William Knibbs shot a one-under-par 71 to win his first-ever national title at the Half Moon Golf Course in Montego Bay on Sunday.
Knibbs was the only golfer to post a score under par over the three days of competition. He shot scores of 73 and 74 on Friday and Saturday, respectively.
At the end of day one, Knibbs shared the lead with Sebert Walker Jr and Rocco Lopez but fell to third on the second day. On Sunday, he shot his best round to rally and win by four shots over last year’s winner Justin Burrowes, who ended the championship tied for second Walker Jr.
They both ended with overall scores of 222 each.
“(It feels) great. It’s beyond anything in my wildest dreams. It is my first time winning the national championship. The last three years I came second, twice in a play-off and once by one shot,” said the elated champion, who said the conditions were challenging.
“It was very hot, very humid but it was windy at the same time. The person who made the least mistakes ended in a place to win so I am just lucky that I was this person.”
A disappointed Burrowes said he was unable to put everything together for this championship.
“Today it wasn’t the best result but I gave it my best shot so I can’t really complain. The conditions were pretty tough today. It was very hot. It was pretty windy at times and I just couldn’t get it going on the greens,” said the dethroned champion who shot 76 on Sunday.
“My putting wasn’t so great so it’s hard to really shoot a good score if you are not making many putts. William Knibbs played really well in the end and I am just happy for him to be honest.”
Meanwhile, Walker Jr. put together his best performance to date at the senior level. On Sunday, he led by a stroke at the halfway mark but had three bogeys on the back nine for a score of 77. “Today’s performance wasn’t the best. I had a solid day again similar to my first two days, however, I couldn’t quite get anything going at all,” he said.
“I needed to make more birdies just like over the first two days. It was a little tougher day and not having those birdies to help with the bogeys, really escalated the score. It was a solid performance nonetheless. I am still proud of how I played. I am not quite happy with the finish but proud of how I played. It was a good tournament overall.”
Day-one joint leader Lopez was just one stroke behind in fourth with a score of 223. He shot 75 on the final day.
Former national champion Sean Morris, who played with an injured finger, shot an 80 and posted a three-day total score of 229. Mark Newnham shot a 79 on Sunday to close with a score of 233.
The Men & Men Senior category: 7-12 handicap went to Kemar Brown – 234 (77). Shamar Wilson – 237 (80) was second while Tommy Lee -245 (80) was third.
In the Ladies section of the two-day championship, Emily Mayne (162) won the title over Michelle Hamilton (177).
The top three in the Men Super Senior category were Opton Marshall (172), Howard McKenzie (193) and Linval Freeman (197).
In the Juniors Boys (14-15), Aman Dhiman (154) won over Trey Williams (171) and Noah Azan (176). The two golfers in the Boys 11-13 section were Ryan Lue (180) amd Aaron Ghosh (182).
Mattea Issa (182) and Annoushka Khatri (198) were the girls in the 11-13 category.
Leighton Levy is a journalist with 28 years’ experience covering crime, entertainment, and sports. He joined the staff at SportsMax.TV as a content editor two years ago and is enjoying the experience of developing sports content and new ideas. At SportsMax.tv he is pursuing his true passion - sports.
Thomas leads Zozo Championship after another 65, Tiger bounces back
Justin Thomas fired another seven-under 65 to grab a one-stroke lead at the halfway mark of the Zozo Championship on Friday.
The American produced a bogey-free second round at Sherwood Country Club in California to move into 14 under.
Thomas, the 2017 US PGA Championship winner, made five birdies on the back nine – his first nine holes – before a solid finish.
The world number three, Thomas has enjoyed a fine year, including winning twice. He has multiple wins in every year since 2017.
Back-to-back 65s have given Thomas a one-stroke lead over Dylan Frittelli and Lanto Griffin, while Patrick Cantlay and Scottie Scheffler are a stroke further back after all four also shot 65s.
The round of the day belonged to Richy Werenski, who broke Tiger Woods' course record with a stunning 11-under 61.
Werenski birdied nine of his first 12 holes after starting his round at the 10th and he picked up another shot at the fifth to put him on track to break 60.
However, a bogey at the par-four sixth hurt his chances, although he responded with birdies at seven and nine to get to 11 under and a tie for sixth.
Abraham Ancer (66), Harris English (67), Bubba Watson (63), Tyrrell Hatton (68), Patrick Reed (63), Tony Finau (64) and Kevin Kisner (67) are all alongside Werenski.
Woods, in action for the first time since the U.S. Open, bounced back from his opening-round 76 with a six-under 66.
Despite his improvement, the defending champion and 15-time major winner is well back at two under to be tied for 66th.
It was a similar story for Rory McIlroy, who carded a 67 to get to four under, although the Northern Irishman is 10 strokes behind Thomas.
Overnight leader Sebastian Munoz dropped back into a tie for 14th after carding a two-under 70.
Munoz leads Zozo Championship as Tiger Woods stumbles with opening 76
Sebastian Munoz set the early pace at the Zozo Championship after earning a one-stroke lead in the opening round, while defending champion Tiger Woods struggled on his return to the PGA Tour.
Colombian golfer Munoz carded an eight-under-par 64 to top the leaderboard in Thousand Oaks, where the tournament is taking place after being relocated from Japan due to the coronavirus pandemic and travel restrictions.
Munoz – eyeing his second Tour title – holed two eagles, eight birdies, a double bogey and two bogeys at Sherwood Country Club.
The 27-year-old recorded his second eagle of the day on the par-five 16th, holing out from 51 yards to mark the third instance in his Tour career with two eagles in a single round.
England's Tyrrell Hatton and American star Justin Thomas – who ended the day eagle-birdie-birdie – are a shot off the pace heading into Friday's second round, while Brian Harman, Lanto Griffin, Kevin Kisner, Harris English and Dylan Frittelli are stroke further back at six under.
World number two Jon Rahm and Jason Day were among the players to post first-round 68s in a field missing top-ranked golfer Dustin Johnson and Adam Scott due to positive coronavirus cases.
After claiming his maiden Tour title via last week's CJ Cup at Shadow Creek, Jason Kokrak shot a three-under-par 69 to be tied for 26th alongside the likes of Xander Schauffele and Matthew Wolff.
Searching for his first victory since 2017, former world number one Jordan Spieth opened with a 70, just like 2018 Masters champion Patrick Reed.
Rory McIlroy – a four-time major champion – recorded a one-over-par 73, a shot worse off than Phil Mickelson.
As for Woods, his title defence and bid for a record-breaking 83rd Tour crown started with a forgettable four-over-par 76 that left him 12 strokes behind Munoz.
Making just his eighth start of 2020 and playing for the first time since missing the U.S. Open cut ahead of next month's Masters defence, Woods played three par-five holes over par in the same round for the first time in his illustrious career.
Woods carded a three-over 39 on the back nine, which included a double bogey and two bogeys to go with a solitary birdie.
Scott out of Zozo Championship after positive COVID-19 test
Former world number one Adam Scott will miss the Zozo Championship this week after testing positive for coronavirus.
It was announced on the eve of the tournament at the Sherwood Country Club in Thousand Oaks, California, that Scott has returned a positive COVID-19 test.
The 2013 Masters champion is self-isolating and will be replaced in the field for the PGA Tour event by Jim Herman.
"While it’s difficult news to receive – as I really looked forward to playing this week – my focus now is on recovery for the final stretch of the fall," Scott said
The Australian has won 14 PGA Tour titles, most recently at the Genesis Invitational in February.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content
of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative,
passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
