Steve Stricker, who hadn’t finished in the top 10 in his 11 previous trips to Muirfield Village, built a big lead with more flawless golf on the front nine, then relied on his silky putting stroke for two clutch pars to pull out a one-shot victory Sunday at the Memorial in Dublin, Ohio.
He closed with a 4-under-par 68, lagging from 20 feet for a two-putt bogey on the 18th hole. By then, the hard work was over. Stricker saved par from bunkers on the 16th and 17th holes, making putts of 15 feet and 7 feet to go to the last hole with a two-shot lead.
“It wasn’t pretty,” Stricker said to tournament host Jack Nicklaus walking off the 18th green.
Matt Kuchar and Brandt Jobe each closed with a 65 to tie for second.
Stricker, 44, moves to No. 4 in the world ranking and becomes the highest-ranked American for the first time in his career. He won for the 10th time in his career, and the seventh time since he turned around his game five years ago.
LPGA Tour: Brittany Lincicome made a 4-foot birdie putt on the final hole to win the ShopRite LPGA Classic in Galloway Township, N.J., her first victory in two years. Lincicome’s birdie capped a bogey-free 5-under 66 that gave her a one-shot victory over third-ranked Jiyai Shin and No. 4 Cristie Kerr.
– Hall of Famer Betsy King, 55, qualified for the U.S. Women’s Open, finishing second in a 36-hole sectional qualifier in Mesa, Ariz.
Champions Tour: Bob Gilder rolled in a 30-foot birdie putt on No. 18, then watched Mark Brooks bogey the hole, giving Gilder a one-stroke victory in the Principal Charity Classic in West Des Moines, Iowa.
European Tour: Unheralded Swede Alexander Noren took his second European Tour title by winning the Wales Open in Newport, shooting a 1-under 70 for a two-stroke victory.
Nationwide Tour: Steve Wheatcroft ran away with the Melwood Prince George’s County Open in College Park, Md., finishing a staggering 29-under for a tour-record 12-stroke victory.
NCAA championship: Patrick Reed closed out Augusta State’s second straight NCAA title, beating Georgia’s Harris English 2 and 1 in the featured matchup between each team’s top player in Stillwater, Okla.
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