Davis Love III became the third-oldest winner in PGA Tour history when he shot 6-under-par 64 to win the Wyndham Championship by one stroke over Jason Gore of Valencia at Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro, N.C.
Tiger Woods, who needed to win to qualify for the FedEx Cup playoff opener–the Barclays– this week, shot 70 and wound up four shots back in a tie for 10th.
The 51-year-old Love, captain of the 2016 U.S. Ryder Cup team, is three months older than Art Wall when he captured the 1975 Greater Milwaukee Open. Sam Snead was the oldest player to win on the circuit when he captured his eighth title at Greensboro at the age of 52 in 1965.
“When you get to a tournament where you feel good and comfortable and are having fun and have got a lot of fans, it certainly makes it a little bit easier and more fun to play,” said Love, who claimed his 21st PGA Tour title and the third in Greensboro. “It’s just nice to be mentioned with Sam Snead and to get another win here because this tournament, this state, this town has been good to me.
“Honestly, when I walked off 18th green, I didn’t know what was going on. I knew I needed to make birdies coming in. I knew that I had to make that par putt at 16 because you’re just playing the game and you can smell the blood in the water. You know what’s going on. But I didn’t know the scores. I think that really helped me.”
Love, who was born in Charlotte, N.C., and played college golf at North Carolina, had four birdies to go with eagles on the fifth and 15th holes, which put him two strokes ahead when he finished his round.
Gore, who played at Pepperdine and claimed his only victory in the 2005 84 Lumber Classic, followed a third-round 62 that put him in the lead with a 69 that included a 25-foot eagle putt on the 15th hole.
However, he could manage only pars on the last three holes when he couldn’t get any closer than 26 feet of the hole with his approach shots, leaving his 50-foot birdie putt about a foot short on No. 18.
Charl Schwartzel of South Africa closed with a second straight 66 and finished two shots back in a tie for third with Paul Casey of England, who had a 67, and Scott Brown, who finished at 68.
Rookie Brooks Koepka holed out his bunker shot for an eagle on the 15th hole and posted a 65 to wind up three strokes behind in a tie for sixth with Bill Haas, who posted a 67, Carl Pettersson of Sweden, who also had a 67, and Webb Simpson, who came in at 68.
Woods, who was tied for the lead after opening with 64-65, birdied four of the last six holes, but was doomed by a triple-bogey 7 on the 11th hole.
