Pádraig Harrington closes with blistering 28 to claim first Champions Tour win of the season
WINNER AGAIN: Padraig Harrington holds the trophy after winning the DICK'S Sporting Goods Open at En-Joie Golf Club in upstate New York. Pic: Getty
Padraig Harrington produced a stunning back nine of 28 shots to become the first Champions Tour player to retain the DICK'S Sporting Goods Open on Sunday, edging Joe Durant by a shot with a final-round 63. His first win of the Champions Tour campaign earned him $315,000 and comes ahead of his defence of the US Senior Open in Wisconsin.
Harrington trailed by five strokes with seven holes to play but made five birdies and an eagle on a blistering finish at En-Joie GC en route to a final-nine 28 and a one-stroke victory in upstate New York. The 51-year-old Dubliner finished on 18-under.
It marks Harrington's first PGA TOUR Champions victory of the season, as he continues strong form that produced a top-30 finish at last week's US Open, into which he gained entry as 2022 US Senior Open champion. Now he'll head into next week's defence with some winning mojo.
Harrington becomes the first player to go back-to-back at the DICK'S Sporting Goods Open, as well. Last year, he finished 16 under for a three-stroke win over Mike Weir and Thongchai Jaidee.
In Munich, South Africa's Thriston Lawrence won his fourth DP World Tour title in the BMW International despite an erratic final round.
Lawrence carded eight birdies, five bogeys and five pars in a closing 69 as he finished 13 under par and overturned a four-shot deficit to Holland's Joost Luiten. Luiten managed just one birdie and three bogeys in a closing 74, crucially missing from two feet for par on the 17th before narrowly failing to convert a long-range birdie attempt on the last to force a play-off.
Lawrence had not recorded a top-10 finish since his previous victory on home soil in December and fought back tears in his post-round interview.
"It means a lot. I'm a bit emotional to be honest," Lawrence told Sky Sports. "I went to America for six weeks, made one cut. This game is not easy. It was a real boost today and I really gave it my all. I feel sorry for Joost, I know how tough this game is.
"I don't know why I'm so emotional but it just shows it means the world and to get my fourth victory in Germany is unbelievable.
"I played really well today and at some stage I didn't think I was going to make a par; it was birdie, bogey, birdie, bogey - you're just taking, giving, taking, giving.
"I saw Joost miss that two-footer on 17 and I know how tough those putts are around these greens. It wasn't easy out there so I feel for him.
"I think that's why I'm emotional as well because I know how tough this game is and everybody wants to win."
Seeking a seventh career victory and a first since 2018, Luiten began the day three shots ahead of compatriot Daan Huizing and recovered from a bogey on the third with a birdie on the fifth.
However, that proved to be his only birdie of the day and a bogey on the seventh was followed by nine straight pars before he three-putted the 17th, the same hole Lawrence had birdied minutes earlier.
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