McGirt breaks through at The Memorial

There’s a great golf course in Lumberton, North Carolina, off I-95 that carries snow birds south during the summer and winter. It’s called Pine Crest Country Club, a course that deserves way more visitors than it gets, and William McGirt’s staff bag sits proudly on a shelf in the clubhouse. It’s safe to say that members of that Donald Ross course are still whooping it up today, after McGirt bested Jon Curran on the second extra hole of the 2016 Memorial Tournament for his first PGA Tour victory.

Third-round leaders Matt Kuchar and Gary Woodland failed to capitalize on their position at Muirfield Village, shooting over par to tumble down the leader board. Dustin Johnson had a chance to win, but played the back nine in 2-over par to finish third, one stroke back of the leaders. Rory McIlroy played the same stretch in two-under, but he was still two strokes shy of the playoff, in 4th position. It was a strong finish for the No. 3-ranked player in the world, however, who switched back to a conventional putting grip after getting mixed results with a left-hand low style earlier in the year.

How exciting was this day for McGirt? Try 17-pars-and-1-birdie crazy! The unproven Carolinian, veteran of multiple mini-tours and bearer of the Scarlet I (for “idiot,” courtesy of Tiger Woods) played like a veteran when all the veterans around him faltered. He hit 17 of 18 greens, draining an 18-foot par putt on the only one he missed. In the playoff, McGirt appeared to be in trouble until saving par from a deep bunker on the first extra hole. He drained a 6-foot putt on the second to lay claim to the hardware and a spot in the 2016 U.S. Open at Oakmont.

Related: See the clubs McGirt used to win

Nordqvist defends at LPGA’s ShopRite Classic

Unlike many of her LPGA Tour compatriots, Anna Nordqvist knows that she will represent her home country of Sweden in Rio at the 2016 Olympics. On Sunday in New Jersey, the 29-year old veteran played like an Olympian in defense of her 2015 title at Seaview’s Donald Ross-designed Bay Course.

Karene Icher had tied the course record with 62 on Saturday, while Haru Nomura was hoping to add a second title to the Swinging Skirts event she won in April. Nordqvist burst from the gate with birdies on three of her first four holes to enter the fray that would demand the lowest of low scores from its champion.

“I was a couple shots behind, and I knew the final group [would] shoot a couple under par, so I knew I had to post a really good score,” Nordqvist said. “After a good start, I just tried to keep my focus, and can’t really take anything for granted. You lose your focus a little bit, and that’s when you are going to start missing shots.”

Nordqvist hit the first 17 greens in regulation, a testament to the work she has put in with swing coach Jorge Parada. Despite Nomura’s final-hole birdie, Nordqvist’s 17-under total was good enough to win by one over the low-scoring Japanese golfer.

Fitzpatrick secures second European Tour title in Sweden

Let me tell you, England is loaded with talent. You’ve got Danny Willett, the 2016 Masters champion. You’ve got Andy Sullivan, who won three times on the European Tour last year. You’ve got Justin Rose, the 2013 U.S. Open champion… and now you have Matthew Fitzpatrick, the 21-year-old, former U.S. Amateur champion, who already has two tour titles in his brief professional career.

Fitzpatrick found himself paired with the Nordea Masters’ defending champion Alexander Noren in Sunday’s final round. Noren putted well through the tournament’s first three days, and had an abundance of positive vibes. If ever there was an opportunity for a young professional to falter, it was Fitzpatrick, in Sweden, on Sunday. But falter he did not.

Fitzpatrick made birdies when needed, held the bogeys to two (one on the meaningless final hole, when victory was secured) and held the ship steady while choppy seas got to the other contenders. Noren smiled and shook his head after a chance at defense turned into a 78 and a tie for 12th. Lasse Jensen, an unheralded Dane, posted one of six Sunday rounds in the 60s and took second spot alone, at 13-under, three back of Fitzpatrick. For his efforts, Jensen was rewarded with a spot in July’s Open Championship at Royal Troon.

Related: See the clubs Fitzpatrick used to win

McCarron claims his first Champions Tour win

A lot had to go wrong for Scott McCarron to hoist the winner’s trophy in Iowa on Sunday at the Principal Charity Classic. Fortunately for him, what went wrong happened to other golfers. Billy Andrade finished only a stroke off the lead, despite starting the final round with three consecutive bogeys. Tied with Andrade for second spot was Miguel Angel Jimenez, whose bogey on No. 12 from the fringe cost him a shot at the title. As for McCarron, when opportunity presented itself, he took full advantage.

The 50-year-old Sacramento native birdied four of his final six holes to snatch an unlikely victory. Despite driving the ball in the rough most of the day, McCarron was on point on the putting green, making more than 50 feet of birdie putts on the final three holes alone. Like Bernhard Langer, the Californian opted to alter his broomstick stroke, rather than abandon the long putter that had saved his career. On this day the move paid off, and McCarron moved well inside the top-20 of the season-long, Schwab Cup Race.

Bozzelli wins his first on the Web.com Tour

Dominic Bozzelli grew up in golf-rich Rochester, New York. He played at Locust Hill Country Club, attended Auburn University, and won two New York state amateur championships and an Eastern Amateur before turning professional. In his first season on the Web.com Tour, the 25-year-old melted the Corales Club course in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, turning in 63 and 64 in the middle rounds. Armed with a healthy but not insurmountable lead, Bozzelli played the first 14 holes of round four in 5-under, ending the hopes of all pretenders. A final-hole bogey dropped him to 24-under, four blows clear of Sam Ryder, Roberto Diaz and Blake Adams.

Bozzelli’s amazing Caribbean vacay rocketed him 31 shots up the season-long money list, into prime position (6th spot) to earn a PGA Tour card for next season. Diaz moved up 32 spaces of his own, inside the top-20. Adams came from nowhere (179th) into the top 50, while Ryder jumped from 129th to 38th. The Web.com Tour returns to the U.S. mainland next week at the Rust-O-Leum Championship in Ivanhoe, Illinois.