Day of firsts for Jacobson

FREDRIK JACOBSON accomplished a lot of firsts on Sunday.

The Swede played in his first final group on the PGA Tour, won his first title on the tour, and gave his five-year-old daughter her first trophy.

Jacobson shot a four-under 66 in the Travelers Championship for a one-stroke victory over John Rollins and Ryan Moore, becoming the first international winner of the tournament since Greg Norman in 1995.

Jacobson said he promised Emmie that he would get her a trophy like the ones she saw other players holding up on television.

“It’s been haunting me,” Jacobson said. “I’ve been on the board, I’ve been asked so many times from the kids, ‘Did you get a trophy this week daddy? Did you get a trophy this week?’ Nope, no trophy. So, I’m excited about that. I’m glad I’m not breaking that promise for her.”

Jacobson, a 36-year-old who joined the tour eight years ago and has three European Tour victories, had just one bogey in the tournament and finished at 20 under, two shots off the course record.

“I was hitting so many fairways,” said Jacobson, who tied for 14th last week in the US Open at Congressional. “It started clicking the end of last week. The last two days I struck the ball the best I ever have at the US Open.”

Jacobson hit all 28 fairways over the weekend.

Rollins and Moore closed with 63s. Moore missed a four-foot par putt on 18.

“I’m not beating myself up over that putt,” Moore said. “That happens in golf. It was a pretty simple left-centre putt, and I pushed it right into the middle of the hole and it just slipped by the side.”

Patrick Cantlay, the 19-year-old UCLA star who had a 60 on Friday to break the tour record for an amateur, finished at 11 under after weekend rounds of 72 and 70.

He arrived to a loud ovation on the 18th green, but bogeyed the hole.

“I just learned what it’s like to have a week on the PGA Tour, to make the cut and to compete with all the guys,” said Cantlay, the lowest amateur at Congressional. “This was just my second go around and it was a lot of fun. The ovations are special every time.”

Michael Thompson, a 31-year-old who came out of qualifying school this season, shot the best round of the day, a 62, including a 29 on the back nine. He finished fourth at 18 under.

“It was very exciting, especially this being my dream to play on the PGA Tour,” he said.

Jacobson was trying to become the first player since Lee Trevino in the 1974 Greater New Orleans Open to play 72 holes without a bogey.

And he almost did it.

He had 63 consecutive bogey-free holes before running into problems on the par-four 10th. His second shot went right, ending up resting against the cart path, but after taking relief and pitching onto the green, he couldn’t make a 12-foot putt for par.

Jacobson’s second shot on 18 stopped about 14 feet away, leaving him with an easy two-putt for the win.

He said it was a lot less pressure to play from in front, after ending the third round with a one-stroke lead.

“I’ve been the chaser many times being within a few shots, and it’s a pretty stressful situation where you go for a lot of shots, try to make those putts to close the gaps to where you feel you can get into that rhythm,” he said. “So I thought today, it’s not for me to stress.”