It was a birdie-sprint to the finish in perfect weather Sunday in Naples and when it was over, Bob Tway and Rory Sabbatini came home with a whopping 31-under par for their winning score.
The scoreboard was bunched up after Saturday’s modified alternate shot format, four teams were tied at 19-under par. For the final 18 in this 54-hole event, it was pure best-ball and Sabbatini had a hot hand all afternoon.
Tway and Sabbatini got off to a slow start over their first nine holes — they were just four-under. But their back nine was beyond impressive with six birdies and an eagle for a closing 28 and a 12-under par 60. Their 31-under par total gave them a two-shot victory over J.T. Poston and Jason Kokrak, who closed with 62.
Harold Varner III and partner Ryan Palmer shot an eye-popping 17-under in the day one scramble format but could only manage a 70 in the modified alternate shot and that proved costly at the end. They finished at 28-under and tied for third with Brendon Todd and Billy Horschel.
Lexi Thompson, playing in the mostly-men field for the second straight year, finished dead-last with Sean O’Hair. They could only get to eight-under par, a full 12 shots behind the next-to-last place team.
