Cantlay wins Zozo Championship

Patrick Cantlay of America snatched a one shot victory at the Zozo Championship with a final round seven-under 65 which included nine birdies. Jon Rahm of Spain and overnight leader Justin Thomas finished tied in second on twenty-two under par.

Rahm came close to forcing his way into a playoff but his eighteen-foot birdie putt slipped agonisingly by the hole at the last. Thomas then made his birdie putt to tie with Rahm and deprive the Spaniard the world number one spot keeping Dustin Johnson top of the pile.
Both Rahm and Thomas started their final rounds well reaching the turn in three-under and four under respectively, however, both then struggled on the way home. At the same time, Cantlay kept up the pressure and stormed by the world's number two and three to take the spoils.

Cantlay moved two shots ahead after birdying four out of five holes from the 11th tee. A sloppy bogey at the long 16th threatened to spoil his day but pars at the final two holes were good enough to give Cantlay the title and winners cheque for $1.44 million.
"I put in a lot of work and try to do the right things all the time, so when it all does come together, it's really rewarding because it's all that hard work paying off," said Cantlay.

Rory McIlroy Is showing sign of a return to form as Augusta looms. The man from Northern Ireland made a PGA Tour record twenty nine birdies in his four rounds but the fact he finished eight shots behind Cantlay shows his problems with consistency remain.
Elsewhere, Tiger Woods and playing partner Phil Mickelson closed with rounds of 74 and 78 respectively. Woods the defending champion finished in a tie for seventy-second with Mickelson who won last week on the PGA Tour Champions in seventy-sixth.