Sweden’s Vincent Norrman won a playoff over England’s Nathan Kimsey with a par on the first extra hole Sunday to capture the US PGA Tour Barbasol Championship.
The 25-year-old from Stockholm sank a clutch seven-foot bogey putt on the 18th hole in regulation just to force a playoff, then pitched from the rough to two feet in the playoff and made a par putt for the victory.
“I don’t think I can process this for a while. I’m at a loss for words,” Norrman said. “It’s even beyond (a dream). I don’t think I’ve dreamt this big yet honestly. It’s amazing.”
Norrman fired a six-under par 66 to finish alongside Kimsey on 22-under 266 after 72 holes at Keene Trace Golf Club in Nicholasville, Kentucky.
The US PGA Tour rookie claimed his first title in only is 23rd tour start, the 286th-ranked standout booking a place in next week’s British Open.
Norrman, whose best prior PGA result was a share of eighth in May at the Byron Nelson, wasn’t sure how the triumph would alter his goals and plans.
“We’re going to figure that out tomorrow,” he said. Norrman led Kimsey by one at the 18th tee but his first two shots found the left rough. Then Norrman blasted over the green, pitched to just outside seven feet and saw his bogey putt catch the right edge and fall in to force a playoff.
“I just hit it left off the tee and I had a terrible lie,” Norrman said. “It was an impossible shot, I felt like. That was a really good bogey.”
The playoff began at the par-4 18th with Norrman finding right greenside rough and Kimsey a left greenside bunker.
Kimsey blasted out to 15 feet while Norrman pitched to two feet. Kimsey two-putted for bogey and Norrman tapped in moments later for the victory. “Have a chance to win a PGA Tour event, I can’t complain really,” Kimsey said. “I feel like I barely missed a shot all day, holed a few nice putts and did a really good job of executing the whole back nine.”
Kimsey, a 30-year-old Englishman who plays on the DP World Tour, missed a chance to become the first player since American Jim Benepe at the 1988 Western Open to win in his PGA Tour debut.
US rookie Trevor Cone, who made double bogey at the par-3 16th and missed a 12-foot birdie putt at 18 to miss the playoff, settled for a share of third with France’s Adrien Saddier on 267.
Lucas Glover, the 2009 US Open champion, fired his 12th consecutive round in the 60s with a 68 to finish fifth on 268 with Canada’s Taylor Pendrith sixth on 269.
With most of the world’s top players at the Scottish Open, the US event offered a prime chance for players trying to keep their tour status to grab valuable points or a victory.
Cone and Norrman each birdied the par-5 15th to reach 23-under as Kimsey made a late charge with birdie putts from 31 feet at the par-3 14th, five feet at the 15th and eight feet at the par-4 17th to finish on 266.—AFP
