Brooks Koepka proved himself human after all in the final round at the Tour Championship on Sunday when he was comprehensively outplayed by winner Rory McIlroy in Atlanta.
Four weeks after schooling McIlroy in the final round at the WGC-St. Jude Invitational, the northern Irishman got his revenge and then some at East Lake.
McIlroy shot four-under 66, six strokes better than Koepka, to clinch the tournament and the $15 million payout as FedEx Cup season-long champion.
"Just one of those days where you don't feel comfortable," world number one Koepka told reporters after finishing equal third, five shots behind McIlroy.
"This week, just didn't get it done. I don't think I was going to beat Rory today, even if I had it."
Usually machine-like and impervious to pressure, Koepka hit several wayward drives, including one pulled deep into the woods on the seventh hole that resulted in a lost ball.
The American's putting also betrayed him down the stretch, as he missed a three-footer, a four-footer and a six-footer in quick succession to run up three straight bogeys.
"Those three putts I missed kind of took the air out of everything," Koepka said.
His season will still go down as a great one, due primarily to his major record -- victory at the PGA Championship and runnerup finishes at the Masters and U.S. Open.
But Sunday's result will give his rivals, most notably McIlroy, confidence that he is beatable.
"I mean, I can't bring it every day," Koepka said, something his peers were starting to wonder about.
(Reporting by Andrew Both in Cary, North Carolina; Editing by Ian Ransom)
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*Northern Irishman wins by four shots
*Clinches FedEx Cup for second time
*Collects biggest prize in golf history
Victory at the Tour Championship in Atlanta on Sunday will not completely erase the disappointment of a futile season at the majors for Rory McIlroy, but it may be worth far more than the $15 million he received for winning the FedEx Cup.
The confidence gained from playing his best on a big stage and beating nemesis Brooks Koepka can only help his self-belief after a disappointing final round when paired with Tiger Woods at the same event last year.
The Northern Irishman emphatically outdueled Americans Koepka and Xander Schauffele with a closing four-under 66 at East Lake en route to the biggest prize in the sport.
He finished at 18-under, four shots ahead of Schauffele to claim the season-long FedEx Cup for the second time on the PGA Tour, after his 2016 win.
It was a sweet stroll up the final hole for McIlroy, who last year had to endure the walk alongside a victorious Woods as the heaving gallery chanted, "Tiger, Tiger."
This time, chants of "Rory, Rory" rang out from the crowd.
"I must say I didn't enjoy that walk last year like everyone else did," McIlroy said. "I never took the fight to Tiger.
"It's amazing how different things can be in a year."
McIlroy took the fight to Koepka just four weeks after being given a lesson by the American when they were paired in the final round at a World Golf Championships event in Memphis.
"Going up against the number one player in the world today, he got one over me in Memphis and I wanted to get some revenge," McIlroy said.
"To play like that alongside Brooks, get the win, win the FedEx Cup, it's awesome."
Schauffele shot a closing 70, while Koepka was unusually error-prone in a 72 to tie for third with Justin Thomas, five shots behind.
McIlroy, who teed off one stroke behind Koepka, hit the ball long and straight as he split fairway after fairway.
Koepka, on the other hand, was often wayward. At the par-four seventh he lost a ball after hooking a tee shot into the trees and took a double-bogey.
McIlroy picked up three shots there with a birdie and from that point Schauffele was his main challenger.
The Northern Irishman opened the door slightly with bogeys at the 14th and 15th holes, but slammed it shut again with a clutch eight-foot par putt at the 16th.
THIRD WIN
McIlroy's third win of the year followed triumphs at the Players Championship and Canadian Open.
His major results were disappointing, however, particularly a missed cut at the British Open in his homeland at Royal Portrush.
"To win three times is awesome," he said.
"I feel like I could have won more but to win the FedEx cup again, to persist the whole way throughout the year, to keep giving myself chances, even when I was getting knocked back and not be denied, I'm very proud of myself."
The Tour Championship used a staggered scoring system for the first time, based on accumulated points.
Hence, top seed Thomas started at 10-under, the second seed at eight-under and so on down to even par for the 26th-to-30th ranked players in the field.
This was done to ensure that the winner of the season-long FedEx Cup points race and the winner of the Tour Championship were guaranteed to be the same person.
Fifth seed McIlroy, who started on five-under, shot the best score of the field anyway, 13-under-par 267.
"My goal was to shoot the lowest score of the week," he said.
Mission accomplished.
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There will be no defending champion at next week's Tour Championship after Tiger Woods failed to qualify for the season-ending event.
Only the top 30 players on the PGA Tour's FedEx Cup points list are eligible to play at East Lake in Atlanta, where $15 million will be up for grabs for the winner.
Woods needed to place about sixth at the BMW Championship on Sunday to qualify, but he tied for 37th at Medinah, a distant 18 strokes behind winner Justin Thomas.
Apart from his win at the Masters for his 15th major title, Woods had a relatively quiet season, which petered out without a whimper amid physical and emotional fatigue.
"The rest of the tournaments I didn't really play as well as I wanted to, but at the end of the day, I'm the one with the green jacket," he told reporters on Sunday.
Still, Woods will be disappointed not to get a chance to return to the scene of one of the most memorable victories of his career.
