29 Jun 2020 | Professional golf |
Aussie pair miss chances on KFT
by Mark Hayes
A pair of golden opportunities for a couple of Aussies were blown away in the Utah breeze on the Korn Ferry Tour today.
Ryan Ruffels began the final day of the Utah Championship third and in the hunt for his first professional victory, while Jamie Arnold clawed his way into contention with nine to play.
But both faded on the back nine as wind and rain whipped the Oakridge Country Club. Ruffels eventually shared 27th after a closing 73 left him 14 under and six shots from a playoff, while Arnold’s three-under 68 kept him at 18th at 15 under.
Ruffels, who is almost constantly knocking on the door of contention these days, overcame an early bogey with a birdie on the seventh to steady after his roaring third-round 63 put him in the second-to-last group.
But an errant drive and a worse second on the par-four 10th cost the Victorian a penalty stroke and a double-bogey at a crucial time. He compounded the error with a bogey on the 11th and his chances were effectively finished.
New South Welshman Arnold, himself a regular around Korn Ferry leaderboards in the past year or so, blazed early with four birdies in his opening seven holes to move into the mix. But his putter went cold and the only non-par from that point was a bogey on the 14th as his fellow contenders made their move.
Arnold moved up to 79th on the KFT money list, while Ruffels rose one spot to 47th.
Veteran Mark Hensby finished T52 at 11 under, while Brett Drewitt was 71st at seven under.
American Kyle Jones won his first Ferry Tour event with a birdie on the second hole of a playoff to eliminate Paul Haley. One hole earlier, retiring veteran Daniel Summerhays had his fairytale finish end with a bogey on the first extra hole.
Meanwhile, Dustin Johnson won his 21st career US PGA Tour event, hanging on for a one-shot victory in the Travelers Championship over Kevin Streelman.
Johnson carded a 67 despite driving out of bounds on the 13th to finish at 20 under. Jason Day closed with his own 68 to finish at seven under as best Aussie, while compatriots Marc Leishman (-5) and Greg Chalmers (+4) also banked cheques.
Join our newsletter
Get weekly updates on news, golf tips and access to partner promotions.