Horschel/Piercy team takes Zurich Classic
AVONDALE, La. — Billy Horschel and Scott Piercy played bogey-free in the alternate-shot format and closed with a 5-under 67 to win the Zurich Classic.
Horschel and Piercy surged into the lead with birdies on the 10th and 11th holes and finished with seven pars to hold off Jason Dufner and Pat Perez. Dufner missed a 14-foot birdie putt on the last hole at TPC Louisiana that would have forced a playoff.
They finished 22-under 266.
Horschel became a twotime winner at TPC Louisiana. He captured his maiden PGA Tour title at the 2013 Zurich Classic when it was an individual tournament.
The victory was Horschel's fifth and Piercy's fourth. They each earned $1.04 million. The team event did not count toward the world ranking, nor did they earn an automatic invitation to the Masters. They are eligible for the Tournament of Champions next January at Kapalua.
The format changed this year to end with foursomes in the final round, allowing for more movement on the leaderboard. Horschel and Piercy started the final round three shots behind and birdied the opening two holes.
Kevin Kisner and Scott Brown, who lost in a playoff at the Zurich Classic a year ago, had the 54-hole lead until fading on the back nine and closing with a 77.
Louis Oosthuizen and Charl Schwartzel shot 68 and finished third.
Chris Paisley pitched in for eagle from just inside 50 yards on the final hole as he and Tommy Fleetwood tied for fourth with Brice Garnett and Chesson Hadley. at
BEIJING — Alexander Bjork of Sweden closed with a 7-under 65 to claim a one-stroke victory in the China Open for his first European Tour title.
Bjork, who trailed by one stroke going into the final round, made his final birdie on the 17th hole and finished at 18-under 270 at Topwin Golf and Country Club.
And then he had to wait to see if it would be enough. Adrian Otaegui of Spain and Matt Wallace of England, who shared the 54-hole lead, each needed eagle on the par-5 18th to force a playoff.
Oategui made birdie for a 67 and was runner-up. Wallace (68) made par and shared third with Jordan Smith (64) and Jorge Campillo (68).
NEWBURGH, Ind. — Jose de Jesus Rodriguez of Mexico shot a 2-under 70 and won the United Leasing & Finance Championship by one shot over Wyndham Clark for his first Web.com Tour title.
DALY CITY, Calif. — Lydia Ko hit a 3-wood to 3 feet for eagle to finish off Minjee Lee on the first hole of a playoff in the chilly LPGA MEDIHEAL Championship near San Francisco. Ko won her 15th LPGA Tour title and first since July 2016, a 43-event stretch marked by changes in instructors, caddies and equipment and a large weight loss. Five days after turning 21, the New Zealander won for the third time at Lake Merced after taking the Swinging Skirts LPGA at the tree-lined layout in 2014 and 2015.
Twenty yards behind Lee in the fairway on the par-5 18th in the playoff, Ko hit a 3-wood that landed in front of the green and rolled inches by the hole.
Lee, the 21-year-old Australian who won the 2012 U.S. Girls' Junior at Lake Merced, hit her second shot into the rough near the right greenside bunker and made a 10-foot birdie putt. Ko closed with a 1-under 71 to match Lee at 12-under 276. Lee had her second straight 68.