KING ABDULLAH ECONOMIC CITY, Saudi Arabia —
Harold Varner III sank an eagle putt from off the
last green on Sunday to wrest victory in the Saudi International from
compatriot and friend
Bubba Watson by one shot.
اضافة اعلان
Watson started the
day six shots off the pace but was outstanding in tough, windy conditions. He
shot a 64 which finished with a birdie on the 17th hole and an eagle following
a monster drive on the par-5 18th.
That gave him the
clubhouse lead at 12-under par 268 with overnight leader Varner still on the
course.
Varner was two over
for the day as he came to the 17th, but the 31-year-old matched Watson’s birdie
on the par-4 to edge back to within one shot of the lead.
A play-off looked
imminent when Varner missed the green with his second shot from the right rough
on the 18th.
Varner was off the
green and 28m from the hole, but he opted to putt and the ball tracked straight
into the cup.
Varner, ranked 99th
in the world, finished the round on one-under par 69 for a 13-under par total
and his first win since the Australian PGA Championship in December 2016.
Watson, who Varner considers one of his closest
friends on the Tour, rushed from the scoring tent to hug the new champion, even
though it meant that his own title drought continued. Watson’s last win was at
the 2018 Travelers Championship.
Spaniard Adri
Arnaus, who started the day one shot behind Varner, had snatched the lead with
a chipped-in eagle on the par-4 seventh hole, but could not get going after
that.
A birdied helped
him finish on one-over par 71 in solo third place at 10-under par.
England’s Steve Lewton (69) was the highest-placed
Asian Tour member at nine-under par and tied fourth place alongside Australian
star Cameron Smith (69).
Former world number one and the 2021 champion
Dustin Johnson
(70) was in a tie for eighth place at seven-under par.
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