Successfully returning last year from major back surgery, he ended a five-year drought with his two-stroke win at East Lake, the 80th of his PGA Tour career, which was at the time just two shy of Sam Snead's all-time mark.
(Reporting by Andrew Both in Cary, North Carolina; editing by Tony Lawrence/Greg Stutchbury)
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Justin Thomas faltered in the final round at the BMW Championship on Sunday but held on for an ultimately comfortable three-stroke victory at Medinah in suburban Chicago.
He carded a closing four-under 68 to finish on a 25-under-par total of 263, while fellow American Patrick Cantlay shot a 65 for second place on 22-under.
Thomas started the day with a six-shot advantage but when he bogeyed the 10th hole, after almost hitting his second out of bounds, the lead over Cantlay was down to two.
But Thomas steadied with clutch play over the next three holes, twice holing putts of around 12 feet to re-establish his authority.
"Patrick made that very interesting," a relieved Thomas said.
"I hit the ball so bad to start the day. I made it hard on myself because usually I'm pretty good at hitting fairways and greens and I couldn't hit a fairway ... but I stayed patient and that birdie on 11 was huge.
"I was really nervous today. It's hard to play with the lead. I was enjoying it, though."
The victory was the 10th of his PGA Tour career but the first this year in what has been an injury-interrupted season. Thomas hurt his wrist in March and took six weeks off to rest.
"I'd forgotten how hard it was to win," said the 26-year-old former world number one.
"This game is so hard, you don't know how often things like this are going to happen.
"It's not like I've been playing bad. I would argue I've played just as well this year as any other year. It's a very humbling and tough game and I learned to respect it and be patient."
The result means Thomas is the number one seed at next week's season-ending Tour Championship in Atlanta.
The top 30 players on the PGA Tour's FedEx Cup points list qualified for the event, where the winner at East Lake will collect $15 million.
For the first time the tournament will use a staggered start based on players' position in the points race, with Thomas starting at 10-under-par.
The qualifiers ranked 26th to 30th will begin at even par.
Three players who started the BMW Championship outside the top 30 in the standings snuck into the Tour Championship -- Japan's Hideki Matsuyama and Americans Lucas Glover and Jason Kokrak.
Matsuyama has never missed a Tour Championship since joining the tour in 2014.
Missing out was Ireland's British Open champion Shane Lowry, along with Americans Andrew Putnam and Harold Varner III.
There will be no defending champion at East Lake, as Tiger Woods did not qualify after finishing equal 37th on Sunday.
(Reporting by Andrew Both in Cary, North Carolina; editing by Tony Lawrence/Peter Rutherford)
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WASHINGTON -- Tiger Woods said Wednesday he feels "way better" after withdrawing last week with an oblique strain, but major concerns remain around the 15-time major winner entering the BMW Championship.
The most important worry for Woods starting Thursday at Medinah in suburban Chicago, seeking his first victory since capturing the Masters in April, is to play his way into next week's season-ending US PGA Tour Championship in Atlanta.
At 38th in the season points standings, Woods is projected to need a top-11 finish to place well enough to reach the top 30 in points and earn a chance at defending the crown he won last year at East Lake, his first triumph since 2013.
"This week is no different," Woods said. "I'm trying to win this tournament just like anybody else in this field and trying to get to East Lake and trying to get to a place where a lot of things changed for me last year and hopefully I can make that happen."
Sixth-ranked Woods raised fears about his physical fitness by withdrawing from last week's Northern Trust event at Liberty National with his injury, which dropped him out of the top 30.
After playing the front nine in a pro-am Wednesday, hitting full shots for the first time since last week's exit, Woods only chipped and putted over the back nine, saying he was glad for the extra rest and felt "way better".
"It was nice to take those days off and I had to just let it calm down and get a bunch of treatment on it, and it feels so much better," Woods said.
"Played the front nine and played well, which was nice to see, nice to feel. Took the back nine off, chipped and putted quite a bit and it definitely doesn't feel like it did on Friday, that's for sure."
Woods said tweaking his swing caused his latest injury setback.
"If it's not one thing, it's another. Things just pop up," Woods said.
"I'm making tweaks and changes trying to play around this back and trying to be explosive and have enough rest time and training time. That has been the biggest challenge of it all.
"The forces have got to go somewhere, and unfortunately when I make any kind of tweaks and changes to my swing, it's like a new body part is aching."
The 43-year-old is set to make only his sixth start since Augusta National alongside Taiwan's C.T. Pan and fellow American Billy Horschel on Thursday afternoon, having played only 13 rounds since donning his fifth green jacket.
The Masters victory capped an amazing comeback for Woods from spinal fusion surgery when it appeared his career might be over.
Instead, he has won 81 career US PGA titles, one shy of matching Sam Snead's all-time record, and has moved within three of tying the record 18 major wins of Jack Nicklaus.
- Two major Medinah wins -
Woods has tasted success before at Medinah, capturing the 1999 and 2006 PGA Championships on the course as well as five BMW Championships at nearby Cog Hill.
"I'm excited to be back in Chicago," Woods said. "This is one of the places that I've thoroughly enjoyed playing over the years, and this was the area that I made my first cut on the PGA Tour, a long time ago."
Woods also has an eye on the field as captain of the US Presidents Cup team that will play the non-European Internationals squad at Royal Melbourne this December, with eight qualifying for eight automatic US spots concluding after this weekend.
