McCarron wins DICK'S Sporting Goods Open

ENDICOTT, N.Y. (AP) -- Scott McCarron birdied the final three holes to beat California childhood rival Kevin Sutherland by a stroke Sunday in the DICK'S Sporting Goods Open.

McCarron closed with an 8-under 64 a day after shooting a 61 at En-Joie to join Sutherland atop the leaderboard entering the final round.

"To go low like I did the last couple days, I've never played that kind of golf for two days," McCarron said. "My hat's off to Kevin. He played such good golf and it just got to be match play. It was like we were back in high school playing against each other, it was so much fun."

The 52-year-old McCarron matched Sutherland with a birdie on the par-4 16th, took the lead with a 12-footer on the par-3 17th and won with a 15-footer on the par-4 18th after driving well right and hitting an approach over trees. He finished at 20-under 196.

"To birdie that last hole from where I drove it, I drove it so bad, I think they're going to put a plaque out there," McCarron joked.

Sutherland birdied the 16th and 18th for the 65.

"I played really well this week, no complaints," Sutherland said. "Scott played fantastic. It was a lot of fun. I've known Scott since junior golf, so it was a lot of fun."

McCarron has three victories this year and five in the last two seasons on PGA TOUR Champions. The three-time PGA Tour winner won the Allianz Championship in February and a major at the Constellation SENIOR PLAYERS Championship in July.

Sutherland missed a chance for his first senior title -- and another chance to top his old Sacramento rival. Sutherland's lone PGA TOUR victory came in 2002 at La Costa in the World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play, when he beat McCarron 1 up in the 36-hole final.

"I know if I keep doing what I'm doing, eventually it will happen," said Sutherland, who shot a PGA TOUR Champions-record 59 three years ago at En-Joie. "But I did a lot of good things today and I can build on that."

Sutherland holed out from the fairway for eagle on the par-4 ninth to tie McCarron for the lead, and pulled ahead with a birdie on the par-5 12th. McCarron tied it again with a birdie on the par-4 13th.

"I needed to birdie one more hole the last three and he got it done," Sutherland said. "That's the difference, he birdied the last three and I birdied two of the last three."

John Daly (66), local favorite Joey Sindelar (69) and Woody Austin (68) tied for third at 13 under.

Charles Schwab Cup leader Bernhard Langer was 12 under after a 69. The 59-year-old Langer has a PGA TOUR Champions-high four victories, winning three of the five major championships.

NOTEBOOK

Scott McCarron, 71-61-64 – 196 (-20)

• McCarron opened the final round with birdies on Nos. 1 and 2 and he closed with birdies on Nos. 16, 17 and 18. This is the second time McCarron has birdied the last three holes to win on PGA TOUR Champions, as he also won in that fashion at last year’s Principal Charity Classic.
• After 18 holes, McCarron was T35 after opening with a 1-under 71. This is the highest start by a winner on Tour this season.
• His final-round 64 is tied for the best final round by a winner this season. Langer also closed with a 64 when he won the Regions Tradition.
• He improves his record to 3-for-5 winning as a leader/co-leader entering the final round.
• McCarron’s weekend total of 125 is the lowest 36-hole score (any rounds) on Tour this season. The previous low was set two weeks ago, when Paul Goydos closed with a weekend score of 126 and won the 3M Championship.
• His 20-under total is the second-lowest score in tournament history. Lonnie Nielsen holds the record, as he won in 2009 at 21-under-par.
• His 20-under total is tied for the lowest 54-hole score in relation to par this season. Paul Goydos (3M Championship) and Tom Lehman (Tucson Conquistadores Classic) also won with 20-under totals.
• This is his third win of the season, as he also won the Allianz Championship and the Constellation SENIOR PLAYERS Championship. He now has five wins in 49 starts since turning 50 in 2015, and he is currently second in the Schwab Cup standings.

Kevin Sutherland, 65-67-65 – 197 (-19)

• Sutherland parred the first five holes and trailed McCarron by three. He played Nos. 6-9 in 4-under, including a hole-out for eagle on No. 9, and was tied with McCarron at 16-under as the final group made the turn. He birdied No. 12 and took his first outright lead of the day. One hole later, McCarron birdied No. 13 and regained a share of the lead. Sutherland birdied Nos. 16 and 18, but ultimately fell one shot short of McCarron.
• His 19-under-par total would have won the DICK’S Sporting Goods Open every year except 2009 and 2017.
• Over his last 108 holes on Tour, Sutherland is 37-under-par and has made just five bogeys. Two weeks ago at the 3M Championship, he made 19 birdies and 1 eagle and finished T3 at 18-under. This week, he made 19 birdies and 1 eagle and finished second at 19-under.
• This was the fourth time he was a leader/co-leader entering the final round, and he has finished second each of the last three times he’s been in that position.
• This was the fourth time he played in the final group this season, and the 7-under 65 is his best score out of the four occasions. Overall, he ranks sixth on Tour in final-round scoring average (68.86).
• He has carded 20 consecutive rounds of par or better, and he has the second-best scoring average on Tour this season (68.72).
• This is his 34th top-10 and eighth runner-up finish in 70 starts on PGA TOUR Champions. This season, he is tied for the Tour lead with 11 top-10s and he is No. 6 in the Schwab Cup standings.
McCarron/Sutherland Notes
• Combined, McCarron and Sutherland made 13 birdies, 1 eagle and 0 bogeys on Sunday. Sutherland played the last 35 holes without a bogey, while McCarron played his last 23 holes without a bogey.
• Sutherland's only win on the PGA TOUR was the 2002 DELL Match Play Championship, and he defeated McCarron, 1-up, in the 36-hole championship match. He won six matches in the 64-player match play bracket, and he defeated four current PGA TOUR Champions players – Paul McGinley, David Toms, Brad Faxon and McCarron – as well as Jim Furyk and David Duval.

Other Notes

• Joey Sindelar birdied Nos. 16 and 17 en route to a final-round 69 and a T3 finish. It is his first top-five finish since he finished T3 at the 2016 Regions Traditions, a span of 31 tournaments. He resides in Horseheads, New York, 50 miles west of Endicott, and won the B.C. Open in 1985 and 1987.
• John Daly eagled Nos. 3 and 8 in his final-round 66, and he finished T3. It is the 11th time a player has made two eagles in one round this season, and it's the second time this week (Scott McCarron, second round). This is his second top-10 of the season, as he won the Insperity Invitational, his first win on PGA TOUR Champions.
• Daly (1992) and Sindelar (1987, 1985) are two of the six players in this week’s field that won the PGA TOUR event at En-Joie: Jeff Sluman (2001), Fred Funk (1996), Jay Haas (1981) and Tom Kite (1978).
• Woody Austin carded a final-round 68 and finished T3, his second top-three finish in four starts in this tournament (T2, 2014). On the year, Austin has two top-10s and is now 29th in the Schwab Cup.
• Bernhard Langer finished sixth at 12-under, his 11th top-10 of the season, and he remains on top of the Schwab Cup standings for the 13th week in a row.
• The DICK’S Sporting Goods Open was the first of six consecutive tournaments in August and September. After New York, the Tour travels west for the Boeing Classic and Shaw Charity Classic, followed by two international tournaments – the JAPAN AIRLINES Championship and the Pacific Links Bear Mountain Championship. The six-week stretch concludes in California with the PURE Insurance Championship, Sept. 22-24.