RBC Heritage. Maiden Win For Satoshi Kodaira.

 

It was a PGA Tour Maiden win for Satoshi Kodaira of Japan in a sudden death play-off against Si Woo Kim, South Korea for the RBC Heritage title at Harbour Town Golf Links.

 Satoshi Kodaira / getty

Satoshi, -5 under 66 and Si Woo, even par 71, finished tied for the RBC Heritage lead at -12 under par. They went into a sudden death play-off which Satoshi won with a birdie on the third extra hole, the par three 17th.

Satoshi did not sound too  impressed with the Plaid Jacket, his words translated by an interpreter; 

“I will probably not wear it regularly,  but this is special.”

“I wasn’t really thinking about winning.”

“I wasn’t that nervous on the last putt, compared to the first two putts on 18.”

“This is a stage I’ve been dreaming about, and having this opportunity to play the PGA TOUR full time is a dream come true.”

Si Woo suffered from a bad day with the putter;

“I tried my best, and the putts didn’t drop. It is what it is.”

Tied in third place at -11 under par were Bryson DeChambeau, -5 under 66 today and Luke List, +1 over par 72, both players  from the USA.

54 hole leader Ian Poulter, England, suddenly started making bogey’s, five on the back nine, finishing T 7 at -9 under par, with a last round +4 over 75.

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Open de España. Jon Rahm Wins Home Tournament.

Jon Rahm of Spain wins his home tournament the Spanish Open.

Jon Rahm / getty

Jon won the Spanish Open with a final round -5 under 67 and a winning total of -20 under par, a two stroke winning margin over his nearest rival;

“It’s such a satisfying feeling, when I made the decision to come straight from Augusta it wouldn’t be to just show up and walk around, I wanted to win this tournament.”

“I’ve been blessed to be national champion from 16 to all ages in Spain.”

“To round my amateur and pro career together in this way and win the last one I had to win and join that prestigious list of Spanish winners, it’s hard to explain how good it feels and how satisfying it is.”

“It’s been amazing. It’s truly been the hardest Sunday I’ve ever had in any tournament that I’ve won because the crowd wanted it so much and I wanted it so much.”

“You can tell how excited everybody is, I felt that tension, I felt that stress, I felt everything magnified.”

“They played a huge part, I came for them mainly so I’m just glad I can win this one for the Spanish people.”

Long time leader of this tournament Paul Dunne of Ireland could only record a last round of -1 under par 71, to finish in second place at -18 under par;

“I felt like I hit the ball great, mostly my short game let me down a little bit.”

“I was hitting it long and straight so I feel good going into the next few weeks.”

“Obviously disappointed not to win but it is what it is.”

Nacho Elvira, Spain, claimed third place at -17 under, his last round -1 under 71 did not give him any chance of winning;

“A little bittersweet, it’s been a fantastic day.”

“Playing against Jon Rahm is always tough, he’s a great player and I just came up short this time.”

“The crowd was probably the best I’ve seen, it’s fantastic to be able to play at home and play with this crowd.”

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LOTTE Championship. Brooke Bounces Back 4 Big Win.

Brooke Henderson of Canada bounces back for a big four shot win at the LOTTE Championship at Ko Olina Golf Club in Hawaii.

Brooke & Trophy

Brooke carded a final round -3 under par 69 to won the LOTTE Championship by four shots at -12 under par, making some good putts on the way in;

“The wind conditions were incredible and I think Brit and I did a great job.”

“My sixth win on Tour continues to be a dream come true.”

“Watching Pernilla  win a major was a lot of motivation. She showed a lot of grit and I thought ‘I could do that too’ so I owe a lot to her.”

“Fortunately I was able to overcome the shaky putting at times. I just tried to be calm and relaxed and made a couple really nice putts coming in.”

Azahara Munoz, Spain, was in second  place on her own at -8 under par, a good last round of -5 under 67 elevating her up the leaderboard;

“I’m hitting the ball the best I could remember.”

“I think I’m back to 2014 when I last contended, but I have gone through quite a few health issues.”

“I’m playing really well right now so I’m quite excited to see that.”

Tied in third place, all at -7 under were, Inbee Park, South Korea, a sad last round of even par 72 today, a decent round would have put her at #1 in the World.  Ariya Jutanugarn, Thailand, -3 under 69, and still World #1 Shanshan Feng of China, with her final round -1 under 71.

Shanshan played well using her A game, but does not think about the number one ranking;

“Even though I didn’t win, I brought out my A-game and I’m happy with that.”

“I don’t really think about the No. 1 ranking. Even if I lose it, I know I can get it back with good play.”

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RBC Heritage. Ian Poulter Has 54 Hole Lead.

Ian Poulter of England has the RBC Heritage 54 hole lead at Harbour Town Golf Links.

Poults/ getty

Poults had another bogey free round of -4 under par 67 to lead the RBC Heritage by one shot after 54 holes with a -13 under par;

“It feels nice to be in form like this.”

Luke List, USA, -4 under 67 today, and Si Woo Kim, South Korea, -3 under 68, are tied in second pace at -12 under par.

