PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Austin Eckroat had a one-shot lead in the rain-soaked Cognizant Classic through seven holes when it was too dark to continue, forcing a Monday finish at PGA National for the first time since 2015.
Thunderstorms brought nearly 2 inches of rain in a hurry Sunday afternoon and forced everyone off the course for 3 1/2 hours.
Erik van Rooyen started with six straight birdies and shot 8-under 63. He finished at 14-under 270 and will have to wait to see if it’s enough.
Jake Knapp, the UCLA rookie coming off his first win last week in the Mexico Open, was 5 under through 15 holes and two shots behind Eckroat.
Shane Lowry and David Skinns started the day tied with Eckroat. Lowry was 1 over through five holes and three shots behind, while Skinns bogeyed two of his first three holes and was 2 over through five.
LIV GOLF LEAGUE
KING ABDULLAH ECONOMIC CITY, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Joaquin Niemann won his second LIV Golf title in three starts, closing with a 4-under 66 at LIV Golf Jeddah for a four-shot victory over Louis Oosthuizen and Charl Schwartzel.
Niemann now has three wins in the last three months, starting with the Australian Open victory in December that allowed him to rejoin the European tour and eventually put him on the path toward getting invited to the Masters.
No one got closer than two shots of Niemann in the final round at Royal Greens. Oosthuizen was the last challenger until a bogey on the 16th hole. He shot 67, while Schwartzel had a 68.
Anthony Kim, who had gone 12 years without competitive golf, had a 74 in his LIV debut and finished his week in last place, 33 shots out of the lead.
Crushers won the team competition.
LPGA TOUR
SINGAPORE (AP) — Hannah Green birdied her final three holes, the last one a 30-foot putt that gave her a 5-under 67 and a one-shot victory over Celine Boutier in the HSBC Women’s World Championship.
Green finished at 13-under 275 in capturing her fourth LPGA Tour title.
Boutier (67), who had said Saturday she was attending Taylor Swift’s Singapore concert on the eve of the final round, seemed destined to win as she pulled two strokes clear in the final stages only for Green to produce some magic of her own to take the win.
Yuna Nishimura (66) matched the best round of the day and tied for third with Brooke Henderson (68), Mi Hyang Lee (67) and Nasa Hataoka (69).
Overnight leader Ayaka Furue of Japan closed with a 75 and finished six shots behind.
EUROPEAN TOUR AND SUNSHINE TOUR
EASTERN CAPE, South Africa (AP) — Jordan Gumberg closed with a 4-under 68 and holed a birdie putt from 15 feet on the second playoff hole to win the SDC Championship over Robin Williams for his first European tour title.
Gumberg played college golf at Arizona and came into the tournament at No. 669 in the world. He got into the playoff when Williams made double bogey on the 17th hole at St. Francis Links. Williams closed with a 69.
Gumberg has spent the last few years between the European tour and Challenge Tour.
KORN FERRY TOUR
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Mason Anderson ran off five straight birdies on the back nine, closing with a sixth birdie for a 7-under 63 and then won the Argentina Open with a birdie on the second playoff hole against Kris Ventura of Norway.
Anderson, who played at Arizona State, won for the first time as a pro. The victory moved him to the top of the Korn Ferry Tour points list and earned him a spot in the British Open this summer at Royal Troon.
Ventura closed with a 68 and had to settle for par on the par-5 closing hole three times, once in regulation and twice in the playoff.
They finished at 17-under 263.
Dalton Ward (68) and Brian Campbell (67) finished one shot out of the playoff.
OTHER TOURS
Takahiro Hataji won his first professional tournament and became the first Japanese player to win the New Zealand Golf Open when he closed with a 4-under 67 for a one-shot victory over Scott Hend of Australia. … Chisato Iwai closed with a 5-under 67 for a two-shot victory over Mao Saigo in the Daikin Orchid Ladies, the season opener on the Japan LPGA.
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AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf
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