Patton Kizzire and Brian Harman win QBE Shootout

NAPLES, Fla. -- Patton Kizzire and Brian Harman won the QBE Shootout on Sunday, eagling the par-5 17th and closing with a par for a one-stroke victory over Graeme McDowell and Emiliano Grillo.

Kizzire and Harman shot an 11-under 61 in the better-ball final round to finish at 30 under at Tiburon Golf Club. They opened with a 59 in the first-round scramble and had a 66 on Saturday in modified alternate shot.

McDowell and Grillo shot 62, making seven straight birdies on Nos. 11-17.

The teams of Gary Woodland-Charley Hoffman, Kevin Na-Bryson DeChambeau and Luke List-Charles Howell III tied for third at 28 under. Woodland and Hoffman shot 63, Na and DeChambeau 62, and List and Howell had two back-nine eagles in a 61.

Kizzire and Harman each earned $422,500.

LPGA Tour player Lexi Thompson and Tony Finau had a 65 to finish seventh at 23 under.

NOTES

Patton Kizzire/Brian Harman (1st/-30)

• Birdies came at Nos. 1, 3, 4, 9-11 and 13-15. An eagle-3 at No. 17 moved the duo to their eventual winning total of 30-under 186
• While Kizzire was making his first QBE Shootout start, Harman was making his second (w/ Pat Perez in 2017/T3)
• Twelve players have now won the QBE Shootout in their first attempt: Mark O’Meara (1989), Curtis Strange (1989), Fred Couples (1990), Scott McCarron (1997), Hank Kuehne (2003), Rod Pampling (2006), Woody Austin (2007), Keegan Bradley (2011), Brendan Steele (2011), Harris English (2013), Cameron Tringale (2014) and Patton Kizzire (2018)
• Kizzire and Harman began the final round tied for the lead of 19-under with Emiliano Grillo and Charley Hoffman/Gary Woodland
• The second-round lead/co-lead at the QBE Shootout has now held up 18 of 30 times, including the 2017 and 2018 teams
• On the strength of PGA TOUR wins at the 2017 Mayakoba Golf Classic and 2018 Sony Open in Hawaii, Kizzire finished the 2017-18 season ranked 30th in the FedExCup standings
• Harman amassed a career-best eight top-10 finishes in 2017-18, good for a 48th-place finish in the FedExCup standings
• In four starts this season, Kizzire’s best showing is T15 in his adopted hometown of Sea Island, GA at The RSM Classic. Harman, a Saint Simon’s Island, GA resident, also secured his best finish in four starts at The RSM Classic (T32)

Graeme McDowell/Emiliano Grillo (2nd/-29)

• Birdies came at Nos. 3, 7, 8 and 11-17
• With a win, the team would have become just the second international team to win the QBC Shootout (Greg Norman/Steve Elkingotn-1998)
• McDowell was making his seventh start in the QBE Shootout, with runner-up finishes in 2017 (Shane Lowry), 2010 (Darren Clarke) and 2018 (Emiliano Grillo). Grillo was making his first start in the QBE Shootout
• In five starts this season on the PGA TOUR, Grillo has collected three top-15 finishes, highlighted by a T2 at the CIMB Classic
• In his most recent start this season on TOUR, McDowell finished T11 at The RSM Classic

Luke List/Charles Howell III (T3/-28)

• Highlighted by eagles at the par-4 13th and par-5 17th holes, the team made birdies at Nos. 1, 6, 7, 11, 12, 15 and 18. Their lone bogey came at the par-4 second hole
• While List was making his first start in the QBE Shootout, Howell was competing in his 10th tournament start. His best finish is runner-up with Rory Sabbatini in 2012
• Last month, Howell III followed a T5 finish at the season-opening Safeway Open with a playoff victory three starts later at The RSM Classic, his third career TOUR victory and first since 2007
• List is coming off a 2017-18 PGA TOUR Season highlighted by five top-10 finishes. His best among them was a playoff loss to Justin Thomas at The Honda Classic. In just three starts this season, he has collected a pair of T4 finishes (Safeway Open, The RSM Classic)

Gary Woodland/Charley Hoffman (T3/-28)

• Gary Woodland aced No. 5 from 202 yards with a 5-iron, the only hole-in-one during the week. In addition to the eagle, the team made birdies at Nos. 1, 3, 8, 11, 13, 15, 17 and 18. The only bogey of the day came at the par-4 seventh hole.
• Woodland’s ace marked the third in QBE Shootout history and was the first since Nick Price at No. 12 in the first round of 2011. Tim Clark made the first QBE Shootout ace, also at No. 12, in the final round of 2009 Woodland was making his fifth-consecutive start in the QBE Shootout, with last year’s T4 finish with Brendan Steele his best showing.

Miscellaneous Notes

• Lowest round of the day: 60 (Harold Varner III/Bubba Watson)
• The lowest-ever tournament score in Better Ball belongs to the 1996 team of Craig Stadler and Lanny Wadkins (57)
• Founded by World Golf Hall of Fame Member Greg Norman in 1989, this week’s QBE Shootout marked the 30th playing of the event
• Tiburon Golf Club at The Ritz-Carlton Resort in Naples, Fla. has now been home to the QBE Shootout for 18 consecutive years (2001)
• The 12 two-person teams were selected on the following criteria:
• Defending champions
• The top 12 available players from the 2017-18 FedExCup points list
• 10 special exemptions (a minimum of four come from the top 40 on the PGA TOUR career money list)
• Competitors in the 2018 QBE Shootout have combined for 90 victories (80 on the PGA TOUR and 10 by Lexi Thompson on the LPGA)
• Ten of the top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking were in this week’s QBE Shootout, highlighted by Bryson DeChambeau at No. 5
• Players who made their first start in the 2018 QBE Shootout: Cameron Champ (with Kevin Kisner), Kevin Na (with Bryson DeChambeau), Andrew Landry (with Luke Donald), Emiliano Grillo (with Graeme McDowell), Luke List (with Charles Howell III), Patton Kizzire (with Brian Harman) and Harold Varner III (with Bubba Watson)
• Two former FedExCup champions were among the 24-player field: Brandt Snedeker (2012) and Billy Horschel (2014)