Tour rookie Long pips Mickelson, Hadwin to Desert Classic title

By Rahul Banerji

With Anirban Lahiri eliminated on day three, interest in the Desert Classic at La Quinta, California was centered around whether Phil Michelson would complete a wire-to-wire finish, but that was not to be as PGA Tour rookie Adam Long came out of nowhere to claim top honours.

The 31-year-old Long, in only his sixth Tour start, was alongside Michelson and Canada’s Adam Hadwin, a remarkably consistent performer at the desert course over the years. In the event, Hadwin found the bunker, Lefty missed his birdie putt and Long made use of the line suggested to drop his putt.

It was his 65^th stroke of the day and gave him a one-shot maiden Tour win that will remain in his mind forever. His 7-under round had two chip-ins that helped close the gap on Michelson, and the birdie pull on the 18^th hole sealed the deal.

“I just kept plugging away and it was kind of the Phil and Adam Hadwin show for most of the way,” Long said later. “Everyone was chanting Phil’s name most of the way and there are a lot of Canadians down here. I was just in the background.”

“He hit shot after shot and putted great, had a couple chip-ins and did what you had to do to win,” conceded Mickelson.

Chikka ends tied 24th in Singapore

In Singapore,S. Chikkarangappa finished in a share for 24th place after a final round of 71 at the SMBC Singapore Open on Sunday. Chikka, who was in the top-10 midway through the second round finished with rounds of 71, 66, 72 and 71 to total four-under 280.

Arjun Atwal, the only other Indian to make the cut, shot 74 on the final day and ended tied-51st.

Thailand’s Jazz Janewattananond closed with a six-under-par 65 to take home the Singapore Open trophy for his third Asian Tour title and also seal his passage to The Open.

The 23-year-old arrived in Singapore on the back of a rich vein of form to establish himself as one of the genuine contenders for the title at the start of the week. 

The young Thai shrugged off the challenges of a host of quality players including Sergio Garcia, Paul Casey and Davis Love III to become the third from his country after Thaworn Wiratchant (2001) and Prayad Marksaeng (2017) to win a third Asian Tour title with a total of 18-under-par 266.

Casey mounted a strong challenge by signing for a 65 but it was never going to be enough to catch Jazz, who was unstoppable on the Sunday afternoon at the Sentosa Golf Club. 

England’s Matthew Fitzpatrick, who was making his debut at the SMBC Singapore Open, closed with a 69 to take outright fourth place.

Also read: Lahiri opens year with midfield finish in Hawaii