PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. (AP) — Rory McIlroy played a game nearly as magnificent as the Pebble Beach scenery Sunday as he powered his way past a pack of contenders and closed with a 6-under 66 for a two-shot victory in the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.
McIlroy is one of the top attractions in golf, which only added to the appeal of the surprising sunshine and crashing surf at America’s most famous coastal golf course. And just like that, a sleepy start to the PGA Tour season had some life to it.
On a day when six players had at least a share of the lead, McIlroy took the top spot for good with an 18-foot birdie putt on the 10th hole into a stiff breeze along the Pacific. He effectively ended the drama with a towering drive and a 7-iron into the 571-yard 14th hole, setting up an eagle putt from just outside 25 feet.
Shane Lowry fell out of a share for the lead when he sent his second shot over a cliff to the right of the par-5 sixth. But he shot 31 on the back nine, including a birdie on the final hole for a 68 that gave him second place alone.
Lucas Glover (67) and Justin Rose (68) were another shot behind. Sepp Straka, who started the final round with a one-shot lead, had a 72 and tied for seventh.
Scottie Scheffler, the world’s No. 1 player whose season was delayed by minor hand surgery from punctured glass while making ravioli, closed with a 67 and tied for ninth.
McIlroy won his second signature event — he won at Quail Hollow last year — to earn $3.6 million. He finished at 21-under 267, one shot to par away from the tournament record. McIlroy won for the 27th time on the tour and is 21st on the career victory list.
LPGA Tour
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — A Lim Kim responded to a late charge by Nelly Korda with three birdies on her final four holes for a 5-under 67 and a two-shot victory in the LPGA Tour season opener at the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions.
Korda, coming off her seven-win season, holed a 3-foot birdie putt on the par-5 15th to tie for the lead. Kim was in the final group behind her and matched the birdie to regain the lead, and she added birdies at the 16th and 18th holes.
Korda closed with a 65 at Lake Nona to start her season with a runner-up finish.
Kim, a 29-year-old South Korean best known for her 2020 U.S. Women’s Open title at Champions Golf Club in Houston during the COVID-19 pandemic, now has three LPGA titles. This was her second straight win in which she never trailed after any round, having done the same in Hawaii last year.
She finished at 20-under 268 and won $300,000.
European tour
AL MAZROWIAH, Bahrain (AP) — English golfer Laurie Canter captured a second title on the European tour by beating Pablo Larrazabal and Daniel Brown in a playoff to win the Bahrain Championship.
The No. 89-ranked Canter made birdie at No. 18 — the first playoff hole — while both Larrazabal and Brown failed to even make par.
Canter, who is back on the European tour after a spell on the breakaway LIV Golf circuit, also won the European Open in June last year.
Canter shot 69 in the final round while Larrazabal, who three-putted the 18th hole for bogey, and Brown each closed with a 70.
Asian Tour
GURUGRAM, India (AP) — Ollie Schniederjans won for the first time in nearly 10 years when the American closed with a 3-under 69 for a four-shot victory over U.S. Open champion Bryson DeChambeau in the International Series India on the Asian Tour.
Schniederjans, a former No. 1 amateur, had surgery on both hips in 2022. He narrowly missed out on joining LIV Golf when he finished fourth in its qualifying tournament. That at least earned his a spot in the International Series.
Players went to a shotgun start to complete the third round and play the entire fourth round Sunday because of fog delays at DLF Golf and Country Club.
DeChambeau closed with a 65 to finish second ahead of his 2025 LIV debut next week in Saudi Arabia. Joaquin Niemann, the 36-hole leader, finished with three straight bogeys to close out his third round and closed with a 71. He tied for third with Abraham Ancer (72).
Korn Ferry Tour
PANAMA CITY, Panama (AP) — Josh Teater won The Panama Championship for his second career Korn Ferry Tour title, overcoming a six-stroke deficit with a 5-under 65 in breezy conditions in a two-stroke victory.
The 45-year-old Teater finished at 9-under 271 at Panama Golf Course. He also won the 2009 Utah Championship, with the gap between victories the second-longest in tour history.
Third-round lead Johnny Keefer had a 73 to tie for second with Dylan Wu and Nick Gabrelcik. Wu and Gabrelcik each shot 70.
Other tours
Blake Proverbs closed with a 7-under 64 and defeated Jason Norris (63) in a playoff to win the Webex Players Series Murray River on the PGA Tour of Australasia. ... Daniel von Tonder finished off a wire-to-wire victory with a 5-under 67 for a two-shot victory in the MyGolfLife Open on the Sunshine Tour in South Africa.
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The Associated Press
