FILE PHOTO: Golf – The 147th Open Championship – Carnoustie, Britain – July 21, 2018 Xander Schauffele of the U.S. in action during the third round REUTERS/Jason Cairnduff
October 28, 2018
SHANGHAI (Reuters) – Xander Schauffele birdied the first extra hole to beat fellow American Tony Finau in a playoff and win the $10 million WGC-HSBC Champions at the Sheshan International course on Sunday.
The 25-year-old, who shot a closing four-under-par 68 to finish on 14-under for the tournament, sank a short birdie putt on his second trip to the 18th green and watched as Finau came up just short with a much longer effort.
Overnight leader Finau finished with a 71 to force the playoff, while third place for defending champion Justin Rose (72) four shots behind the leading pair was only just insufficient for the Briton to return to world number one.
American Brooks Koepka shot a final round 69 to finish in a share of 16th and retain the number one ranking he claimed for the first time after winning the CJ Cup in South Korea last weekend.
(Reporting by Nick Mulvenney in Sydney, editing by Sudipto Ganguly.)