While Woods is too far back to play his way onto the US squad automatically, he could make himself a captain's pick.
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Tiger Woods says he is ready to play golf again this week after the former world number one withdrew from last week's Northern Trust due to back pain.
Woods arrived on Tuesday at Medinah, Illinois, venue for this week's BMW Championship, and said he would play in the second event of the FedEx Cup playoffs.
“I feel good,” Woods told Golfweek. “Feel a lot better than I felt last week. Felt good this morning so I thought I’d give it a go.”
Woods, 43, said he would get treatment on Tuesday but would not hit any golf balls.
The 15-times major champion has an early morning tee time for Wednesday's pro-am and an early afternoon start in the first round on Thursday.
Lying 38th in the FedEx Cup standings, Woods will need a strong showing this week since only the top 30 advance to next week's Tour Championship at East Lake in Atlanta.
(Reporting by Gene Cherry in Raleigh, North Carolina, editing by Ed Osmond)
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PEBBLE BEACH, CA. - Tiger Woods made another awful start before turning on the afterburners to shoot two-under 69 in the final round at the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach on Sunday.
It was too little, too late, but Woods left the oceanside course with some positive vibes after a frustrating week at the scene of his greatest performance.
"Again, got off to another crappy start and was able to fight it off," said Woods, who bogeyed four of the first six holes, the easiest stretch on the course, a day after bogeying two of the first three.
He birdied six holes thereafter on Sunday to finish at two-under 282.
Woods never came close all week to replicating his 15-stroke record runaway of 2000, not that it was realistic at age 43 to expect it.
The Masters champion now turns his attention to next month's British Open at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland, the final major of the season.
"I've never been up to Portrush, and I'm looking forward to getting up there and taking a look at the golf course and trying to figure it out," said the 15-times major champion.
While Woods already has three U.S. Open titles under his belt, Phil Mickelson is still seeking his first in a championship that has caused him heartache like no other.
The six-times runner-up, who needs a victory to complete the career grand slam, shot 72 to finish at four-over 288 on his 49th birthday.
He arrived with high hopes at a course where he has won the annual PGA Tour event five times, but was never a factor all week.
That did not stop him from getting plenty of love from the galleries, who sang "Happy Birthday" at various stages of the final round.
"I thought this was a really good chance for me," Mickelson said.
"I just didn't putt my best, didn't chip my best. I actually played okay tee to green."
Five-times major champion Mickelson was philosophical about never winning his national open.
"Dealing with losing in this game is a huge thing because even the best, the greatest winners, win such a small percentage of the time," he said.
"But I have had so many special moments here at Pebble Beach. This was my first event as a pro, 1992, here."
Mickelson also turned his thoughts to the British Open.
"I played Portrush one time with my dad and it was a special, fun golf course," he said.
"It's been a while so I don't remember a lot of the details and subtleties of it."
(Reporting by Steve Keating; Writing by Andrew Both in Cary, North Carolina; Editing by Ian Ransom)
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PEBBLE BEACH, CA. - An ice cool Gary Woodland held his nerve under mounting pressure to maintain a two-shot lead midway through the third round of the U.S. Open on Saturday as the hopes of Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson all but disappeared.
Woodland, who could not manage a top-10 finish in his first 27 majors, looked as if he played for the biggest prizes in the game every week when he picked up two birdies on his outward nine and at one point increased his advantage to four strokes.
But a bogey at the eighth, his first in 34 holes, combined with a Justin Rose birdie dropped Woodland back to 10-under and a two-shot edge over the Englishman with a charging Brooks Koepka just one further back.
Woodland's nerve is sure to be put to the test over the closing nine with Rose hanging tough and two-time defending champion Koepka on the move.
Matt Kuchar, chasing his first major at the age of 40, and Chesson Hadley were four off the pace with Northern Irishman Rory McIlroy five back.
Koepka, bidding to become the first player in over a century to sweep three U.S. Opens, needed a few holes to get in gear before collecting back-to-back birdies at six and seven and another at the 10th to zoom into the thick of the hunt.
Mickelson and Woods, as always, were the Pebble Beach headliners and although they pulled in massive galleries, they gave their fans little to get excited about.
Woods, nine back to start the day, began his round in the same frustrating fashion that he ended the second round -- with a bogey -- and did nothing to improve his mood by picking up another at the third.
The early miscues appeared to fire up the 15-time major winner, and Woods responded with back-to-back birdies but the relief was only temporary as he gave back those two shots with bogeys at seven and 12.
Woods would birdie three of his final five holes, including the 18th but it was too little to late an even-par 71 leaving him at even par for the tournament and 10 behind the pacesetter Woodland.
"I got off to a crap start," summed up Woods. "I got off to an awful start, and clawed it around, but still gave myself a chance for tomorrow, which is positive."
While Woods at least walked off on a positive note, Mickelson signed off with a triple bogey.
Runner-up at U.S. Open a record six times and needing a victory here to complete the career grand slam, Mickelson will not get it done this year after signing for four-over 75 to leave him at three-over going into Sunday's final round.
(Editing by Clare Fallon)
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OTTAWA -- Rory McIlroy blitzed the field at the Canadian Open on Sunday, firing a scintillating nine-under 61 to run away with the title by a massive seven strokes less than a week before the US Open.
