Seung-Yul Noh of South Korea claimed his first victory on the PGA Tour by shooting 1-under-par 71 to beat Robert Streb and Andrew Svoboda by two strokes at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans in windy conditions at TPC Louisiana in Avondale, La.
The 22-year-old Noh, who didn’t make a bogey for the first 54 holes, made three in the final round, but it didn’t matter because he also had four birdies on a difficult day when par was a good score.
Noh, 22, became the fifth South Korean-born player to win on PGA Tour, joining K.J. Choi (eight wins), Y.E. Yang (two), Kevin Na (one) and Sang-Moon Bae (one).
With his lead down to one stroke, Noh hit his tee shot on the par-3 16th hole to within two feet and made the birdie putt before holing a clutch seven-footer for par on No. 17.
“I hope I made some people happy in South Korea,” said Noh, whose country is mourning the death of 200 or more people when a ferry sank on April 16.
“My goal was to have another bogey-free round, but it was much more difficult today. Your first PGA Tour win is always exciting. It was a great experience, especially playing with a player like Keegan. I’m very happy.”
Noh has won four times as a pro, including the 2010 Maybank Malaysian Open on the European Tour and the 2013 Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship during the Web.com Finals.
Svoboda, who won twice on the Web.com Tour last year, closed with a 69 to tie for second with Streb, winner of the 2012 Mylan Classic on the Web.com Tour who finished with a 70, as both posted the best finishes of their PGA Tour careers.
Jeff Overton, who has not won since joining the PGA Tour in 1996 and has four second place finishes during that time, was three shots back in solo fourth after a 70.
Robert Garrigus posted the round of the day, a 64, and tied for fifth with two-time heart transplant recipient Erik Compton, who shot 70, and Charley Hoffman of Poway and UNLV, who came in at 71.
Keegan Bradley, who was tied for the lead with Noh after four holes in the final round before going bogey-double bogey en route to a 75, tied for eighth with reigning U.S. Open champion Justin Rose of England, who shot 68, and Tommy Gainey, who had a 71.
