Hudson Swafford won the Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship. He also won a spot in next year’s Masters. And a spot in next year’s PGA Championship. And a spot in next year’s Players Championship. And a spot in next year’s Sentry Tournament of Championship. And a spot in any PGA Tour tournament through August 2023. The Corales became a full-allocation event when the Tour’s schedule was reshuffled due to the coronavirus. Swafford won. He’ll have a chance to win much more. Here are three things you need to know after Sunday’s final round at Corales Golf Club in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic.
Hudson Swafford wins
Swafford had it possibly won, had it possibly lost, then won in the end.
He played the front nine at 5-under to storm into the lead. He led by four after 12. Swafford’s lead fell to two when he double-bogeyed the 13th. His lead fell to one when Mackenzie Hughes birdied the 14th. He fell into a tie with Hughes when he bogeyed the 15th. From up four to tied in three holes.
Then, on the 210-yard, par-3 17th, Swafford hit his approach to within about 10 feet and rolled in the birdie putt to lead by one. On the 501-yard, par-4 18th, Swafford drove it into the fairway, hit his approach to the front of the green and made a knee-knocking 8-footer for par to win it.
He finished with a 3-under 69 for an 18-under total and a one-shot win over Tyler McCumber and a two-shot win over Hughes.
“I was like, man, you’ve got to step up and just hit a good flighted 6-iron,” Swafford said of his tee shot on 17. “I’ve done it a hundred thousand times, love hitting that golf shot. Man, it was a good one and an even better putt.”
Tyler McCumber finishes second
McCumber started the day six shots back. He was tied for the lead at the end of the day.
McCumber shot a six-birdie, no-bogey 66, his final birdie moving him to 17-under. He finished second alone when Hughes bogeyed the 18th.
Nate Lashley finished fourth, at 15-under; Adam Long was fifth, at 14-under; and James Hahn and Anirban Lahiri tied for sixth, at 13-under.
Third-round leader struggles
Long was leading at the start of his round. He was trailing by the 4th hole.
Long bogeyed the 2nd, fell into a tie for the lead after Swafford birdied the 3rd, then lost the lead when he birdied the 5th and Swafford eagled it. Long would make four more bogeys and finished with a 3-over 75.