McIlroy, who flirted with a 59, put on a golf clinic, rolling in nine birdies, one eagle and two bogeys for a 22-under 258 total and a dominating victory over runner-ups Shane Lowry of Ireland and American Webb Simpson.
"It was awesome," said McIlroy, who claimed his sixth career national open title in his Canadian debut. "I said at the start that I wanted to be aggressive and play with freedom.
"This will give me so much confidence. This is a huge tournament and I am so proud of myself.
"I am going to take a lot from this and I am so excited for next week (US Open)."
The four-time major championship winner tied his career best when he shot a 61 in the third round of the Wells Fargo Championship in 2015. His previous best closing score to win a tournament was a 62 at the Quail Hollow Championship in 2010.
McIlroy, of Northern Ireland, began the day with a share of the lead with Simpson and Matt Kuchar at 13-under at the Hamilton Golf and Country Club in Hamilton, Ontario.
He was making his Canadian Open debut and improved with each round, shooting 67, 66, 64, before opening the birdie floodgates on Sunday.
Lowry, who shot a closing round of 67, and Simpson, who shot a 68, finished at 15-under 265, two shots ahead of fourth place finishers Brandt Snedeker (69) and Matt Kuchar (70).
The four-time major winner McIlroy was part of a strong field at the Canadian Open, which this year serves as the final tune up before the US Open.
The win was also his second of 2019 -- he captured The Players Championship in March.
McIlroy bested the previous Canadian Open scoring record by five shots. The previous record of 263 was set by Johnny Palmer in 1952 and equalled in 2014 by Tim Clark.
McIlroy made four straight birdies on the back nine, starting at the par-four 11th, to put himself in contention to become just the sixth player in history to win a tournament with closing score of 59.
A bogey-eagle-bogey finish foiled his attempt, but made for a highly entertaining conclusion to his round.
His eagle on the par-five 17 started with a 341-yard drive off the tee to the centre of the fairway. His perfect approach shot set up an easy two-foot putt.
That left him needing a birdie on the par-four 18 to shoot a 59. It would have been his first birdie of the week on the hole.
But he found the bunker on the right of the green. Instead of holing out from the sand for 59, he came out too hot, putting his ball about eight feet past the pin.
Canadian Adam Hadwin carded a 70 to finish alone in sixth.
World number one Brooks Koepka shot an even-par 70 on Sunday to finish tied for 50th place.
Defending champion Dustin Johnson finished with a 69 for a tie for 20th at seven under.
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Rory McIlroy fired six birdies in a bogey-free third round of 64 to jump into a three-way tie for first place at the Canadian Open on Saturday.
McIlroy shared the lead at 13-under with Americans Matt Kuchar (69) and Webb Simpson (67) on a sunny and breezy day at the Hamilton Golf & Country Club.
McIlroy, making his first appearance at the event in Ontario, is trying to bounce back after failing to make the cut at the Memorial tournament in Ohio last week, his first missed cut of the season.
The 30-year-old Northern Irishman used his weekend off working on his game and said the extra practice has paid off.
"I feel like I turned that missed cut into a positive," he said. "There were a couple things in my game that were highlighted and I had a chance to work on them ... that's why I am where I am on the leaderboard."
McIlroy had the shot of the day on the par-four 15th when his approach shot from 130 yards away narrowly missed the cup, setting up a 10-inch birdie putt.
Veteran Kuchar, who was also a co-leader after his second round, said he will need to step up his game if he is to win his first Canadian Open trophy.
"The goal is to just keep making improvements," said Kuchar, who mixed three birdies with two bogeys on Saturday.
"Tomorrow I need a firmer understanding of the greens so I can roll in more birdies."
American Brandt Snedeker, who produced a sparkling 10-under-par 60 in Friday's second round, shot 69 on Saturday that put him in a three-way tie in fourth on 12-under with Canada's Adam Hadwin and Ireland's Shane Lowry.
Snedeker's best moment came on 15 when he sank a 52-yard putt for his third birdie of the day, although he followed it up with his second bogey on the next hole.
Defending champion Dustin Johnson finished his third round with four birdies and two bogeys and is tied for 17th at six-under.
(Reporting by Rory Carroll; Editing by Greg Stutchbury)
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BETHPAGE -- Brooks Koepka held off a late charge from Dustin Johnson to capture his second consecutive PGA Championship on Sunday, completing a wire-to-wire victory for his fourth major title in nerve-wracking fashion.
A near-collapse saw Koepka's record seven-stroke lead reduced to a single shot, but he withstood making four bogeys in a row on the back nine and another at 17 for an unexpectedly narrow triumph.
"This is probably the most satisfied I've been with all the majors," said Koepka. "This one's definitely at the top of the list of how emotionally and how mentally spent I am."
Koepka fired a four-over par 74 final round at windy Bethpage Black to finish 72 holes on eight-under 272 and defeat Johnson by two strokes, replacing him as world number one as a result.
"I'm just glad we don't have any more holes to play," Koepka said. "That was a stressful round of golf."
Bogeys by Johnson at 16 and 17 made the difference but Koepka made bogey at the par-3 17th, then escaped sand and weeds off the 18th tee by finding the fairway and green then sinking a six-foot putt for the victory.
"DJ played a hell of a round to come back and to grind it out," Koepka said. "He did a great job putting pressure on me, making me play some solid golf down the stretch."
