Wesley Bryan wins RBC Heritage as Luke Donald finishes second for fifth time
Monday 17 April 2017 01:38, UK
Luke Donald remarkable run of near-misses at the RBC Heritage continued as Wesley Bryan claimed his maiden PGA Tour title with a one-shot victory at Harbour Town Golf Links.
Donald staged an impressive recovery from a double-bogey seven on just the second hole as he closed with a 68, but he would come up one short short as Bryan held his nerve down the stretch to fire a 68 and post the winning score of 13 under par.
Jason Dufner had started the final day with the lead but was one of many contenders to slide down the leaderboard, while Ian Poulter was unable to secure his card for the remainder of the season despite finishing tied for 11th and will now travel to Texas next week with extra pressure on his shoulders.
Ollie Schniederjans emerged as a likely winner when he stormed to the turn in 31 with five birdies, but he buckled under the pressure of leading and was two over for the back nine as he slipped into a share of third with Patrick Cantlay and William McGirt.
But Bryan avoided the mistakes that many of his peers were making down the stretch as he bagged the biggest payday of his career while also guaranteeing himself a place at next year's Masters in his home city of Augusta.
Bryan, best known for his skills as a trick-shot artist along with his brother George, trailed by six shots when he bogeyed the third hole, but he responded with a sparkling run of four consecutive birdies.
The 27-year-old suffered a setback at the eighth when he duck-hooked his drive into the trees, his ball coming to rest barely 150 yards from the tee, although he did well to limit the damage to a bogey-five as he pitched to six feet and holed the putt.
Bryan drained clutch par putts at each of the next four holes and steadied himself with a 10-footer for birdie at the 13th, and a precise wedge to five feet at the 15th set up his sixth birdie of the day and took him into the outright lead.
He missed a great chance to extend his advantage at 16 but, as a host of other challengers fell away, Bryan closed with three rock-solid pars which proved enough for the narrowest of wins over Donald.
The Englishman had the dubious distinction of emulating the likes of Jack Nicklaus and Phil Mickelson by being a five-time runner-up in a PGA Tour event without actually winning it, although his response to his poor start will give him plenty of confidence over the coming weeks.
Donald clawed a shot back with a 17-foot putt for birdie at the fifth and almost holed his second to the ninth, leaving himself a tap-in to get back to level par for the day.
The former world No 1 then played one of the shots of the tournament at the 11th as he atoned for a wayward second with a stunning 25-yard hole-out from a bunker, and he leapt into a share of the lead with further birdies at the 13th and 14th.
But a poor drive at the long 15th cost him a chance for another birdie, and he shaved the hole at the next before parring the final two holes to miss out on the tartan jacket once again.
Canada's Graham DeLaet was a leading contender until he put his tee-shot in the water at the eighth and ran up a triple-bogey seven, while Poulter failed to build on an opening birdie as he littered his card with four bogeys before a birdie at 15 salvaged a 73.
Poulter now has one more event of his major medical extension to secure his card for the rest of the campaign, and he will need to bank just over $30,000 at next week's Valero Texas Open.
Live PGA Tour Golf
