Page 18 - ARUBA TODAY

A18 SPORTS
Monday 15 May 2017
Si Woo Kim becomes youngest winner of Players Championship

DOUG FERGUSON Poulter, who only two ished in a tie for 41st.
AP Golf Writer weeks ago was spared It was the worst finish by a
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. his full PGA Tour status be- 54-hole leader in tourna-
(AP) — Si Woo Kim of South cause of a clerical over- ment history, a record that
Korea became the young- sight, was the only player previously belonged to
est winner of The Play- to seriously challenge Kim Graeme McDowell (2011)
ers Championship with a until he ran out of holes. and Alex Cejka (2009),
game and nerves well be- He pushed his approach to who both shot 79.
yond his 21 years. the 18th so far to the right Holmes wasn’t alone. De-
On a TPC Sawgrass course that it caromed off hospi- fending champion Jason
where anything can go tality tents and bounced Day closed with an 80,
wrong without notice, Kim off a cart path into a pal- keeping very much in tact
was the only player to go metto bush. He took a pen- the streak of no winner
bogey-free Sunday and alty drop, then hit wedge ever repeating in the Play-
closed with a 3-under 69 over the trees and nearly ers. Rickie Fowler, who won
for a three-shot victory in holed it, tapping in for par. the year before, closed
golf’s biggest tournament Poulter, who had gone 39 with a 79.
this side of the majors. holes without a bogey un- As for the winner? That was
He also managed to take til a crucial one at No. 12, rarely in doubt over the
all the suspense from the closed with a 71. He tied for back nine. Even though
TPC Sawgrass. second with Louis Oosthui- Kim only hit eight greens
All that could stop him was zen (73). in regulation, he went six
the final two holes, when There was plenty of excite- straight holes on the back
Kim had a two-shot lead ment Sunday. without facing a par putt
and faced a tee shot to Rafa Cabrera Bello of Spain over 2 feet. Kim bumped a
an island green, and then hit 8-iron that bounded off fairway metal to just over 3
a closing hole with water the side of a bunker and feet on the final hole and
all the way down the left into the cup for an alba- rapped in the par putt to
side. Kim hit the 17th green tross 2 on the par-5 16th. He Si Woo Kim of South Korea, hold The Players Championship Tro- being the celebration.
phy, Sunday, May 14, 2017, in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.
and two-putted from 45 followed that with a bird- Associated Press “I still can’t believe I’m the
feet, and he smashed an- ie on the 17th, and then champion, and I’m the
other drive right down the holed a long par putt from The other co-leader was until bogeys on the 14th youngest champion,” Kim
middle. just off the 18th green. That J.B. Holmes, and it was a and 15th holes. And then said. “I’m looking forward
The only drama at the end gave him a 70 and a tie horror show for the Ken- it turned ugly. He hit too to working hard from now
came from Ian Poulter, for fourth with Kyle Stanley, tuckian. shots into the water on the on.” Kim said he wasn’t
who was happy just to be a co-leader after 54 holes Holmes shot 40 on the front 17th and make a quintu- nervous because of his vic-
here. who shot 75. nine and still had hope ple-bogey 8, then finished tory last year in the Wynd-
with a double bogey to ham Championship, which
close with an 84. gave him a two-year ex-
He was tied for the lead at emption on the PGA Tour.
the start of the day and fin- q
France’s Celine

Boutier wins first
Located in the Riu Antilles Resort (Formerly the Westin Resort)
FREE TRANSPORTATION TO THE CASINO FROM ALL
HIGH RISE AND LOW RISE HOTELS AND TIMESHARES. Symetra Tour title
CALL 525-7777 FOR MORE INFORMATION
LIVE POKER GREENWOOD, S.C. (AP) The Links at Stoney Point.
earned
$30,000
— France’s Celine Boutier Boutier
beat Paola Moreno on to jump from 20th to sec-
GAMES START 8 PM TO THE WEE HOURS the first extra hole Sunday ond on the money list with
to win the Self Regional $39,295 in six events in her
Healthcare Foundation rookie season. The final
1-2.....2-5......5-5 1-3.....2-5......5-5 Women’s Health Classic for top 10 will earn LPGA Tour
$100 HIGH HAND BONUSES EVERY HOUR her first Symetra Tour title. cards. “I’m a little surprised
OVER $20,000 PER WEEK GIVEN OUT IN HIGH HAND BONUSES Boutier birdied the par-5 it happened this early in
18th in the playoff, and the season, but I am super
CRAPS Moreno made a bogey. excited about it,” Boutier
“I’m just pretty relieved said. “I tried during the
ONLY CASINO IN ARUBA TO OFFER 3, 4 & 5 TIME ODDS that the playoff is over. It playoff not to think about
was pretty stressful for me,” the consequences and
the 23-year-old former the big picture of a win. I
SPORTSBOOK Duke player said. “I’m re- just stuck to one shot at a
ally proud of how I handled time and didn’t think about
LIVE SIMULCAST OF ALL MAJOR TRACKS the pressure this week.” what a win would mean.”
THROUGHOBRED AND HARNESS Boutier closed with an Moreno had a 74 after tak-
even-par 72 to match ing a two-stroke lead into
Moreno at 10-under 278 at the final round.q