The usually poker-faced Koepka admitted the moment got to him on the final hole, where he fired a fist pump after his winning putt.
"That was the most excited I've ever been in my life there on 18," Koepka said.
Koepka, who seeks his third US Open win in a row next month at Pebble Beach, became the first man to own back-to-back titles at two majors simultaneously by capturing the Wanamaker Trophy and the $1.98 million (1.77 million euro) top prize.
"This is unbelievable," Koepka said. "I don't know if I even dreamed this. It's amazing."
The 29-year-old American became the PGA's fifth wire-to-wire winner after Hal Sutton in 1983, Ray Floyd in 1982, Jack Nicklaus in 1971 and Bobby Nichols in 1964.
Koepka joined Tiger Woods as the only back-to-back stroke-play winners of the PGA, Woods having done it in 2006-07 as well as 1999-2000.
- DJ's Runner-up Slam -
Koepka seized a tournament-record lead of seven strokes after 54 holes on 12-under par 198.
No man has led a major by so much so late and lost. But Koepka came close.
Johnson, who shot 69, shrank the margin to four shots at the turn and just one with four holes to play, only for Koepka to outlast his US compatriot.
Johnson, seeking his second major title after the 2016 US Open, was hoping to match the best final-round win comeback in PGA history, John Mahaffey's seven-shot rally in 1978.
Instead, he completed a career "runner-up" Grand Slam, having placed second at the 2011 British Open, 2015 US Open and last month's Masters.
"I'm pleased with the way I played. I gave myself a chance," Johnson said.
"The golf course played extremely difficult. The wind was really blowing. I played really well."
- Shock back-nine drama -
Koepka made the turn on 12-under, answering an opening bogey with a birdie at the par-5 fourth, while Johnson made birdies at the fourth, sixth and nine holes to reach 8-under, shrinking Koepka's lead to its lowest since Friday afternoon.
Koepka hit a gap wedge to two feet at the 10th hole and tapped in for birdie while Johnson took a bogey at 11 to stretch Koepka's margin back to six strokes.
Then came Koepka's four consecutive bogeys while Johnson birdied the 15th for the fourth day in a row, trimming the margin to a single shot as an electric atmosphere began to build among a vocal New York crowd.
"How could you not know with the DJ chants," Koepka said. "I heard everything."
Johnson missed an eight-foot par putt at 16, giving Koepka a two-shot edge, and Johnson went over the green at the par-3 17th on the way to another bogey, boosting Koepka's margin back to three shots.
"I knew I needed to do something on the last three holes," Johnson said.
Koepka ended his bogey run by parring 15 and 16, the latter on a tense three-foot putt, but missed a four-foot par putt at the par-3 17th while Johnson closed with a par, setting up the 18th-hole drama.
"The putt on 16 gave me a little bit more confidence coming down the stretch," he said. "I know I missed one on 17, but I think 16 helped me make 18."
Koepka became the first player to win his first four majors in less than two years, joined by Woods, Nicklaus and Hogan for winning four in eight starts.
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The days of Max Homa feeling an impostor on the PGA Tour are history after he held his nerve during an hour-long rain delay before closing out an emphatic three-stroke victory at the Wells Fargo Championship in Charlotte, North Carolina on Sunday.
Long-shot Homa silenced a battalion of big guns, proving remarkably steady under pressure as he shot a four-under-par 67 at Quail Hollow to clinch his first victory on the PGA Tour in his 69th career start.
Hitting a trusty fade with his driver and putting with remarkable precision in a display that suggested he will be no one-hit wonder, the 28-year-old Californian finished at 15-under 269.
He capped off his display by sinking a 10-foot putt at the last as two ducks waddled nearby on the fringe of the green, oblivious to Homa's life-changing moment.
"It's wild. I guess my whole world's a little bit different now," he told reporters after a performance that earned him a two-year PGA Tour exemption, along with invitations to this month's PGA Championship and next year's Masters.
He also vaulted in one fell swoop from 417th to 102nd in the world rankings.
"You dream of (having a chance to win) and then you get in the moment and you're not sure how you're going to react to that," Homa said.
"One of the holes today I felt I was going to throw up but my hands felt unbelievable on the club, felt as solid as a rock and golf swing and putting stroke were as good as I could have imagined.
"It means a lot to me to do this under pressure and job security's great. I haven't had that before. I had some serious scar tissue."
Fellow American Joel Dahmen, who started the day tied for the lead with Homa and Jason Dufner, shot 70 to claim second on 12-under.
Englishman Justin Rose (68) was another shot back in third, while Spaniard Sergio Garcia tied for fourth on nine-under.
Dahmen, who was also seeking his first tour victory, and Rose kept Homa honest, but the champion was not to be denied.
Homa said the experience of playing with two-times Quail Hollow champion Rory McIlroy on Saturday had held him in good stead.
"Playing with Rory (I was thinking) -- 'Who the heck am I? it's his (30th) birthday, he's probably going to lap me,'" Homa said. "I'm freaking out."
After a stellar amateur career that included winning the 2013 American collegiate individual championship, Homa took a while to adjust to the professional ranks.
He failed to keep his card in his first two years on the PGA Tour and wondered if he would ever make it at the highest level.
"When I hit rock bottom I found a shovel and kept digging," he said. "I went to some low, low places.
