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Russell Henley goes on late birdie run to win Colonial. Celine Boutier rallies to win on LPGA

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Russell Henley birdied the final three holes to force a playoff with Eric Cole, then made it four it a row with a 5-footer on the first extra hole Sunday at Colonial to win the Charles Schwab Classic.

Henley’s late surge denied fellow 37-year-old Cole his first PGA Tour win on a day when Ben Griffin came up just short of becoming the only player other than Ben Hogan to win consecutive tournaments at Colonial.

Henley earned $1.78 million for his sixth PGA Tour title and also got the plaid jacket and a customized 1982 Jeep Scrambler vehicle. He closed with a 3-under 67.

After making 15-foot putts at the par-3 16th hole and the par-4 17th, Henley was the first to post at 12-under 268 when he hit wedge to 17 feet on the 18th and made his third straight birdie. Cole shot an even-par 70. He parred the final seven holes — eight counting the playoff.

LPGA Tour

GALLOWAY, N.J. (AP) — Celine Boutier rallied from a four-shot deficit Sunday, making three birdies around the turn on her way to a 5-under 66 for a one-shot victory over Arpichaya Yubol in the ShopRite LPGA.

Soo Bin Joo, the 22-year-old South Korean going for her first LPGA Tour title, lost her four-shot lead at the turn and then fell behind for good on the 13th hole with a double bogey, the same hole where earlier Boutier had taken the lead with a 30-foot birdie putt.

Boutier finished at 9-under 204 for her seventh career LPGA title.

Yubol, who was penalized one shot in the second round Saturday for going over her maximum time, birdied the last two holes for a 66. It was her second runner-up finish of the year, having finished four shots behind Nelly Korda in Mexico.

LIV Golf League

BUSAN, South Korea (AP) — Joaquin Niemann closed with a 3-under 67 and made birdie on the first playoff hole against Talor Gooch to win LIV Golf Korea, the first title of the year for Niemann and his league-leading eighth career victory.

Gooch also shot 67 in a bid for his first LIV victory since Spain a year ago. Gooch and Niemann finished at 12-under 268 at Asiad Country Club in Busan, South Korea.

Bryson DeChambeau, who already has two wins this year, shot 65 and missed the playoff by one shot. Dustin Johnson (66) was another shot behind.

Jon Rahm, a runner-up at the PGA Championship two weeks ago, tied for 16th. It was his first finish outside the top 10 at LIV Golf in nearly a year.

European tour

KITZBUHEL, Austria (AP) — Kota Kaneko chipped in for birdie on the par-3 17th hole and closed with a 3-under 67 for a two-shot victory in the Austrian Alpine Open, making him the ninth Japanese player to win on the European tour.

Kaneko, who won the Order of Merit on the Japan Golf Tour last year to earn a European tour card, finished two ahead of Ricard Gouveia (69) and Davis Bryant (65). He finished at 18-under 262.

Bryant, who played at Colorado State, was tied for the lead when Kaneko holed his chip on the 17th. Bryant took bogey on the final hole.

Kaneko was a runner-up last week in the Soudal Open. The victory moved him to No. 11 in the Race to Dubai.

Korn Ferry Tour

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Alvaro Ortiz lost the lead with a pair of double bogeys, and then birdied his last two holes to force a playoff that he won with a birdie on the first extra hole in the UNC Health Championship on Sunday.

Ortiz rallied late for a 2-over 72 — he was 5 over in his final round at one point — to catch Ross Steelman, who closed with a 66 and was the first to post at 10-under 270.

Ortiz, the younger brother of Carlos Ortiz, won for the first time on the Korn Ferry Tour.

Blades Brown, the 19-year-old who has special temporary membership on the PGA Tour, tied for 13th and moved to No. 11 in the points standing.

Other tours

Shaun Norris of South Africa closed out his victory in the Mizuno Open with a 7-under 65 for a five-shot victory, earning a return to the British Open this summer. The Japan Golf Tour event offered British Open spots to the leading three players. Ryutaro Nagano (66) and Ren Yonezawa (65) tied for second to earn their places at Royal Birkdale. … Helen Briem of Germany closed with a 4-under 67 for a seven-shot victory in the Jabra Ladies Open de France at Evian Golf Resort. It was the of victory this year on the Ladies European Tour. … Ryan Van Velzen closed with a 2-under 69 for a two-shot victory in the Spanish Challenge on the Challenge Tour. … Yui Kawamoto shot 4-under 68 and defeated Yuzuki Toshizawa in a playoff to win the Resort Trust Ladies Championship on the Japan LPGA. … Minji Park rallied from a four-shot deficit with an 8-under 64 to win the Suhyup Bank MBN Ladies Open on the Korea LPGA.

