Page 18 - ARUBA TODAY

A18 SPORTS
Tuesday 4 July 2017
Quicken Loans ifiers were Stanley, Howell
and Martin Laird of Scot-
Continued from Page 17 land, who closed with a 67.
He tied for third at 5 under
Stanley and Howell began 11-foot par putt. Stanley with Rickie Fowler, who
the day four shots off the chipped to 5 feet and shot a 65.
lead, playing together in pumped his fist as the putt Fowler embraced his role
the fourth-to-last group. dropped. as the tournament’s star
Stanley got into the mix Stanley’s previous win attraction, making a ca-
with birdies on the fifth, came in 2012 at the Phoe- reer-best nine birdies, but
sixth and eight holes, none nix Open. Later that year, he lamented the one hole
of the putts longer than 10 he was ranked a career- that got away — the easy
feet. best 47th in the world. He 14th, where his drive found
Howell nudged ahead mo- declined steadily after the water and he made
mentarily with a 27-footer that, bottoming out at No. double bogey.
for eagle on the short par- 683 in May 2015. Howell, who hadn’t played
4 14th, only for Stanley to Even before this week, he Kyle Stanley sinks the winning putt on the 18th green of the play- in more than two months
match him with a two-putt was having his strongest off, during the Quicken Loans National golf tournament, Sunday, because of a rib injury,
birdie. season since that 2012 July 2, 2017, in Potomac, Md. notched his 16th career
Both parred the final four campaign, with four top-10 Associated Press runner-up finish. He hasn’t
holes to shoot 4-under 66s finishes and three missed were bigger, the course “It was so unfortunate,” won in 10 years and never
and finish at 7 under, and cuts in 19 starts. was softer and chaos broke Kang said. “There was a imagined he’d come so
no one could catch them. For three days, the event out. Then it started pouring. zero percent chance of close this week.
Howell had a 21-foot putt had been a staid affair, A pop-up storm temporar- rain today and it was rain- “Going into this week I was
to win on the final hole of with a lackluster field, ily soaked TPC Potomac ing so hard.” extremely rusty,” Howell
regulation that rolled over small galleries and steady, and doomed the chances His consolation prize was said. “I really can’t believe
the left edge of the cup. sometimes dull golf from of Sung Kang, who didn’t qualifying for his first British how well I played.”
Playing the par-4 18th David Lingmerth, who led pack any rain gear in his Open. The top four play- Lingmerth coughed up
again in the playoff, both after each of the first three bag and missed a 4-foot ers who weren’t already the lead immediately with
missed their tee shots to rounds. Tournament host Ti- birdie putt in the heart of exempt earned spots, and a bogey on the first hole.
the right, with Stanley get- ger Woods did not attend the downpour just before Kang, who finished in an His chances ended when
ting lucky to draw a good while he seeks treatment play was stopped for 5 min- eight-way tie for fifth, got he pulled his drive on the
lie. Both missed the green. for his use of prescription utes. When play resumed, the final berth because of punishing par-4 11th into a
Howell’s chip came up drugs. he hit his tee shot into the his world ranking. hazard and made double
short and he missed the On Sunday, the crowds water on the par-3 17th. The other British Open qual- bogey. q