Hoffman closes with birdie for Texas Open win

SAN ANTONIO — Charley Hoffman, ice-cool on the back nine, took advantage of a last-day collapse by fellow American Ricky Barnes to clinch his fourth PGA Tour victory by one shot at the Texas Open in San Antonio Sunday. Two off the pace overnight, Hoffman bucked a worrying recent trend of carding poor scores in final rounds as he closed with a three-under-par 69 on the challenging Oaks layout at TPC San Antonio. The 39-year-old Californian recorded two birdies early on the back nine to break clear of a congested leaderboard, and then held steady before sinking his winning birdie putt from nine feet at the last to post a 12-under total of 276. Compatriot Patrick Reed, who played with Hoffman in the final round, had to settle for second place as he also signed off with a 69, narrowly missing eight-foot birdie putts on 16 and 17 before finishing up with a birdie at the par-five 18th. Barnes, who carded a five-bogey 74, finished three shots off the pace in a tie for fourth. Hoffman triumphed for the first time on the PGA Tour since landing the 2015 OHL Classic at Mayakoba, and he did so by posting his first sub-73 score in a final round in his last seven tournaments. Ten players were bunched within four shots of the lead heading into the final round and overnight pacesetter Barnes fell back into a tie at the top with Brendan Steele when he bogeyed the par-four first after bunkering his second shot. As Barnes’ title bid evaporated, Hoffman narrowly missed a 10-foot birdie opportunity on 15 that would have put him two strokes clear. He then held his nerve with clutch pars at 16 and 17 before finishing in birdie style by ramming his winning putt home. Nomura takes title Japan’s Haru Nomura shot a one-over par 73 in difficult conditions Sunday to win the LPGA Tour’s Swinging Skirts tournament for her second title of 2016. The 23-year-old Nomura managed to extend her three stroke 54 hole lead as she finished at nine-under 279 to win by four shots over runner-up Lee-Anne Pace of South Africa. She became the third player to record multiple victories this year, joining Jang Ha-Na and Lydia Ko. Nomura posted her first win on the US Tour in February when she captured the Women’s Australian Open crown. Sunday’s Swinging Skirts competitors had to brave windy conditions which included gusts of up to 40 mph (60 km/h) at the Lake Merced Golf Club. Ji Eun-Hee posted the low round Sunday with a two-under 70 as 10 players finished under par for the week, the fewest of any event in 2016. But Nomura did a better job than most of handling the tricky conditions. She made three consecutive bogeys on the front nine to drop her lead to one. But she recovered by draining a 70-footer for birdie at the par three, 12th hole to stretch her lead. Pace, who began the day tied for second, carded a 74 to finish at 283. Gerina Piller, who shot 73 Sunday, and Choi Na-Yeon (75) shared third place at 284. South Korea’s Ryu So-yeon fired a 75 Sunday to take fifth place at 286. Lexi Thompson (71) tied for sixth at 287. Also sharing sixth place were two South Koreans, Jenny Shin (72) and Mi Jung-hur (74), as well as top-ranked Ko of New Zealand (75) and Brooke Henderson of Canada (76). — Agencies