Fowler closes out Honda Classic victory

MIAMI — Rickie Fowler, buoyed by a brace of long-range birdie putts, won the US PGA Tour Honda Classic on Sunday with a one-over par 71 in the final round at PGA National. Key birdie putts of 40 feet and 25 feet helped Fowler overcome two tee shots into the water. He started the day with a four-shot lead and with five birdies, four bogeys and a double-bogey finished with a 12-under total of 268 — four strokes ahead of Morgan Hoffmann and Gary Woodland. “My putter saved me,” said Fowler, who was in the water off the tee en route to a double bogey at the sixth, and shockingly in the water again off the tee at 17, where he salvaged a bogey. He dropped another shot at the par-five 18th, where his third shot found a greenside bunker. Despite the ugly ending, the round saw Fowler win for the first time when holding the 54-hole lead on the PGA Tour, after four prior misses. His lead had dwindled before he rolled in a 40-footer at the 12th and a 25-footer at the next, and his advantage was up to five strokes when he birdied 16. “It’s nice to have a cushion when you are playing the last two holes,” Fowler said, adding that the round in breezy conditions wasn’t easy. “To go from yesterday, where it was pretty chill out here, not a whole lot of breeze, and good conditions to just go hit golf shots and pick this golf course apart, today was completely different, a lot of crosswinds,” he said. “This was a tough wind to play this golf course in. And I felt like I hit some good shots that got just on the wrong side of the wind and didn’t come back like I was.” Woodland had applied some early pressure, but he finished with back-to-back bogeys to settle for a 69 and a share of second on 272 alongside Hoffmann, who carded a 68. “I gave myself a lot of chances. Just didn’t get the putts to come in down the stretch,” Woodland said. “But obviously Rickie is playing some great golf. So happy with the way I’m playing and looking forward to next week.” England’s Tyrrell Hatton, who started the day in second place, carded a two-over 72 to finish in a large group sharing fourth on 273. The group also included Venezuela’s Jhonattan Vegas, whose 64 was the best round of the day and included a hole in one at the par-three 15th. Nicklaus says Woods’ status is puzzling Jack Nicklaus says he was “painting a picture” when he suggested after a practice round with Tiger Woods at the 1996 Masters that Woods had the game to win at least 10 green jackets. He referred to Woods as a “puzzle” on Sunday at the Honda Classic. In an interview before making an appearance in the NBC Sports broadcast booth, Nicklaus was raving about the growing number of young players who can win major championships. He said they learned to win because Woods no longer was dominant as he recovered from a litany of injuries. “And now, I don’t know about Tiger,” Nicklaus said. “That is the biggest puzzle to me that I know. I just don’t know where he is and where his mind is. I don’t know.” Woods missed the cut at Torrey Pines in his 2017 debut, then flew halfway around the world to Dubai and withdrew after a 77 with back spasms. Woods withdrew from the Genesis Open at Riviera, hosted by his foundation, and this week’s Honda Classic. He canceled an interview at Riviera, with his agent saying doctors had advised that Woods limit all activities. Nicklaus referenced a quote from Woods’ agent, Mark Steinberg, that a press conference would yield no answers to his health. “I think he’s absolutely right,” Nicklaus said. “You’re going to ask him the same exact questions, it’ll be the same exact answers that he had before. And I think from his standpoint, he’d be tired of answering them.” Nicklaus and Woods long have been linked, from the time Woods posted a chart in his room showing a timeline of Nicklaus achieving various mileposts in Golf, mostly as an amateur. As a professional, Woods was on pace to break Nicklaus’ record 18 majors until his fourth knee surgery in 2008 following the US Open, his 14th and final major. A scandal in his personal life unfolded a year later, followed by more leg injuries and then three back surgeries. Woods has played in only 24 majors since the 2008 US Open. Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer played a practice round with Woods when he was a 20-year-old amateur in 1996. After the round, Nicklaus said Woods was “absolutely the most fundamentally sound golfer that I’ve seen at almost any age.” “Both Arnold and I agree that you could take my Masters and his Masters and add them together and this kid should win more than that,” Nicklaus said that day. Reminded of that comment Sunday, Nicklaus said, “People have quoted that. And I was obviously being a little exaggerating in what I was saying. I was painting a picture that he could win a lot of Masters.” Ailing Day out of WGC Mexico Championship World No. 2 Jason Day has withdrawn from the elite $9.75 million WGC Mexico Championship that tees off on Thursday because of illness. The Australian said on Sunday that he was “truly disappointed” to miss a tournament expected to include the top 50 Golfers in the world at Mexico City. “I have a double ear infection and the flu, which precludes me from preparing for and playing in the tournament,” he said in a statement. “I have heard great things about the Mexico Championship and the Golf course... I look forward to teeing it up there next year.” Day’s 11-month reign atop the world rankings was ended when American Dustin Johnson won the Genesis Open at Riviera Country Club on Feb. 19. Although he won three US PGA Tour titles in 2016, Day spent the last three months of the year rehabbing the back injury that hindered him during the season. — AFP