NAPLES, Fla. — Sahith Theegala made a 15-foot birdie putt on the ultimate gap Sunday as he and Tom Hoge closed with a 10-under 62 in fourballs and have become the primary rookie staff to win the QBE Shootout in 11 years.
Ryan Palmer and Charley Hoffman every missed birdie putts from about 12 ft at Tiburon Golf Membership that may have pressured a playoff. They’d a 65.
Theegala was coming off a robust PGA Tour rookie season during which he reached the Tour Championship and twice had possibilities to win going to the ultimate gap of tournaments.
The QBE Shootout is an unofficial occasion, however he stated it nonetheless felt good to win.
“It is good to get a style of victory as a result of it is so exhausting out right here,” Theegala stated.
Hoge, who received his first PGA Tour title at Pebble Seashore in February, carried a lot of the load early when Theegala pulled a muscle in his left aspect on the primary gap. By the top of the day, Theegala stated it felt higher and he was capable of take fuller swings.
They nonetheless needed to deal with Palmer and Hoffman, particularly on the finish. Palmer’s chip up a steep slope on the par-5 seventeenth gap did not rise up the hill and got here again to him. Stepping up rapidly for the following shot, he drilled it into the cup for an unlikely birdie that gave his staff a share of the lead.
Harris English and Matt Kuchar, making an attempt to win the QBE Shootout for the fourth time, completed 2 photographs behind after a 62.
Max Homa and Kevin Kisner had a 63 and completed fourth.
The highest LPGA Tour participant was Nelly Korda, who teamed with Denny McCarthy for a 62 to tie for fifth.
