NAPA, Calif. -- Brendan Steele figured out how to finish at Silverado and won the Safeway Open for his first PGA Tour victory in more than five years.
One year after losing a 54-hole lead with a 40 on the back nine, Steele rallied from a four-shot deficit on a rain-soaked course and closed with three straight birdies for a 7-under 65, giving him a one-shot victory over a faltering Patton Kizzire.
"This is a little bit of redemption from last year," Steele said. "It's nice to close it off this way."
It was a tough ending for Kizzire, who had a one-shot lead going into the final round and looked like a winner when he stuffed his tee shot into 2 feet for birdie on the 11th hole for a two-shot lead. He struggled to hit fairways, and still managed to drop only one shot on the 12th. He just couldn't keep Steele from gaining ground.
Steele holed an 18-foot birdie putt on the 17th to tie for the lead, though Kizzire still had three scoring holes remaining -- two par 5s and a wedge into a par 4.
Kizzire drove left into the base of trees on the par-5 16th and had to chip out sideways, eventually making a 15-foot par save from the bunker. With a wedge on the 17th, he left it short and watched it spin back off the green, forcing him to save par again.
His final chance was a birdie on the par-5 18th. He drove left again, had to lay up and then missed the green with a 9-iron and failed to chip in. Kizzire closed with a 70.
Johnson Wagner stayed close to Kizzire the entire back nine but had to settle for pars over the final eight holes. He closed with a 70 and tied for third with Paul Casey (69), former Cal star Michael Kim (67) and Scott Piercy (70).
The victory got Steele into the Masters for the only the second time, along with a spot in the Tournament of Champions at Kapalua to start the year.
The final round was delayed two hours by rain that began soaking Silverado on Friday and led to delays the rest of the way. The third round was not completed until Sunday morning, and Kizzire made a birdie on the final hole for a 66 to take his first 54-hole lead.
Tag Ridings (Arkansas Razorbacks) finished tied for 35th at 8 under and won $23,516. Ken Duke (Arkadelphia, Henderson State) made a hole-in-one at the par-3, 11th, eventually getting to 7 under where he pocketed $14,472.
LPGA
Ciganda wins in playoff
INCHEON, South Korea -- Carlota Ciganda beat Alison Lee with a birdie on the first hole of a playoff Sunday in the rainy LPGA KEB HanaBank Championship after each player lost big leads.
The 26-year-old Spaniard won her first LPGA Tour title with a 6-foot putt after Lee's birdie chip from the rough off the back edge of the green missed a half-inch to the right.
Ciganda overcame a five-stroke deficit to Lee, then blew a five-stroke advantage on the final five holes -- getting into the playoff when Lee bogeyed the par-5 18th after hitting into the water.
Ciganda played the final five holes in 4 over -- making a double bogey on 14 and bogeys on 16 and 18 -- for a 2-over 70 at Sky 72. Three strokes ahead of U.S. Women's Open champion Brittany Lang entering the day, Lee had a 75 to match Ciganda at 10-under 278 on the Ocean Course.
Gaby Lopez (Arkansas Razorbacks) tied for 62nd at 7 over and won $4,842.
CHAMPIONS TOUR
No problem for Garwood
CARY, N.C. -- Doug Garwood ran away with the SAS Championship for his first PGA Tour Champions title, closing with an 8-under 64 for a four-stroke victory.
Garwood, 53, won in his 44th start on the 50-and-over tour. He finished at 16-under 200 in the regular-season finale at Prestonwood Country Club.
Garwood birdied the last three holes on the front nine for a 6-under 30, made it four in a row on the par-4 10th, added birdies on the par-5 13th and 16th and closed with a bogey.
Bernhard Langer, two strokes ahead of Garwood and Larry Mize entering the day, had a 70 to finish second.
Glen Day (Little Rock) finished in a tie for ninth at 8 under and won $54,600. Mike Grob (Arkansas Razorbacks) was even par and tied for 47th where he won $6,326.
EUROPEAN
Noren holds on
WATFORD, England -- Sweden's Alex Noren held on to win the British Masters by two strokes for his third European Tour victory in his last eight tournaments.
Noren shot a 2-under 69 at The Grove to finish at 18-under 266. He also won the Scottish Open and European Masters in Switzerland.
Austria's Bernd Wiesberger was second after a 67.
England's Lee Westwood (67) was 15 under, and Northern Ireland's Graeme McDowell (68) was 13 under along with France's Alexander Levy (67), Sweden's Peter Hanson (70) and Englishmen Tommy Fleetwood (70) and Richard Bland (71).
Sports on 10/17/2016