Charley Hoffman of the USA fired a closing round of 66 to win the OHL Classic at Mayakoba in Mexico by a single shot from his countryman Shawn Stefani.
Charley Hoffman of the USA fired a closing round of 66 to win the OHL Classic at Mayakoba in Mexico by a single shot from his countryman Shawn Stefani.
Hoffman began the final round three shots behind Jason Bohn, but the 54-hole leader played himself out of contention with a 40 on the front nine. Bohn eventually finished the week in a tie for seventh place.
It was New Zealander Danny Lee who lit things up in the early part of the round. He made an astonishing seven straight birdies on the front nine to move into the lead. But the former U.S. Amateur champion couldn’t keep it going on the run for home. He dropped three strokes on the back nine and finished two shots behind Hoffman.
Hoffman made his move on the 13th. One behind Shawn Stefani at that point, it looked as though Hoffman’s drive had found a hazard. He was actually just outside it, and he went on to make a birdie. Stefani found the hazard with this second shot and made a bogey – a two-shot swing that put Hoffman ahead.
“That was a big change in momentum,” Hoffman said.
A further birdie at the 16th put him two clear, but Stefani responded with a birdie at the 17th to reduce the gap to one shot with one hole to play.
On the 18th, Stefani’s drive found sand and Hoffman’s rolled up to the base of a tree. Both men could only play out back to the fairway – Hoffman did so left-handed.
Hoffman played his third shot onto the green but Stefani left his short of the putting surface. He chipped on to about five feet, leaving Hoffman two putts for the win. He duly took them and claimed his third PGA Tour victory, his first for four years. He has now earned a start in the Hyundai Tournament of Champions in Kapalua next January.
"My daughter has been wanting to go Hawaii, so I guess we'll make a New Year's run," Hoffman said.
OHL Classic at Mayakoba El Camaleon, Playa del Carmen, Mexico Nov 13-16, purse $6,100,000, par 71
1 Charley Hoffman (USA) 66 68 67 66 267 $1,098,000 2 Shawn Stefani (USA) 66 65 68 69 268 $658,800 T3 Andres Gonzales (USA) 69 67 66 67 269 $353,800 T3 Danny Lee (NZ) 66 69 67 67 269 $353,800 5 Jerry Kelly (USA) 69 66 67 68 270 $244,000 6 Brice Garnett (USA) 66 68 71 66 271 $219,600 T7 Jason Bohn (USA) 66 65 67 74 272 $196,725 T7 Tony Finau (USA) 65 72 70 65 272 $196,725 T9 Blayne Barber (USA) 66 68 72 67 273 $141,171 T9 Ken Duke (USA) 69 63 70 71 273 $141,171 T9 Oscar Fraustro (Mex) 68 67 69 69 273 $141,171 T9 Will Mackenzie (USA) 65 68 74 66 273 $141,171 T9 Carlos Ortiz (Mex) 67 69 69 68 273 $141,171 T9 Nicholas Thompson (USA) 68 65 71 69 273 $141,171 T9 Fred Funk (USA) 69 65 69 70 273 $141,171
Note: Player score in bold signifies Titleist ball usage