"Very glad I found a ladder and started climbing upwards because it was dark down there.
"Nobody knew who I was. I felt like I was on an island and it was borderline embarrassing at times, but it's not anymore."
(Reporting by Andrew Both in Cary, North Carolina, editing by Pritha Sarkar/Nick Mulvenney/Ian Ransom)
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SAN ANTONIO -- Canada's Corey Conners delivered a roller coaster final round to win his first professional title at the Valero Texas Open on Sunday and book a fairytale berth at next week's Masters at Augusta.
The 27-year-old from Ontario only made it into the San Antonio tournament after battling through qualifying last Monday, where he won a six-way playoff to claim the final slot in the field.
But the unheralded Canadian completed a remarkable week at TPC San Antonio's AT&T Oaks Course by firing a six-under-par 66 to finish two shots clear of Charley Hoffman, with a 20-under-par total of 268.
With Sunday's final round delayed by nearly two hours after heavy rain deluged the course, Conners quickly moved to the top of the leaderboard with four birdies in his opening five holes to eclipse overnight leader Kim Si-woo who struggled to get going.
But Conners' smooth start unravelled with a run of four consecutive bogeys on the sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth holes as he reached the turn at level par for the day.
That protracted wobble opened the door to veterans Hoffman and Ryan Moore, who were both mounting final day charges to storm up the leaderboard.
Conners responded brilliantly after the turn however, reeling off three birdies on the 10th, 11th and 12th holes before moving one shot clear of the field at the 14th with his eighth birdie of the day.
Conners then rolled in a pressure-filled 10-foot par putt to preserve his lead on the 15th heading to the final three holes.
A superb 7-iron to six feet set up a birdie on the short par-three 16th and after Hoffman could only send his own birdie attempt rolling wide, Conners was suddenly two shots clear with two to play.
It got better on the par-four 17th, with Conners curling a 12-foot birdie putt to take him three clear heading to the 18th.
With that commanding lead, Conners was never going to be denied and played the last conservatively to bag a comfortable par.
The victory will have a transformative effect on Conners' season, securing his PGA Tour card while gaining entry to several prestige event in addition to next week's Masters.
Hoffman meanwhile will also head to the Masters in good spirits after posting an impressive five-under-par 67 in the final round.
Moore meanwhile played flawlessly to card a closing eight-under-par 64, comprised of an eagle, six birdies and 11 pars.
Overnight leader Kim's challenge faltered with a shaky front nine that included a double-bogey and a bogey to leave him two over at the turn after leading for the first three days. Kim finally carded a level-par 72, to leave himself five off the lead in a tie for fourth with Brian Stuard.
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Rory McIlroy celebrated St Patrick's Day in style by becoming the first player from Northern Ireland to win the Players Championship, emerging as the last man standing to beat Jim Furyk by one stroke in Ponte Vedra, Florida on Sunday.
On a day when 15 players at one stage were within two shots of the lead, McIlroy eventually emerged from the pack, overcoming an early double-bogey by displaying enough maturity to hang tough before moving in for the proverbial kill.
McIlroy carded two-under-par 70 at the famous TPC Sawgrass course in Ponte Vedra Beach to win a championship that was first held in 1974, when it was won by Jack Nicklaus.
McIlroy finished at 16-under 272 to edge American Furyk, who with a gimme birdie at the final hole threatened to become the event's oldest winner at the age of 48.
"Sawgrass and I didn't have the greatest relationship starting off," McIlroy told reporters, referring to missed cuts in his first three appearances from 2009-11.
"It's a massive win on a course (where) I've had mixed results. I had to show a lot of character out there. Any time I looked at the leaderboard I was pleasantly surprised I hadn't fallen two or three shots behind.
"That gave me a little bit of encouragement to keep going and play a great back nine. I am just thankful that it was my turn this week."
With Furyk already in the clubhouse, the 29-year-old McIlroy knew what he had to do as he played the final three holes.
After a birdie at the par-four 15th, he used his power to reach the par-five 16th in two shots and a two-putt birdie gave him the lead.
McIlroy then safely negotiated the water-lined final two holes with tap-in pars to clinch the most prestigious tournament outside the four majors.
Furyk shot 67 to finish alone on 15-under.
FURYK DISAPPOINTED
"There's a little disappointment, thinking maybe I played well enough to win," said the American. "Rory obviously felt differently."
It was Furyk's 31st runner-up finish on the PGA Tour, the same number as Tiger Woods who has also won 80 times compared to his compatriot's 17.
Englishman Eddie Pepperell (66) and Venezuelan Jhonattan Vegas (66) finished two strokes behind McIlroy in a tie for third.
Pepperrell and Vegas sank monster birdies at the par-three 17th, Pepperell sinking a rollercoaster 50-footer before Vegas one-upped him with a 70-footer.
Overnight leader Jon Rahm floundered, the Spaniard making three bogeys in the first four holes and compounding his misery by dunking his tee shot into the water at the par-three 17th.
He shot 76 and finished equal 12th on 11-under.
McIlroy's win came after close calls at all five of his previous starts this year.
He will head to the Masters next month brimming with confidence, needing a victory at Augusta National to complete the grand slam of all four modern majors.
"I'm just really proud of myself the way I played the last few holes," he said.
"(I was thinking) why not me? This is my tournament and I've got to finish it off.
