Reed wins in Mexico City; Hovland first Norwegian champion
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Patrick Reed made it hard for anyone to question his moxie.
A week that began with Brooks Koepka saying he thought Reed cheated when he was penalized for swiping sand in the Bahamas ended with Reed delivering clutch moments down the stretch Sunday to win the Mexico Championship.
Then again, Reed always seems to be at his best when it feels as though the world is against him.
Two shots behind with four holes to play, Reed ran off three straight birdies to overtake a faltering Bryson DeChambeau, closing with a 4-under 67 for his second World Golf Championships title.
Reed made it interesting in the end with a wild tee shot into the trees on the 18th hole at Chapultepec Golf Club, forcing him to chip back to the fairway. He had to two-putt from 35 feet for eighth victory of his PGA Tour career.
In a wild final round in which five players had a share of the lead — and four were tied heading for the back nine — DeChambeau appeared to seize control with five birdies in a six-hole stretch starting at No. 9.
Everyone around him faltered — Justin Thomas, Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, Erik van Rooyen — everyone but Reed, who played bogey-free until he only needed a bogey to win.
DeChambeau failed to birdie the par-5 15th, missed the green on the 16th with a pin in a bowl that made birdies accessible, and then three-putted from long range on the 17th. He shot 65.
Reed never flinched with so much going on around him, on and off the golf course.
He has yet to shake whispers on the tour and heckling from the gallery over the Hero World Challenge in December, when video caught him twice swiping away sand behind his ball in a waste area in the Bahamas. Reed accepted the two-shot penalty and said a different camera angle would have shown his club wasn’t as close to the ball as it looked.
Koepka became the strongest voice during an interview Monday with SiriusXM in the Bay Area while he was previewing his title defense at the PGA Championship in May.
Reed finished at 18-under 266 and moved to No. 8 in the world.
PGA TOUR
RIO GRANDE, Puerto Rico (AP) — Viktor Hovland won the Puerto Rico Open to become the first Norwegian winner in PGA Tour history, chipping in for eagle on the par-5 15th and racing in a 30-footer for birdie on the par-5 18th for a one-stroke victory over Josh Teater.
Hovland overcame a muddy triple bogey on the par-3 11th with the late surge at windy Coco Beach. The 22-year-old former Oklahoma State star shot a 2-under 70 to finish at 20-under 268.
Teater closed with a 69 for a career-best second. He rebounded from bogeys on Nos. 10 and 11 with birdies on 15 and 17 in the tournament played opposite the World Golf Championship event in Mexico.
Hovland earned $540,000, a full tour exemption through the 2021-22 season and spots in the PGA Championship and The Players Championship. He won in his 17th start on the tour.
Hovland shot a 64 on Saturday to take a one-stroke lead into the final round. He earned a PGA Tour card last year in the Korn Ferry Tour Finals after winning the 2018 U.S. Amateur at Pebble Beach, then sweeping low amateur honors at the Masters and U.S. Open.
Kyle Stanley, Sam Ryder and Emiliano Grillo tied for third at 15 under.
OTHER TOURS
Australian amateur Stephanie Kyriacou turned a two-shot lead into an eight-shot runaway by closing with a 7-under 65 to win the Australian Ladies Classic Bonville on the Ladies European Tour. The 19-year-old from Sydney won by eight over Ayean Cho, who is 35th in the women’s world ranking. … Anthony Quayle closed with a 2-under 70 and beat Australian amateur Jack Thompson with a par on the first playoff hole to win the Isuzu Queensland Open on the PGA Tour of Australasia. It was Quayle’s first professional victory. … Garrick Higgo closed with a 6-under 66 for a one-shot victory over Haydn Porteous in the Tour Championship on the Sunshine Tour. JC Ritchie tied for 32nd, but still won the Order of Merit.
