Michael Thompson clinches first PGA Tour victory in seven years with 3M Open: Max McGreevy wins Korn Ferry title

Blaine: Michael Thompson birdied two of the last three holes on Sunday for a 4-under 67 and a two-stroke victory in the 3M Open, finishing off his second PGA Tour win seven years after his first. “An unbelievable day,” Thompson said. “I played really solid golf. I think I only had three bogeys all week. Just really stuck to my game, played Michael Thompson golf, allowed my putter to speak volumes.” Thompson finished at 19-under 265 at TPC Twin Cities. Adam Long was second after a 64. Richy Werenski, who shared the lead with Thompson after both Friday and Saturday, had a 70 for his worst round of the tournament and settled for a nine-way tie for third —- three strokes back. Tony Finau finished in the third-place group, too, after a 68. He was the only one among the five world top-30 players in the field to reach the weekend, far outperforming fellow high-profile peers Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka, Tommy Fleetwood and Paul Casey. Nobody throughout the windy and muggy week in Minnesota was steadier than Thompson, who entered the week 151st in the FedEx Cup standings and rocketed up to 39th on the way to Tennessee for the World Golf Championships event. He deftly steered around the water danger on the 18th, landing his approach on the back of the green within 15 feet. With Long in the clubhouse, having played five groups ahead, Thompson had two putts to win. He needed only one, bending backward and thrusting both of his arms straight up in the air after the ball dropped in the cup in a celebration subdued a bit by the absence of spectators due to the pandemic. [caption id=“attachment_8643561” align=“alignnone” width=“640”]  Michael Thompson last secured a PGA Tour victory in 2013. AP[/caption] Thompson’s best previous finish in this stopped-and-restarted 2020 season was a tie for eighth at the Travelers Championship in Connecticut, and he missed the cut in his last start at the Workday Charity Open in Ohio two weeks ago. For this win, he not only secured a spot in the U.S. Open but a prize of $1,188,000. Korn Ferry Tour Max McGreevy shot an 8-under 64 to hold off Jose de Jesus Rodríguez by a stroke in the Price Cutter Charity Championship for his first Korn Ferry Tour victory. McGreevy played the back nine 5-under 31, making an eagle on the par-5 11th and birdies on the par-4 10th, par-3 15th and par-4 16th. The 25-year-old former Oklahoma player finished at 21-under 267 at Highland Springs Country Club. He earned $117,000 to jump from 40th to eighth in the season race for PGA Tour cards. “It was really just a great week,” McGreevy said. “It still really hasn’t set in. I’ve never won a four-round event before. I’ve won a lot of three-round events, but to be able to put something together on the final day and finally actually do it in a four-round event means a lot to me.” McGreevy spent last year on the PGA Tour Series — China, winning once and earning Player of the Year honors and a return to the Korn Ferry Tour. “It took a lot for me to go over there,” McGreevy said. “I had a fun journey with it. Fourteen weeks over there made me a lot stronger as a man and as a golfer." Rodríguez, from Mexico, finished with a 67. Chad Ramey was third at 19 under after a 67. Symetra Tour China’s Ruixin Liu won the FireKeepers Casino Hotel Championship for her fourth career Symetra Tour victory. The 21-year-old Liu closed with a 1-under 71 for a two-stroke victory at Battle Creek Country Club in the tour’s return after a long layoff because of the coronavirus pandemic. “It feels really great because after the long offseason,” Liu said. “It proves that everything I am doing is on the right track." Liu earned $26,250 to move into second place in the race for five LPGA Tour cards with $30,319. She finished at 13-under 203 after opening with consecutive 66s. Liu will play the next two weeks in Toledo, Ohio, in the LPGA Tour’s return. Bailey Tardy was second after a 66. Janie Jackson was third at 10 under after a 68. Jackson leads the season standings, and Tardy is third.