"I kept telling myself on the way to the 17th tee, just make three more good swings, that's all you need to do and this thing is yours.
"To step up and make those three good swings, it's very satisfying knowing that it's in there when it needs to be."
(Reporting by Andrew Both in Cary, North Carolina; Editing by Ken Ferris)
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Former world number one Jason Day is cautiously optimistic his back problems will not flair up and hamper his challenge at this week's Players Championship in Florida.
The Australian, the 2016 Players champion, made it through only six holes at the Arnold Palmer Invitational last Thursday before back issues forced him to withdraw in pain.
"My long term confidence in terms of my back, I am not even thinking about it right now," Day told reporters at TPC Sawgrass on Tuesday.
"I feel really cautiously optimistic about how things are progressing and the way that I feel."
Day said last week that an MRI scan had revealed he had a tear in a disc in his lower back, which was causing him crippling pain when the problem flaired up.
"When pain starts shooting down my legs, that's obviously a no-go," he said.
"My back seizes up, and I can't really walk ... it feels like your world is ending. It feels like is this going to be the last time that I am going to pick up a golf club.
"It's not great mentally to come back from an injury so your confidence is hit a little bit, but overall I feel good about."
Day, who able to play 18 holes on Monday, said he had also spoken to Tiger Woods about having injections for back problems.
"My big concern was if I got them, how long would it last?" Day said.
"I have to be more disciplined with my physio and training ... We are all playing with some kind of aches and pains."
After withdrawing from the tournament at Bay Hill last week, Day decided to spend time with his family at Disney World.
That did not sit well with some on social media who wondered how he was unable to play, but was able to walk around a theme park.
"It was great," Day said. "When I have an injury, I get sad and depressed.
"I mean that's the biggest thing. I'm not going to be sitting in my bus depressed, and especially when the doctors tell me to go and walk."
Day said he was not going to let criticism on social media bother him either.
"I don't care, like, if people make memes about me. I think a lot of them are funny," Day said.
"I mean, it's fine. It is what it is. People trying to be funny and that, I get a good laugh out of it and I'm okay with that.
"You can tell between people that are being funny and people that are actually trying to ... that really hate you."
(Reporting by Gene Cherry in Raleigh, North Carolina, editing Nick Mulvenney)
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Keith Mitchell sank a clutch 15-foot birdie putt at the last hole to win his first PGA Tour event with a one-stroke victory at the Honda Classic on Sunday.
The second-year professional edged out Brooks Koepka and Rickie Fowler with a final round 67 to finish at nine-under 271.
The more experienced Koepka (66) and Fowler (67) put the pressure on but Mitchell denied them a chance at a playoff at PGA National with his long putt.
The 27-year-old began his day with back-to-back bogeys, then roared back with birdies at four of the final seven holes. "I've been close before and I let my emotions take over," Mitchell told NBC television. "I bogeyed the first couple of holes and I said, 'Not again.'"
He finished the day with a big smile to go with six birdies and three bogeys.
"I was trying to focus on what was going on," Mitchell said. "My mind started wandering there a little bit at the end ... and then I hit a great putt."
Ryan Palmer (63) and Lucas Glover (66) shared fourth at seven-under 273 and 56-year-old Vijay Singh (70) was sixth at six-under as he missed a chance to become the oldest player to win a PGA Tour event.
A thrilling final nine holes saw as many as six players tied for the lead at Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.
Palmer set the early tone with his splendid early finish that included eight birdies and a bogey in the round of 63.
As he watched from the clubhouse for several hours, things heated up on the tough back nine.
Third-round co-leader Wyndham Clark (72-275) and the surging Koepka and Fowler, who made a 45-foot birdie putt at the 17th, also were tied for the top at one point.
Finally it came down to Mitchell, Koepka and Fowler.
Koepka birdied two of his last three holes, and Fowler closed with four birdies in eight holes.
Mitchell birdied the par-three 15th hole from four feet and then made the clutch putt at 18 even though his tee shot ended up in a bunker.
Singh lost a chance to be in the mix when he hit his tee shot badly at the 17th and the ball rolled into the water.
(Reporting by Gene Cherry in Raleigh, North Carolina; Editing by Ken Ferris/Ian Ransom)
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LOS ANGELES - American Jordan Spieth surged into a share of the lead during the first round at the weather-hit Genesis Open on Thursday.
The three-times major champion notched five birdies to move five-under-par after 12 holes at Riviera, while South Korean Sung Kang was on the same score through 14 holes.
Only half the field made it to the tee due to a seven-hour rain delay.
Tiger Woods was among those left cooling their heels until Friday.
Play began on time but was halted less than an hour later at the storied course in the Pacific Palisades coastal neighbourhood of Los Angeles.
Officials took the unusual decision to scrap the scores and start the event again, citing poor visibility that had hampered the 30 players who had teed off.
"It never got where you could see where your ball went, barely see the flagstick," said rules official Mark Russell.
"That's not a common thing (to nullify scores), but the committee does have the discretion to do that. We felt in this situation that's the thing to do."
The last time a round was reset on the PGA Tour was at the 2013 Dell Technologies Championship.
Officials still hope to crown a champion on Sunday, but that will probably only be possible if there are no more delays.
