights of his game.
After three bogeys during his opening-round 69 last Thursday, Sharma played 55 holes without dropping a shot and his second-round 61 was the lowest score of the tournament. Visa delays and tiredness after a long Asian Tour campaign left the 21-year-old Indian contemplating missing the tri-sanctioned European Tour, Asian Tour and South African Sunshine Tour event.
His late decision to visit South Africa for the first time paid rich dividends as he pocketed a 2.6 million rand ($190,000/160,000 euro) first prize. Victory also guaranteed Sharma, along with Van Rooyen and joint third Shaun Norris of South Africa, places at the 2018 British Open in Carnoustie next July.
"I am thrilled that I came to the Joburg Open," said Sharma after adding to five victories on the Indian circuit. "It has been a very long Asian Tour season for me so I was considering whether I wanted to visit South Africa. I am really happy that I did."
"This is my first win on the Asian Tour and the European Tour so it means a lot to me," said Sharma."The only thing I was telling myself was to stay aggressive. I never wanted to be defensive. Even when I was in front I never thought of defending my lead. I actually set a target of 25 under."
Van Rooyen quickly became the only final-round threat to Sharma and five outward-nine birdies narrowed the gap to four shots by the turn. But he could add only one further birdie, leaving steady Sharma to succeed one week after compatriot Arjun Atwal finished runner-up in the Mauritius Open. — AFP
