Scheffler wins FedEx Cup playoff opener in a runaway and Jack Whaley claims the U.S. Amateur

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Scottie Scheffler was back to his dominant form Sunday, turning a two-shot lead into a runaway in the FedEx St. Jude Championship. He closed with a 4-under 66 for an eight-shot victory, his first in nearly seven months and the largest margin in the 68-year history at the TPC Southwind.

This was only close for a fleeting moment. Scheffler saw a birdie turn into a bogey when his bunker shot on the par-5 third hit a sprinkler head on the fringe and rolled across the green into the water, shrinking his lead to one. He made two quick birdies and was on his way.

He finished at 17-under 263, eight shots clear of his Dallas neighbor Si Woo Kim, who closed with a 68 to finish eight shots behind. Sam Burns, one of Scheffler’s best friends in golf, played with him in the final group and took double bogey on the par-5 third hole. He shot 73 and tied for third with Alex Noren (69).

Scheffler won $3.6 million from the prize fund, and he clinched an additional $23 million in bonus money for being No. 1 in the FedEx Cup through next week’s BMW Championship.

ARDMORE, Pa. (AP) — Jack Whaley of England used double gloves, needed an umbrella, was stung by a wasp at rainy Merion Golf Club and still pushed through the inconveniences to cap a tremendous tournament and hold off Jay Leng Jr. to win the U.S. Amateur on Sunday.

With skies finally clear on the rain-slogged course, Whaley sank his final putt to clinch the 36-hole final, 4 and 3. The 22-year-old Whaley broke down in tears as he held the Havemeyer Trophy and dedicated the win to his father, who never stopped encouraging his son to play, even as he kept missing cuts as a teenager.

Whaley made a rapid rise from NAIA star to Florida State to amateur champion and now has an exemption into the 2027 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach, and the 2027 British Open at St. Andrews and the Masters should he remain an amateur. He wore his Florida State Seminoles cap and team colors for the championship round.

Leng, a Stanford junior, held a 2-up advantage through the first 18 holes, and Whaley began to pull away in the afternoon by winning four straight holes. Leng also gets a spot in the Masters and U.S. Open, and he was among six players added to the Walker Cup next month in Ireland.

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Jeeno Thitikul ran off five straight birdies early and closed with an 8-under 64 for a one-shot victory Sunday in The Standard Portland Classic, her third LPGA Tour title of the season.

Thitikul led an all-Thailand finish, with Arpichaya Yubol (67) and Chanettee Wannasaen (63) tying for second at Columbia Edgewater Country Club.

Sophia Schubert, tied with Yubol for the 54-hole lead, had to settle for a 71 and finished fourth.

The 23-year-old Thitikul won for the 10th time in her LPGA career, making her the eighth player to reach 10 wins or more before turning 24. She also joined Nelly Korda as three-time winners this year on the LPGA.

KERTEMINDE, Denmark (AP) — Jeff Winther captured his national tournament in thrilling style by shooting 5-under 67 to win the Danish Golf Championship on Sunday, outlasting a bunch of rivals that included compatriot Rasmus Hojgaard.

The two Danes delivered an amazing few minutes for the home fans late in the final round at Great Northern. Hojgaard chipped in for eagle at No. 17 to briefly join Winther in a share of the lead, only for Winther to respond by driving the green on the par-4 16th and draining an eagle putt to go two shots clear again.

The 38-year-old Winther parred the 17th and was given a standing ovation as he walked to the green on No. 18, where he also made par to seal his second title on the European tour — five years after winning the Mallorca Open.

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Ross Steelman opened with four birdies in five holes and pulled away with an 7-under 64 for a three-shot victory Sunday in the Albertsons Boise Open, his second Korn Ferry Tour win of the year that sends him to the PGA Tour next year.

Steelman, who finished at 27-under 257, also won The Blue Championship in Colorado. The victory moves him to the top of the points list.

Robby Shelton (62) and Davis Shore (63) tied for second.

Steelman had a two-shot lead at the start and holed a 25-foot birdie putt to start the final round. He birdied the next two holes, both par 5s, and capped off his big start with a 6-foot birdie on No. 5. He led comfortably the rest of the way.

SNOQUALMIE, Wash. (AP) — Stewart Cink continued his dominance of the PGA Tour Champions on Sunday when he closed with a 7-under 65 and defeated Miguel Angel Jimenez with a birdie on the first playoff hole to win the Boeing Classic.

Cink extended his lead in the Charles Schwab Cup with his fifth victory, and his first since winning the Regions Tradition — his second straight senior major — in May.

Jimenez closed with a 64 to force a playoff. But he found a bunker on the par-5 18th in the playoff and didn't get on the green, settling for a par.

Soren Kjeldsen shot a 68 to finish third. Steven Alker, the 54-hole leader at The Club at Snoqualmie, shot a 71 and tied for fourth.

Eleanor Givens of England overcame a four-shot deficit with a 5-under 66 to win the VP Bank Swiss Ladies Open, her first Ladies European Tour victory after 210 starts over 15 seasons. ... Justin Harding of South Africa closed with a 1-under 71 for a one-shot victory over Louis Albertse and Mathieu Decottignies-Lafon in the Irish Challenge. Albertse was tied for the lead until making bogey on the 18th hole for a 72. ... Austin Bautista closed with a 5-under 67 for a two-shot victory in the FNB Eswatini Challenge on the Sunshine Tour. ... Yuka Yasuda made it three years in a row with a Japan LPGA title when she capped off a wire-to-wire victory with a 4-under 68 to win the NEC Karuizawa 72 by seven shots. ... Kyorim Seo closed with an 8-under 64 for a two-shot victory over Minsol Kim in the Mediheal Hankook Ilbo Championship on the Korea LPGA.

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