Karl Vilips wins Puerto Rico Open for first PGA Tour title
RIO GRANDE, Puerto Rico — Karl Vilips of Australia ran off three straight birdies to break out of an unexpected duel and played his best golf down the stretch Sunday for an 8-under 64 to win the Puerto Rico Open, his first PGA Tour victory in just his third start as a pro.
The new “Sun Day Red” brand of Tiger Woods adorned the apparel of a PGA Tour winner, and it was Vilips, the Stanford alum who has built his life around playing on the PGA Tour for as long as he can remember.
The victory gets him into The Players Championship next week and the PGA Championship in May, along with a two-year exemption on the PGA Tour.
“It’s a dream come true for me and my dad,” said Vilips, referring to a father who helped create a path to a U.S. school since Vilips was 11, a top junior career and scholarship to Stanford. The 23-year-old spent one year on the Korn Ferry Tour.
“This is what we dreamed of as a kid,” he said.
Vilips responded to a sensational charge by Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen of Denmark, who birdied six straight holes to start the back nine and closed with a 63. The Dane briefly took the lead when Vilips made a bogey on the 12th hole with a wedge from the fairway.
Vilips never flinched. He birdied the next three holes, including a nifty pitch to set up birdie on the par-5 14th hole to regain the lead, and a tee shot to 5 feet for birdie on the par-3 15th.
He was never out of position the rest of the way and holed a 6-foot birdie putt on the final hole for a three-shot victory.
“Come on!” he yelled when the final birdie fell.
Neergaard-Petersen was playing on a commissioner’s exemption for international players. He fell back with a 73 on Saturday and then came charging on the final day.
The runner-up finish gets him into the Valspar Championship in two weeks.
“When I made the putt on the 15th is when I thought if I can post a good number, we’ll see,” Neergaard-Petersen said. “I’m super happy for the day. I’m looking forward to another opportunity.”
Joseph Bramlett, another Stanford alum, shot 68 to finish alone in third, five shots behind.
Kieron Van Wyk, the South African trying to become the second amateur in as many years to win on the PGA Tour, didn’t make enough birdies to keep up. He finished with a 70 and tied for fourth with Steven Fisk (68).
Vilips, who finished at 26-under 262, earned $720,000. Because the tournament was held the same week as the Arnold Palmer Invitational, he does not get a Masters invitation by winning.
JOHANNESBURG — Scottish golfer Calum Hill made par on the second playoff hole to outlast South African rivals Jacques Kruyswijk and Shaun Norris and win the Joburg Open on Sunday.
The extra holes took place to the backdrop of thunder and lightning at Houghton Golf Club, with all three players parring the first playoff hole — the par-4 18th — to go back up to the tee.
Norris, who led overnight by four strokes, dropped out of contention after hitting his second shot into water from a fairway bunker before Hill left his birdie putt from off the green just short, tapping in for par.
Kruyswijk needed to roll in a par putt from 3 feet to extend the playoff but pushed it right.
Hill, ranked No. 286, clinched his second European tour title — the first being the Cazoo Classic in 2021.
He shot 8-under 62 to set the clubhouse target at 14 under and was joined in the playoff first by Kruyswijk (66), who was seeking a second victory in three weeks after winning the Magical Kenya Open last month, and then Norris after his two birdies in the last three holes to complete a round of 70.
Norris, bidding for a wire-to-wire victory, won the Alfred Dunhill Championship in December.
Sergio Garcia carded a 7-under 63 to capture a double victory Sunday at LIV Golf Hong Kong, winning both the individual and team titles.
In a three-way tie for the lead entering the final round, Garcia started fast with an eagle on the 551-yard No. 3, recorded four consecutive birdies on Nos. 8 through 11 and added a birdie on No. 16 to finish the tournament at 18-under 192.
His co-leaders couldn’t keep pace with Garcia at Hong Kong Golf Club. Paul Casey of England shot a 69 to finish in fifth place at 12 under while Peter Uihlein’s 70 left him in a tie for sixth, seven strokes behind Garcia.
South Africa’s Dean Burmester had the round of the day, firing a 62 to move into second place at 15 under. Phil Mickelson shot a 64 to finish third, four shots behind Garcia, and stand on his first podium as a LIV member.
A 64 from Lucas Herbert of Australia put him in fourth place, five strokes behind Garcia.
Approaching the 18th green, Garcia had a big individual lead but needed to par the hole to stave off a playoff with Stinger GC in the team competition. Staring down what he called an “easy 55-footer down the hill,” he left his putt close to the hole, tapping in for a birdie and the team win at 37 under.
It was the sixth LIV Golf team title for the Fireballs, who won last week in Adelaide, Australia.
“It was nice to see not only that I was doing well and leading the tournament, but my teammates were playing great,” said Garcia, whose teammate Abraham Ancer took the individual championship in Adelaide. “They were keeping us there with a chance to win. Obviously when you can pull the double, it’s a lot sweeter than if it’s just one of them. Very proud of them.”
Garcia seemed to cherish the latest win with his team, which includes fellow Spaniards David Puig and Luis Masaveu as well as Ancer of Mexico. At 45, Garcia has assumed the role as elder statesman of golf in Spain, serving as a mentor in the way Seve Ballesteros and José María Olazábal did for him as a youngster.
“It’s fun,” Garcia said. “I really love this format. I really love the team aspect of it and trying to put my arm around them and give them advice if they need it or if they want it and try to help them be the best version of themselves on another golf course.”
