- Associated Press - Sunday, August 18, 2013

PARKER, COLO. (AP) - The Europeans wanted to make history by winning the Solheim Cup on American soil for the first time.

They did even better than that Sunday.

Caroline Hedwall became the first player in Solheim Cup history to win all five of her matches, the last one with a splendid shot to 4 feet for birdie on the 18th for a 1-up win over Michelle Wie that assured Europe of keeping the cup.

More than an hour later, Cristie Kerr and Karine Icher played all the way to the 18th green until conceding each other birdies. That half-point made it 18-10 in favor of Europe, the biggest blowout since the Solheim Cup began in 1990.

And the Europeans did it with six rookies on their team, who combined to go 12-5-2.

Catriona Matthew, at 43 the oldest player on the team, rallied to halve her match against Gerina Piller that gave Europe 14 1/2 points and an outright win in America.

Charley Hull, the youngest player in Solheim Cup history at 17, capped off her amazing week by demolishing Paula Creamer 5 and 4 in a match that set the tone for Europe. Carlota Ciganda handed Morgan Pressel her first lost in singles in four appearances to go 3-0 for the week.

Europe still trails 8-5 in the competition, but this was the first time it has won back-to-back.

Matthew holed the winning the putt, but the Europeans really won Saturday afternoon when they swept the fourballs matches to build a 10 1/2-5 1/2 lead, matching the largest margin going into Sunday.

WYNDHAM CHAMPIONSHIP

Patrick Reed won the Wyndham Championshipfor his first PGA Tour title, beating Jordan Spieth with a birdie on the second hole of a playoff.

Reed recovered from a drive on the par-4 10th that nearly went out of bounds and placed his second shot 7 feet from the pin. Spieth reached the green in two strokes but his 10-foot birdie putt trickled less than an inch wide of the cup. Reed then sank his birdie putt to end it.

Reed earned $954,000 money and 500 FedEx Cup points for winning the final tournament before the playoffs.

Reed and Spieth finished regulation at 14-under 266. Reed closed with a 4-under 66, and Spieth had a 65.

The 20-year-old Spieth, the John Deere winner in a playoff last month, was denied in his bid to become youngest two-time champion in the modern era of the PGA Tour.

John Huh and Brian Harman were two strokes behind. Harman had a 66, and Huh shot 68.

DICK’S SPORTING GOODS OPEN

ENDICOTT, N.Y. (AP) _ Bart Bryant won the Dick’s Sporting Goods Open to becoming the Champions Tour’s 1,000th tournament winner.

Bryant shot a tournament record-tying 10-under 62 in the second round and completed his first victory on the 50-and-over tour with 72. He finished at 16-under 200 to beat Russ Cochran and Corey Pavin by one shot.

For, the 50-year-old Bryant, who won in only his 14th start on the circuit, it was his first victory since winning the 2005 Tour Championship, ending a drought of 7 years, 9 months, 11 days. He also won the 2005 Memorial and the 2004 Valero Texas Open on the PGA Tour.

Cochran closed with a 67, and Pavin shot 69.

U.S. AMATEUR

BROOKLINE, Mass. (AP) _ Matt Fitzpatrick has won the U.S. Amateur, beating Oliver Goss 4 and 3 in the 36-hole final to become the first English champion of the tournament since 1911.

Fitzpatrick won when Goss missed a par putt on No. 15 at The Country Club. The event came on the 100th anniversary of local caddie Francis Ouimet’s U.S. Open victory over British pros Harry Vardon and Ted Ray.

Fitzpatrick earned an exemption for the U.S. Open and British Open and a likely invitation to the Masters. Fitzpatrick was the low amateur at the British Open.

Fitzpatrick, who will be a freshman at Northwestern this fall, had 14-year-old brother Alex as his caddie. Goss used fellow Australian _ and semifinal opponent _ Brady Watt.

NEWS SENTINEL OPEN

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) _ Peter Malnati won the News Sentinel Open for his first Web.com Tour title, birdieing five of the last seven holes for a one-stroke victory.

Malnati, a former University of Missouri player from Dandridge, Tenn., closed with a 5-under 65 for a 16-under 268 total at Fox Den Country Club. He earned $99,000 to jump from 80th to 16th on the money list with $155,917 in seven starts, assuring him of PGA Tour playing privileges in the 2013-14 season.

James White, Miguel Angel Carballo, Matt Bettencourt and Blayne Barber tied for second. White had a 66, Carballo and Bettencourt shot 67, and Barber finished with a 68.

EAGLE CLASSIC

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ Christine Song wrapped up an LPGA Tour card for next season, winning the Eagle Classic for her second Symetra Tour victory of the year.

Song, from Fullerton, Calif., closed with a 1-under 71 in the rain-delayed final round for a three-stroke victory. She finished at 8-under 208 at Richmond Country Club. Song earned $16,500 to jump from 16th to second on the money list with $38,798 with two tournaments left. The final top 10 will earn 2014 LPGA Tour cards.

Copyright © 2024 The Washington Times, LLC.

Please read our comment policy before commenting.

Click to Read More and View Comments

Click to Hide