Sharing fourth spot at -11 under par are, C.T. Pan, Taipei, and Billy Horschel, USA, both with -4 under 68 third rounds.

World #1 Dustin Johnson had another bad day with the putter, carding +1 over 73 today to be T 41 at -3 under;

“You’ve got to hole some putts if you want to compete.” 

Yesterdays leader Bryson DeChambeau collapsed today, having problems with the par fives. He shot +4 over 75, to drop out of contention;

“Unbelievable what’s happened on the par fives today.”

Tomorrows final round will start at 0700 local time, due the threat of thunder storms later in the day.

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Open de España. Paul Dunne Hangs on to Lead.

Paul Dunne from Ireland hangs on to the Spanish Open lead after 54 holes at Centro Nacional de Golf.

Paul Dunne / getty

Paul will take a one shot lead into the final round tomorrow o the Spanish Open after a third round -4 under 68 gave him a 54 hole total of -17 under par;

“It’s probably the best my swing has felt, the best my body has felt like it’s been moving, but I just didn’t pull the shots off.”

“There was a lot of grinding there on the back nine but I’m happy to get in with four under. Probably wouldn’t have taken it at the start of the day but given the shots that I hit, I’m pretty happy with it leading into tomorrow.”

“Everything feels good, the game feels great, I just didn’t pick shots.”

“I hit a few shots without having a shot in mind so that’s something to work on for tomorrow.”

“Hopefully I’ll have a good day. I’m confident about tomorrow.”

Second place is held by one of the local hero’s Nacho Elvira at -16 under, he carded -6 under 66 to reduce the gap at the top of the leaderboard, and giving himself a real chance of winning;

“The crowds today were unbelievable. I’ve been in contention before but not like this, people all over Madrid, all over Spain supporting and cheering me on.”

“It’s been fantastic.”

“I’ll try to stick with my game plan, relax, try to have fun and see what happens. I’ll probably start crying if I win.”

Another local player Jon Rahm is tied in third place at -15 under, following his third round -6 under 66, he is joined by Henric Sturehed, Sweden, also with a third round -6 under 66.

Henric knew he was a good player, and is sticking to his game plan;

“I knew in me that I can play very good golf and I’m very happy to have played this golf during these first days.”

“Just stick to my game, plan and trust my game, that’s what I did and it paid off.”

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Lotte Championship. Brooke Backs Up.

Brooke Henderson, Canada, backs up in the third round of the Lotte Championship at Ko Olina Golf Club in Hawaii, allowing the chasers to catch up.

Brooke Henderson / getty

Brooke cared +1 over par 73 to reduce her lead in the Lotte Championship to one shot at -9 under par, surrendering a five shot lead she had built up earlier in the round. Carding 4 birdies, three bogey’s, and a double bogey five at the par three 16th.

Brooke said she had played well, but is struggling with her putter;

“I hit it so well today that it kind of sucks to walk off the course one over when I know it could’ve been so much better.”

“But on the plus side I’m still leading, which is always great going into the final round.”

“Hopefully I can hit it just as well as I had today and hopefully make a few more putts.”

“I’ve been kind of struggling with my putting all year.”

“First few rounds, I had it going and I felt confident with it; then on the back nine I just kept missing I just felt like every single putt and kind of I got a little bit down.”

“That’s always a terrible way to be, especially when you’re still leading the tournament.”

Mo Martin, USA, is in second place, just one back at -8  under after her third round of even par 72.

Nasa Hataoka, Japan, -4 under 68 today and Inbee Park, South Korea,-1 under 71, share third place with -7 under par tournament totals.

Nasa is playing well in the wind;

“I think I hit it really good and played really well.”

“I think that these winds the other two days kind of helped me. I had three eagle chances and just couldn’t make it, but I made a lot of good shots.”

Inbee would move to number one in the World with a win here at the Lotte Championship.

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RBC Heritage. Bryson DeChambeau Leads.

Bryson DeChambeau, USA, leads the RBC Heritage after 36 holes at Harbour Town Golf Links.

Bryson / Getty

Bryson shot -7 under par 64 to lead the RBC Heritage by one stroke at -10 under par at the half-way stage of the competition;

“I’m figuring out a lot of great things that are helping me on the golf course.”

Tied in second place, one shot back at -9 under par are, Ian Poulter, England, also -7 under 64 today, and Si Woo Kim, South Korea with his second round score of -6 under 65.

Ian is in the mood for some more heroics, his last win has freed him up;

“After Houston, I went home, spent a day with the kids, went to Augusta on the Tuesday, made the cut, and then came straight here and had an RBC day to do.”

“It’s all ok, because I’ve got some time off next week, so enough time to reflect and maybe have a glass of champagne or two and get up some energy.”

“I’ve got a busy summer ahead, but I have a job to do here first.”

 “The win helps a lot, I can free myself up in my mind. I can start attacking pins and just play free golf.”

“And when you’re in that position, sometimes the game feels easy when sometimes it isn’t.”

Si Woo was assessed to have touched the sand in a bunker, resulting in a two shot penalty:

“This might be the first time that I’ve played so well with a triple bogey.”

“But I’m having great feel around the greens and I feel really confident.”

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