European Tour - Dubai Duty Free Irish Open Hosted by the Rory Foundation

Søren Kjeldsen ended his six year wait for a European Tour title after he won a three way playoff at the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open Hosted by the Rory Foundation.

The Dane birdied the first playoff hole to deny Bernd Wiesberger and Eddie Pepperell, the latter earning the considerable consolation of a place at St Andrews for the Open Championship in July.

Kjeldsen had begun the day two strokes ahead of the field but tentatively secured his place in the playoff after shooting a final round 76.

The 40 year old, who had not won since the 2009 Open de Andalucía de Golf, held his nerve when it counted up the 18th for a second time as he saw his birdie putt rattle around the cup before falling in.

Pepperell had produced one of the rounds of the final day as he defied the windy conditions to shoot a bogey-free 69 – only four players shot under par rounds today – and set the clubhouse mark at two under.

Wiesberger joined the young Englishman with a final round 73, but they were left to wait on Kjeldsen who was a stroke ahead with two holes to play.

Kjeldsen had bogeyed both during his third round and when he three putted the 17th, he was left to hold his breath as a par putt at the 18th only just dropped to ensure he was a part of the playoff.

PGA Tour - AT&T Byron Nelson

Australia’s Steven Bowditch clinched his second US PGA Tour victory, emphatically winning the prestigious Byron Nelson Championship by four strokes moving to World No.65.

Bowditch posted four birdies on the final nine for an 18-under par total of 259 at the TPC Four Seasons Resort in Irving on Sunday [Monday AEST].

The 31-year-old finished ahead of Americans Charley Hoffman, Jimmy Walker and Scott Pinckney, all of whom tied at 14-under.

The victory was made all the sweeter given Bowditch tapped in his winning putt just a few metres from where he married wife Amanda in 2011.

“This is a pretty special place for myself and my wife,” Bowditch said of the 18th green.

“We took some wedding pictures here and we got married here at TPC. It’s a special place, and now we get to take some more pictures.”

Japan Golf Tour – Gateway to The Open Mizuno Open

Taichi Teshima of Japan captured the Gateway to The Open Mizuno Open title on Sunday, earning a place in 144th Open at St Andrews from 16-19 July along with Australian Scott Strange and Shinji Tomimura and Tadahiro Takayama of Japan.

A final round three-under-par 69 over JFE Setonaikai Golf Club took Teshima to 15-under-par for the championship and gave him a two shot victory over Strange who earned runner-up honours. The victory is Teshima’s eighth win on the Japan Golf Tour and he is now set to make his third appearance at The Open after playing in 2001 at Royal Lytham and 2002 at Muirfield.

“It has been 13 years since I last played in The Open,” said the 46-year-old. “The Old Course at St Andrews is really very special, it has such a great history and I am really looking forward to playing there in July.”

Teshima moves from 318^th to 199^th in the World Ranking.

Asian Tour – Bashundhara Bangladesh Open

Singaporean veteran Mardan Mamat was inspired by his wife’s special message as he posted a two-under-par 69 to cruise to a two-shot victory at the Bashundhara Bangladesh Open on Saturday moving to World No. 223^rd.

The 47-year-old completed a wire-to-wire win with a 14-under-par 270 total to win his fifth Asian Tour title and lift the unique trophy which was designed in the form of Bangladesh’s national animal, the Royal Bengal Tiger.

Khalin Joshi of India shot a 68 to tie for second place alongside Korea’s Soomin Lee, who posted a 67 at the Kurmitola Golf Club for their best result on the Asian Tour so far.

Theday belonged to Mardan, who kept calm and composed in the heat. His overnight three-shot lead was reduced to one stroke after he bogeyed the fourth hole but he steadied ship with a pair of birdies from hole five before adding another birdie on the 12th hole.

“I’m the first Bashundhara Bangladesh Open winner so this is a special win. I talked to my wife (Naz) last night and she sent me a message saying ‘You are the champion, you are the winner and you are the man’. That really inspired me today,” said an emotional Mardan, who won US$54,000.

PGA Tour China – Lanhai Open

There were so many moments when it seemed Josh Geary would not be able to overtake South Korea’s J.H. Wang at the Lanhai Open. But in the end, the result was just like the season opener when Geary got the better of Wang at the Buick Open.

Geary had four birdies on the closing nine then hung on when he bogeyed the 72nd hole at Lanhai International Golf Club to win his second tournament of the season by a stroke over Wang. In the process, Geary, a former Web.com Tour player, has put himself in solid position to return to that circuit in 2016 as he sits atop the Order of Merit, with ￥473,827 and moves to World No. 318^th.

“It feels pretty surreal. It was a really close battle, but I managed to sneak through,” Geary said.

With a one-shot lead on the par-4 18th hole, Geary didn’t get to the green until his third shot after hitting his drive into the rough and having to lay up short. Meanwhile, Wang faced a 26-foot birdie attempt. Wang sent that putt four feet past the hole, opening to door for Geary to win the tournament with a par. But his nine-footer lipped out. That left Wang with his comeback par putt to force a sudden death playoff. However his effort slid past, and Geary was the winner.

