LPGA Tour: Lang Beats Nordqvist After Controversial Penalty

Poor USGA, poor rules of golf. The U.S. Women’s Open came down to an esoteric ruling that, in the days before high-definition video, constant replay and social media, would never have been noticed, much less enforced.

Anna Nordqvist was about to hit a marvelous shot from the fairway bunker on the second hole of a three-hole playoff holes when her club, on the last waggle, touched one literally grain of sand. Nordqvist and fellow playoff competitor Brittany Lang thought they were tied after hitting their third shots to the green of the third playoff hole, No. 18, when the news of the two-stroke penalty was delivered to both competitors.

Related: Learn more about the controversial rules incident

The ending ruined a fantastic comeback day for Nordqvist, whose 67 included three birdies and a clutch eagle on the 15th hole. Lang had taken the lead outright with a birdie on No. 16, but gave the stroke back on the 17th with a bogey. Third-round leader Lydia Ko, the top-ranked golfer in the world, went bogey-double bogey on the 9th and 10th holes, added two more bogeys on the back nine, and finished two strokes out of the playoff, in a third-place tie with Amy Yang, Sung Hyun Park and Eun Hee Ji.

European Tour: Scottish Open Goes to Sweden’s Alex Noren

There were birdies to be had on Sunday in Scotland. Nicolas Colsaerts made four of them (plus an eagle) in his back-nine 30. Phil Mickelson had four of them himself (plus an eagle of his own) in his fourth-round 66. Both Colsaerts (T3) and Mickelson (T13) made big moves on the last day, but neither of them figured in the outcome. That was left to the final pairing of Tyrell Hatton of England and Alex Noren of Sweden.

Hatton had to wonder what else he could do to win at Castle Stuart. He played flawless golf, making three birdies and zero bogies on his way to 69 strokes. His problem was playing partner Noren, who led by two after Saturday’s third round. The Swede made one mistake, a bogey on the par-three 8th hole, but countered that with three birdies of his own to win by one over his English counterpart.

Related: See what clubs Noren used to win in Scotland

Noren’s reputation of winning from the front (all four Euro Tour wins came with him on a 54-hole lead) stood him in good stead on this day. Despite the presence of a stout group of chasers (Danny Lee of New Zealand and Italy’s Mateo Manassero finished two back at 11-under par, while low Scot Richie Ramsay and England’s Andy Sullivan were one more in arrears) Noren’s demeanor never changed — even when he was equaled partway through the round. Colsaerts, Hatton, Manassero and Ramsay all qualified into next week’s Open Championship at Royal Troon with their solid Sunday play at Castle Stuart.

Web.com Tour: Rick Lamb Makes First Cut, Wins in Playoff

Rick Lamb won two tournaments this week at the Peek’n Peak resort. On Monday, the pro with conditional status fired a 63 on the resort’s Lower Course to play his way into the main event. On Sunday, he turned in another 63 to force a playoff with three competitors. Lamb, whose previous two tour starts in 2016 ended on Friday afternoon, lit the back nine on fire on Sunday to tie for the lead.

Matched with Lamb in the playoff were third-round leader Rhein Gibson, local favorite and tour winner Domenic Bozzelli and rising star Cheng Tsung Pan of Taiwan. The foursome returned to the 18th for the playoff, a hole birdied by both Gibson and Bozzelli in regulation. Pars by all returned the quartet to the same tee for another go. Lamb ended the suspense with an unexpected chip-in for birdie, on the heels of a flubbed pitch for eagle. The spectacular hole-out by Lamb ended a wonderful return to the Web.com Tour for the resort that hosted an event from 2002 to 2007.

Champions Tour: Goydos Grabs DSG Open By One Shot

Across the state from Clymer, New York, along the southern tier expressway, lies Endicott and its En-Joie golf course, site of the Dicks Sporting Goods Open. The tournament celebrated its 10th anniversary on the PGA Tour Champions in 2016, and crowned its 10th different victor at day’s end on Sunday.

Paul Goydos, who found new life on the senior circuit, and John Riegger were tied for the lead at 11-under. While Riegger, despite two eagles, amassed bogey after bogey on Sunday, Goydos held steady and signed for a 69, and a total of 14-under. Wes Short, Jr. birdied two of his final three holes to take solo second at 12-under, while Neal Lancaster’s 70 was good for a third-place finish.

Despite En-Joie’s reputation as a track on which players routinely go low, 67 was the best the golfers could do in round three. Goydos’ penchant for steady, unspectacular play was the winning strategy and earned the California pro his third Champions tournament victory.