More rain is forecast on Friday, before clearing for the weekend. (Writing by Andrew Both and Frank Pingue; editing by Ken Ferris and Sudipto Ganguly)
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LOS ANGELES -- Justin Rose says he won't be weighed down by his world number one ranking when he makes his 2019 debut at the PGA Tour's Desert Classic in La Quinta, California on Thursday.
The English ace makes his first appearance of the year when he tees it up in the 60th edition of the tournament staged at the Jack Nicklaus Tournament Course at PGA West, southeast of Los Angeles.
The 2016 Olympic champion enjoyed a stellar season last year, posting just one finish outside the top 25 and clinching victory in the lucrative FedEx Cup postseason.
He narrowly missed out on finishing 2018 as world number one but reclaimed the ranking from Brooks Koepka last week after the American could only finish 24th at the Tournament of Champions in Hawaii.
The 38-year-old Englishman told reporters on Wednesday however he will not be preoccupied by trying to retain his place at the summit of the world rankings this year.
"You only get to number one in the world by playing consistently good golf and that's always been my goal, to try and get the best out of my game week-in, week-out," Rose said.
"Once (No.1) presented itself it became a big goal and it's been a fantastic milestone in my career to have got there.
"But I feel like having got there now it's about letting it go a little bit, in the sense of, I need to focus on other goals now. If I achieve those other goals I'll remain at the top."
Rose, whose last outing came at the Indonesian Masters in Jakarta last month, will be playing his first tournament since switching to Homna golf clubs.
"Of course there's a few unknowns; there's always a settling-in period with change generally," Rose said.
"Obviously I believe that I've made some good decisions and some good changes, and I feel confident about things. But you never quite know until the scorecard is in your hand.
"There will be some learning this week, and potentially tweaking next week. It's just about going out and playing and getting comfortable with it."
Rose will move from La Quinta to the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines outside San Diego next week.
Rose can expect stiff competition from Spain's defending champion Jon Rahm while two-time former winner Phil Mickelson is also in the field.
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ATLANTA -- Phil Mickelson led the praise for Tiger Woods after the former world number one ended a five-year title-drought with victory at the Tour Championship here Sunday.
Mickelson, who will face Woods in a lucrative head-to-head shoot-out in Las Vegas in November, said he had never doubted that the 14-time major winner would add to his collection of PGA Tour titles.
"He's played such good golf all year that it is just not surprising,” Mickelson said.
"Tiger's played so well on a very difficult golf course and we almost kind of expected it.
"We never doubted he woud not win again, not from what I've seen he's been swinging the club and the way he’s being playing.
"It was just a matter of time.”
The victory lifts Woods tally to 80 PGA Tour titles and just three wins shy of becoming the most successful player in the history of the PGA Tour.
Mickelson meanwhile said he is looking forward to joining up with Woods for this week's Ryder Cup in Versailles, despite a disappointing showing in Atlanta which saw him finish on 13 over par.
"It was not the week here I would have liked heading into any big tournament but next week in France is going to be totally different with different grass, different course and different everything so we’ll see," Mickelson said.
"It's going to be a special week and with Patrick (Reed) and I playing together today we were talking about it and it's going to be a fun and exciting week."
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ATLANTA - Tiger Woods scored his first victory in more than 5 years on Sunday, completing a 2-shot win at the Tour Championship to crown a fairy tale comeback after a near 2-year absence.
The 42-year-old, 14-time major winner carded a one-over-par 71 at Atlanta's East Lake Golf Course to claim the 80th title of his glittering career.
Woods, who finished with an 11-under-par aggregate 269, raised his arms in delight after the victory, with several thousand fans ringing the green roaring appreciation.
Woods admitted he had nearly been overcome with emotion as he walked up the 18th fairway.
"I was having a hard time not crying coming up the last hole," Woods said.
"I kept saying 'Hey, I could still play this out of bounds.' But once I got the ball on the green I gave (caddie) Joey (LaCava) a high five because I knew it was done."
It was an emotional finale to a year which saw Woods return to the highest level after he had once feared he may never play golf again.
"It was just a grind out there," Woods said of his final round. "I loved every bit of it. The fight, the grind, the tough conditions.
"Beginning of the year (winning) was a tall order. But as the year progressed I found my swing and put the pieces together and I knew I could do it."
The victory erased any last lingering doubts about Woods' ability to compete at the highest level, something he had served notice of with top 10 finishes at the British Open and US PGA Championships.
Woods, who returned in January after missing almost the entire previous two years with a debilitating back injury, held a three-shot advantage heading into the final round.
A birdie on his opening hole extended Woods' lead to four shots to give the former world number one a dream start.
With the remainder of the 30-man field struggling to make any inroads, Woods then played solid if unspectacular golf to keep a stranglehold on the lead.
A bogey on the 10th was a mere blip, with Woods re-establishing a five-shot cushion at 13 under after rolling in a 13-foot birdie putt on the par-four 13th.
Billy Horschel closed the gap to four shots after after a four-under-par final round 66, but Woods looked to be in control.
Woods, however, gave his army of fans roaring him on a scare though when back-to-back bogeys on the 15th and 16th holes cut his lead to two with two to play.
But he steadied the ship with a par on the 17th and then closed out the win with a par on 18.
The victory was Woods's first since his win at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational in August 2013.
Meanwhile England's Olympic champion Justin Rose ensured he walks off with the FedEx Cup playoff title after finishing on six under for a share of fourth.
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