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Molinari runs away with PGA win, sets tournament record

3 min read

Francesco Molinari was torn between Paris and Washington until the last minute.

There was no doubting the decision Sunday afternoon, not with his name on a silver trophy in the shape of the U.S. Capitol, the lowest 72-hole score of his career and a stretch of golf that was close to flawless.

“The thought was just to keep pushing, keep making birdies and don’t give anyone a chance,” Molinari said.

Molinari faced a 15-foot par putt on the ninth hole that he poured into the center of the cup to keep a three-shot lead. He holed a 50-foot eagle putt on the 10th. He hit a 6-iron to 2 feet for birdie on No. 11, one of the hardest par 4s on the PGA Tour which had yielded only one other birdie all day. Three birdies later, he was nine shots clear and on his way to victory in the Quicken Loans National.

Molinari picked the PGA Tour because he was No. 123 in the FedEx Cup and wanted to improve his position, especially after missing the Tour Championship by what amounted to one shot last year.

“Seems like it was the right choice in the end,” he said.

He finished at 21-under 259, breaking the tournament record by seven shots. He won by eight shots over Ryan Armour, matching the largest margin of victory this year on the PGA Tour.

“It was a lot easier than I thought,” Molinari said with a wide grin. “I played great. The start of the back nine was incredible.”

Tiger Woods closed with a 66, his lowest final round in more than five years, and he was never close. Woods tied for fourth, his best result since a runner-up finish at the Valspar Championship three months ago, though he was 10 shots behind.

Toms putts his way to Seniors victory: David Toms made one long putt to take the lead, then another one to preserve it on his way to a one-shot victory Sunday at the U.S. Senior Open.

Toms sank a 15-foot birdie on the par-3 16th hole at the Broadmoor to take the lead, then held on with a 20-foot downhill make after laying up from a fairway bunker on the 17th hole.

Park wins in playoff at LPGA: Sung Hyun Park beat So Yeon Ryu on the second hole of a playoff Sunday in the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship for her second major championship.

After a brief rain delay, Park finished off her South Korean compatriot with a 10-foot birdie putt on the par-4 16th hole at Kemper Lakes.

Noren narrowly wins French Open: Alex Noren won the French Open by one shot on Sunday after a final round 4-under 67.

The Swede started the day seven shots behind compatriot Marcus Kinhult but he birdied two of his last three holes to finish at 7-under 277, just ahead of Scotland’s Russell Knox, England’s Chris Wood and Julian Suri of the United States.

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