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AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf

Ryan Fox wins first career major at 2026 Open Championship

CNN
(CNN) — Ryan Fox took home the Claret Jug after draining a birdie putt on the 18th hole to win the 2026 Open Championship at Royal Birkdale on Sunday.The 39-year-old Fox beat out American Cameron Young to win his first career major title, becoming only the third New Zealander to win a men’s major golf championship.Fox came into the final hole tied with Young, after the 29-year-old finished the round at 6-under 64 a few hours before.The Kiwi powered his drive into the middle of the fairway and then set up the biggest putt of his golf career so far with an approach shot that landed about 12 feet from the pin.As the putt fell into the hole, the crowd in Southport, England, gave Fox a rousing ovation as he raised both arms in the air to celebrate the achievement.The putt capped off four birdies in the last six holes for Fox.Fox was at a loss for words while speaking to the NBC Sports broadcast after the win.“I don’t really know what to think at the moment. I’ve got a lot of people to thank. First of all, my family. My wife and kids are in Florida at the moment. I spoke to my kids last night and they said, bring back a trophy. I think that’s a pretty cool one to bring back for them,” Fox said. “My family back in New Zealand and all my supporters back there. I know it’s been a long night for them, but I’m glad it was worthwhile.”Fox finished with a 2-under 68 after trailing Sam Burns, who held a two-stroke lead coming into Sunday’s final round.Fox also becomes the third-oldest major winner in the last 10 years, trailing only Phil Mickelson at the 2021 PGA Championship and Tiger Woods at the 2019 Masters.“Just an unbelievable week. The golf course was fantastic. The English weather was fantastic. You guys out there were fantastic. The support was amazing. This is pretty cool. I’m sorry if I’ve forgotten anyone, but thank you very much,” Fox added.It is another disappointment for Young, who is still looking for his first career major title despite winning The Players earlier this year. Young finished one shot back of the win at the 2022 Open Championship at St. Andrews and held the lead heading into the final round at the Masters back in April.It is also another let down for Burns, another golfer looking for his maiden major win.The Louisiana State University alum came into the round ahead by two strokes but quickly lost it and went birdie-free for the final 12 holes.“(Fox) is a well-earned champion and hats off to him,” Burns said. “He did what he needed to do down the stretch and ultimately just came up a couple short today.”Defending champion Scottie Scheffler stayed within striking range throughout the round, but wound up with a 3-under 67 on Sunday to finish tied for fourth with Tommy Fleetwood.After a drama-filled tournament, Bryson DeChambeau finished tied for 14th while Rory McIlroy, who has been critical of the LIV Golfer all tournament long, ended tied for 40th.Fox’s journey to first major winFox’s road to his first career major title wasn’t the easiest. It came with many bumps and U-turns.While speaking to CNN’s Don Riddell ahead of the Desert Classic in Dubai in early 2025, Fox opened up about his mental health issues, including being an older rookie after spending years on the DP World Tour and the PGA Tour of Australia.“I think being a rookie at 37 years old on the PGA Tour was, I probably wasn’t quite prepared for what that was again,” Fox told CNN.“I knew all the golf courses, knew how to travel work, knew where to stay, and everything was new on the PGA Tour, and that was probably a shock to the system more than anything.”Fox comes from a lineage of athletes within his family tree, including his father, Grant Fox, who was a main kicker for the New Zealand national rugby team and his grandfather, Merv Wallace, a former New Zealand cricketer who later coached the national team.Fox spoke out on the “pressure” a golfer faces, mentioning the 2024 death of former PGA Tour golfer Grayson Murray, whose parents later confirmed it was death by suicide.“It can be a stressful life. It’s all performance-based. There’s a lot of pressure on – Looking after your mental health is really, really important, and having people to talk to and all of that is part of that,” Fox said.“It’s a shame it got to that point with Grayson that, you know, we’ve had to have those, those pretty tough conversations now, but it will help – hopefully it helps someone else in a similar situation going forward because we certainly don’t want to see it again.”CNN’s Kyle Tatelbaum and Don Riddell contributed to this reporting This write has been updated with additional reporting The-CNN-Wire™ & © 2026 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.
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