Another veteran, the 54-year-old Mickelson, said he feels good about his game heading into next month’s Masters.
“The fact is I’m hitting a lot of good shots, I’m playing some good golf,” said Mickelson, who has won three green jackets at the Masters. “This is a building week as I continue to build into LIV and my goal of accomplishing a win in LIV as well as winning another major or getting ready for Augusta.”
LIV Golf resumes next weekend at Sentosa Golf Club in Singapore.
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Karl Vilips becomes latest Australia to win on PGA Tour less than a year after turning professional
It can take some golfers years to break through on the PGA Tour, but a former Australian child prodigy has done it after four events on the toughest tour in the world.
Less than a year after turning professional and in only his fourth PGA Tour start, former child prodigy Karl Vilips has joined the elite list of Australians to taste success with a nerveless win at the Puerto Rico Open, franking the hype that has surrounded his journey to the top.
Adopted by Tiger Woods as the first player to wear his Sun Day Red clothing label on tour, Vilips, 23, briefly surrendered the lead he took into the final round at Grand Reserve Golf Club in Rio Grande as the chasers came at him before seizing control on the run to the clubhouse to win by three shots and collect $1.1m.
He’s also secured his played card for the next two seasons and will tee it up in next week’s Players Championship in Florida, an event considered, by players to be the fifth major in what looms as the biggest event of his career.
Vilips played the final round like a veteran despite what was at stake.
He peeled off three birdies and an eagle in his opening holes, and he walked down the 18th fairway with a two-shot lead before making one more birdie on the final hole in a closing eight-under 65 for the win.
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Aussie YouTube prodigy hand-picked by Tiger closes in on maiden PGA Tour win
Australian Karl Vilips is one round away from claiming a maiden PGA Tour victory as he leads the $US4 million Puerto Rico Open by one shot, while Jason Day is in contention at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
Watch every round of the PGA Tour LIVE & Exclusive on Fox Sports, available on Kayo. New to Kayo? Get your first month for just $1. Limited time offer.
In just his third start in his debut season on the PGA Tour, Vilips has fired rounds of 65, 67 and 66 to sit -18, one shot clear of American Joseph Bramlett and South African amateur Kieron van Wyk.
The 23-year-old has been making waves in the men’s professional golf landscape as last month he was chosen by Tiger Woods to be an ambassador for his Sun Day Red clothing label.
Vilips attended the same college as the 15-time major champion, Stanford University in California, and his career has moved in fast forward since graduating and turning professional last year.
He won just his fourth event as a professional, on the Korn Ferry Tour, after finishing runner-up the week prior and those results helped him progress from the secondary US Tour to the PGA Tour despite only playing ten tournaments for the season.
“I don’t feel that surprised,” Vilips said when he asked if was surprised by his hot start to his professional career.
“I feel like my game’s gotten a lot better over the years. I think playing so much out of college and on the Korn Ferry and then just a lot of competitive golf, it just has sharpened me up a lot. I’ve been really true to the process and seeing it pay off so far at the moment is nice.”
It has been an astronomical rise for the Melbourne born, West Australian who first attracted the attention of the golf world as ‘Koala Karl’ on YouTube.
Vilips’ father, Paul, posted videos of practice sessions as well as clips from junior tournaments and more than 40,000 subscribers jumped on board to follow the journey which has taken him to the PGA Tour.
Unfortunately, his maiden campaign started a little later than expected due to a bulging disc in his back, which was realised after experiencing pain during a return home to play in the Australian Open, but Vilips is now making up for lost time.
“It was tough. There were courses that I was looking forward to playing to start the season,” he said.
“It was pretty tough news to hear back last year, especially when you’re excited to get your card and you can’t play the first few events. But dealt with it, it is what it is, and just tried to get ready for when I could play.”
Vilips has also dealt with stomach issues in Puerto Rico this week as he tries to become the first Australian since Cam Davis at the Rocket Mortgage Classic last year to triumph on the PGA Tour.
“Feeling pretty good with the position I’m in. I wish my stomach felt a little bit better, but it is what it is. You’ve got one more day, just battle through it,” he said.
“I’ve lost a lot of weight this week. I don’t know what’s going on, just like it feels like it’s shrinking on me.”
Meanwhile, one day after shooting the lowest round at Bay Hill since 2021, Jason Day sits three shots off the lead heading into the final round.
Day did not reach the heights of his second round 64 on Saturday but fought back impressively to finish the round in fourth behind leader Collin Morikawa, second-placed Russell Henley and third-placed Corey Conners.
The Australian bogeyed seven, eight and nine to reach the turn one-over for the day, but clawed back the momentum late in his round with a hat-trick of birdies at 16, 17 and 18 to reach three-under for the round and -7 overall.
Playing the closing holes in such brilliant fashion bodes well for his bid for a 14th PGA Tour title and his first since the AT&T Byron Nelson.
If Day, can produce some Sunday afternoon heroics, it would be the second time he has triumphed at ‘Arnie’s place’ after winning the same event in 2016.
“Nine years is a long time,” Day said post-round.
“I feel really good with my putter right now. At the start of the year, I actually hit it pretty good and I putted quite poorly.
“I got a little too technical there for a moment and now I’m getting back to just playing golf.”
Countrymen Adam Scott shot his best round of the tournament so far with a two-under par 70 taking him to +1 overall in a tie for 27th.
