LOS CABOS, Mexico (AP) — Blades Brown became the youngest PGA Tour winner in 95 years Sunday when the 19-year-old rallied from a seven-shot deficit with a 9-under 63 and beat Ben James with a birdie on
the second playoff hole in the World Wide Technology Championship.
Brown became the youngest winner since Charles Kocsis won the Michigan Open in 1931 when he was 18, a tournament that was considered a regional event in the early years of the PGA.
James lost a four-shot lead going into the final round at El Cardonal at Diamante and then showed his moxie by smoking a 285-yard shot into 20 feet on the par-5 18th and making eagle to salvage a 70 and force the playoff.
But he missed an 8-foot putt on the second playoff hole, and Brown made his 3-footer.
ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Jon Rahm fought off Ryder Cup teammates Rory McIlroy and Tyrrell Hatton to win the Abu Dhabi Championship on Sunday for his first European tour title in four years and his first start since the demise of LIV Golf.
Rahm shot 5-under 67 at Yas Links and finished two shots ahead of Hatton (68) and four ahead of McIlroy (69) in the first of the two season-ending playoff tournaments in the United Arab Emirates.
This was Rahm’s first event in seven weeks, during which time his wife gave birth to their fourth child and he finalized his departure from LIV Golf. The victory moves him back into the top 10 in the world ranking.
McIlroy moved to No. 2 in the Race to Dubai, 534 points behind Eugenio Chacarra. The title will be decided next week at the DP World Tour Championship, which McIlroy has won three times.
OMITAMA, Japan (AP) — Shuri Sakuma became the fifth Japanese player to win on the LPGA Tour this season, closing with an 8-under 64 for a four-shot victory in the Toto Classic.
Sakuma won for the fifth time on the Japan LPGA this year, after a four-win season in 2025. The victory makes her eligible to join the LPGA Tour. She finished at 20-under 268.
Aki Iwai, who had a one-shot lead going into the final round, closed with a 71 to finish second. Erika Hara finished a career-best third after a 70 at the Taiheiyo Club north of Tokyo, moving Hara to No. 32 in the Race to CME Globe.
Yuta Ikeda closed with a 4-under 67l and won a three-man playoff to capture the ACN Championship on the Japan Tour. Ikeda won after Kohei Okada made bogey on the first playoff hole, and Ryunosoke Furukawa Kohei failed to match Ikeda’s par on the fourth playoff hole. ... Ana Pelaez Trivino rallied from five shots behind with a 9-under 64, winning the Aramco China Championship by three shots over Mimi Rhodes on the Ladies European Tour. ... Louis Albertse closed with a 4-under 68 for a three-shot victory in the Telkom PGA Championship on the Sunshine Tour in South Africa. ... Jean Hugo closed with a 7-under 65 to win the European Senior Masters in Spain for his third win in as many starts on the Legends Tour. ... Hyunjo Yoo shot 4-under 68 and won the Daebo HausD Championship by one shot on the Korea LPGA.
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