American Andrew Landry shot a final-round 5-under 67 including birdies on 17 and 18 to seal the US Tour American Express tournament at La Quinta in the California desert, 2 shots ahead of a fast-finishing Abraham Ancer who shot a 9-under 63 in the final round.
The Chilean Ancer had a blistering front nine holes five birdies between the 4th and 9th holes. Coming home he also birdied 11, 14, 16 and 17 but couldn’t manage to get ahead of Landry who had led for most of the tournament and led by 6shots heading into the final nine holes before finishing on 26-under.
New Zealand tour star Tim Wilkinson finished with a 1-under 71, tied for 21st place overall on 15-under. Kiwi number one Danny Lee missed the final round cut, finishing on 5-under after three days.
For the 32-year-old Texan, this is Landry’s second win ever on the US Tour after a victory in his home tournament in Texa in 2018.
Landry lost a playoff to Jon Rahm two years ago at the same PGA West golf course venue.
This year has found something special in the desert after missing the cuts in seven of eight starts this season.
“It feels great, winning out here is hard,” Landry said after his win.
“It’s been a heck of a week so far with my ball-striking.
“Just kind of one day’s ball-striking, the next day’s putting and putting’s just been here all week.”
“I played some good golf throughout the week but my golf swing did not feel super comfortable today, started out alright, got a little loosey-goosey.
“Just to get the job done means a lot to be able to be a winner again. I’ve learnt how to control my emotions, I’ve learnt how to control my pace, all these things help me become successful.”
Landry’s payday will be just over $1.6 million (NZD) and is a great start to 2020.
Big moment.
Big pressure.
Bigger shot.@AndrewLGolf leads by 1 with one hole left to play at @TheAmexGolf.#QuickHits pic.twitter.com/TV6OfGzPWa— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) January 19, 2020
