SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. (AP) - Nathan Smith won the deciding point in the United States’ 17-9 victory over Britain and Ireland in the Walker Cup on Sunday, beating England’s Nathan Kimsey 4 and 3 in the fifth singles match at historic National Golf Links of America.
The United States, ahead 8-4 entering the final day in the biennial amateur event, split the four morning foursomes matches and won seven of the 10 afternoon singles matches.
The U.S. leads the series 35-8-1. In 2011, Britain and Ireland won 14-12 at Royal Aberdeen in Scotland.
The 35-year-old Smith, a four-time U.S. Mid-Amateur champion from Pittsburgh, won the par-3 13th and par-4 14th with pars and ended the match with a halve for bogey on the par-4 15th.
Alabama teammates Bobby Wyatt and Justin Thomas, 45-year-old Todd White, California’s Michael Kim, Oklahoma State’s Jordan Niebrugge and Stanford’s Patrick Rodgers also won singles matches.
England’s Matthew Fitzpatrick and Callum Shinkwin and Ireland’s Kevin Phelan won their singles matches. Fitzpatrick, a freshman at Northwestern, is the U.S. Amateur champion.
The event, first played in 1922 at National Golf Links, is named in honor of former USGA President George Herbert Walker _ President George H.W. Bush’s grandfather and President George W. Bush’s great-grandfather. George W. Bush attended the matches.
CHIQUITA CLASSIC
DAVIDSON, N.C. (AP) _ Andrew Svoboda won the Chiquita Classic, beating Will MacKenzie with a par on the first hole of a playoff in the second tournament in the four-event Web.com Tour Finals series.
Svoboda tapped in for par on the par-5 18th, and won when MacKenzie _ who eagled the hole in regulation _ missed a 5-footer. Svoboda shot a 2-under 70 to match MacKenzie at 12 under. MacKenzie finished with a 67.
Svoboda earned $180,000. The former St. John’s player, the Price Cutter Charity Championship winner last month, had already wrapped up a PGA Tour card by finishing 25th on the Web.com Tour money list.
MacKenzie, 40th on the Web.com money list, made $108,000.
The bulk of the field was made up of players in the top 75 on the Web.com Tour money list and Nos. 126-200 in the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup standings. The top 25 on the Web.com money list are assured PGA Tour cards, while the other players are fighting for 25 additional cards through earnings in the four-event series.
Ben Martin and John Peterson tied for third, a stroke back, Martin shot 68, and Peterson had a 71.
MONTREAL CHAMPIONSHIP
SAINTE-JULIE, Quebec (AP) _ Esteban Toledo won the Montreal Championship for his second Champions Tour victory of the season, chipping in for birdie to beat Kenny Perry on the third extra hole.
The 50-year-old Toledo won the Insperity Championship in May in Texas to become the first Mexican winner in Champions Tour history. He also won that event on the third hole of a playoff, topping Mike Goodes with a par.
Toledo shot a 3-under 69 to match Perry at 5-under 211 on La Vallee du Richelieu’s Rouville Course. Perry, the Senior Players Championship and U.S. Senior Open winner in consecutive tour starts this summer, had a 70.
They each parred the par-4 18th twice in the playoff, and Toledo won on the par-3 10th.
Duffy Waldorf was a stroke back after a 70.
Bernhard Langer, three strokes ahead entering the round, had a 75 to tie for fourth at 3 under with David Frost, Michael Allen and Anders Forsbrand. Frost had a 70, Allen shot 71, and Forsbrand had a 72.
EUROPEAN MASTERS
CRANS-SUR-SIERRE, Switzerland (AP) _ Denmark’s Thomas Bjorn made a 12-foot birdie putt on the first hole of a playoff hole with Scotland’s Craig Lee to win the European Masters.
Bjorn, also the 2011 winner, made his winning putt after Lee’s attempt from 15 feet slide left of the hole on the par-4 18th. Bjorn finished with a 6-under 65 to match Lee at 20-under 264. Lee shot 67.
The 42-year-old Bjorn has 14 career European Tour victories.
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