SteemSports Presenter:
SteemSports Editor:
The PGA’s best players were on display at the first World Golf Championship of the season this week south of the boarder in Chapultepec, Mexico City, Mexico.
Louis Oosthuizen took an early tournament lead after the first round, carding an eight-under par 64, over three others that shot 65s, including twenty-one-year-old, Shubhankar Sharma. Sharma continued to play well on day two posting a six-under par 66, heading into the weekend with his first lead on the PGA tour, two strokes ahead of Xander Schauffele, Rafa Cabrera Bello, and Sergio Garcia.
The tours hottest player and last week’s winner at the Honda Classic, Justin Thomas made the biggest move on Saturday with eight birdies and an eagle, finishing with a nine-under par 62 despite barely making the weekend. Thomas was able to pull within four of the leader. Sharma came out in round three just like he did in the previous two rounds, posting five birdies countered by three bogeys, holding the lead he slept on the previous night.
Thomas seized his opportunity to get out first to make a move on the leaders. He posted three-under par on the front nine and added three more birdies before making a bogey on the par three seventieth hole. On the final hole, with a tie for the lead, Thomas sunk his 120-yard approach for eagle and a two-stroke lead heading into the clubhouse.
Unlike the first three rounds, Sharma was not able to get anything going on the front nine to keep pace with Thomas, who had come within one of Sharma before he even teed off. He failed to make birdie an finishing in ninth place until the twelfth hold, then proceeded to bogey four of his last six holes to finish with a three-over par.
Sitting in a five-way tie for second place, Phil Mickelson got off to a quick start birdieing three of his first four holes. Mickelson continued his solid play down the stretch making two birdies and no bogeys in his final six holes to tie Thomas, forcing a sudden-death playoff.
Thomas was first to play on the par 3, 161-yard playoff hold. Just like in regulation, Thomas hit his shot long into the rough. Mickleson played a safe shot to the middle of the green, sixteen feet from the pin. Thomas played next, failing to come within ten feet of the hole on his chip, leaving him with a difficult putt to save par. Mickleson, with a chance to seal the victory, hit a near perfect putt, catching the lip, but not falling. He tapped in for par, putting the pressure on Thomas. Thomas lined up his putt, just outside the left side of the cup, but pulled the putt left right off of the blade, missing the putt for par and giving Mickleson the victory. The victory marked Mickelson’s first win on the PGA tour in 97 starts, dating back to the 2013 Open Championship.
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