Challenge Tour – D+D Real Czech Challenge

Jens Fahrbring secured his second Challenge Tour title on a dramatic day in the D+D Real Czech Challenge moving to world No. 328^th, beating Ross McGowan by a single stroke after the Englishman’s birdie putt on the 18th green horseshoed round the hole.

Fahrbring signed off with a round of 68 for a 17 under par aggregate winning total, but the bare figures alone do not tell the full story of an enthralling final round at Golf & Spa Kunetická Hora, in Drítec, where the lead changed hands several times.

Having started the day two shots behind Nico Geyger, Fahrbring soon drew level with the Chilean courtesy of a 40-foot birdie putt at the fourth hole and a glorious approach to the par five seventh.

His sole blemish of the day at the ninth hole was duly cancelled out by a birdie at the next, but not before McGowan had signalled his intentions with a six birdies in seven holes from the fourth.

Another gain followed for Fahrbring at the 12th hole, whilst in the game ahead McGowan was creating –and largely spurning – birdie opportunities at virtually every turn.

Web.com – Rex Hospital Open

Kyle Thompson rolled in a four-foot birdie putt on the second playoff to beat Patton Kizzire and Miguel Carballo and win the Rex Hospital Open for the third time in his career moving to World No. 405^th.

Thompson, 36, fired a 4-under 67 in the final round at TPC Wakefield Plantation to finish at 17-under 267 and join the second playoff of the 2015 season.

“I knew I had to make it to win,” said Thompson, who became the first player in Tour history to win the same event three times (2007, 2011). “I thought ‘just go through the same routine that I did 50 times this week. The putt’s the same today as it was Thursday morning’.”

Thompson’s putt was dead-center and worth $112,500, which propelled the 36-year-old father of two from nowhere to No. 15 on the money list.

“It’s very emotional. I can’t even put into words what it means to win this golf tournament,” he said. “I kept my head down and kept doing the best I could. I had total belief that I was going to win this tournament but I don’t know where that came from.”

Thompson came into the week thinking he was all-too-quickly approaching a major crossroad in his career.

“It means I get to keep playing golf for a living. It really does,” said Thompson. “If I miss the cut, I’m looking for a job. Literally, I’m at the end of my rope. Miracles happen.”

Thompson, the 36-hole leader, started the final round in a four-way tie for second, two shots back of third-round leader Harold Varner III.

Asian Development Tour – PGM Port Dickson Championship

New Zealand’s Sean Riordan erased the heartbreak of missing the grade at the Asian Tour Qualifying School by closing with an even-par 71 to win his first Asian Development Tour (ADT) title at the PGM Port Dickson Championship on Saturday.

Riordan, who led the ADT event after the second round, endured a nervous finish as he signed off with a four-day total of 11-under-par 273 to snatch a one-shot victory over close friend Paul Donahoo of Australia at the Port Dickson Golf and Country Club.

The Malaysian trio of Shaaban Hussin, R.Nachimuthu and Kemarol Baharin shared third place together with Sweden’s Oskar Arvidsson on 275 total at the PGM Port Dickson Championship, which is the 13th leg of this season’s ADT Schedule.

Starting the day with a comfortable three-shot advantage, a nervous Riordan saw that lead quickly disappear as he dropped three shots in his first seven holes. The New Zealander managed to redeem himself by firing two birdies on eight and nine.

After turning in 36, he continued his search for more birdies but it would not come until the closing 18th hole where his decisive putt from 10ft would be enough for him to fend off the spirited challenge from Donahoo, who had posted the day’s lowest score of 66.

“It was a rough day but I managed to get the job done. I dug deep and remained very patient and I just can’t wait to go back home and celebrate this victory with my wife now,” said Riordan.

PGA Tour Latino America – Honduras Open presented by Indura Beach and Golf Resort

Felipe Velazquez enters the winners circle at the Honduras Open.

In the final round of the 2015 Honduras Open presented by Indura Beach and Golf Resort, Felipe Velazquez’s bogey-free back nine assisted in grabbing the two stroke victory at 21-under par over Brady Watt.

PGA Tour Canada – PC Financial Open

Georgia’s Drew Weaver defeated Adam Svensson, Taylor Pendrith, Riley Wheeldon and Ross Beal in a playoff on Sunday at Point Grey Golf and Country Club, capturing his first Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada title at the PC Financial Open.

The 28-year old carded a final round 3-under 69, including a clutch birdie on the 72ndhole to get into a playoff, then outlasted Svensson on the third extra hole to secure the win and the $31,500 first-place prize.

“It was an incredible finish,” said Weaver. “All week I tried to keep a level head, and thankfully I was able to maintain that in the playoff.”

The playoff finish capped a wild afternoon that saw several players make a charge to the top of the leaderboard. Pendrith, a Mackenzie Tour rookie from Richmond Hill, Ontario, was the first to post 12-under in the clubhouse after a chip-in eagle at the 72nd hole. Then, Beal, a fellow rookie from Uniontown, Ohio, matched him with an eagle putt from eight feet to share the clubhouse lead at 12-under.