CARY, N.C. (AP) — Jerry Kelly finished with a 5-under 67 and won the SAS Championship Sunday when Padraig Harrington narrowly missed an 8-foot putt that would have forced a playoff, giving Kelly his first PGA Tour championship title in two years.
Kelly was bogey-free and had a two-shot lead on the back nine at Prestonwood Country Club until he failed to birdie the par-5 17th and then three-putted from 40 feet on the 18th. , sending his first putt about 10 feet through the hole.
He finished at 13-under 203 and was preparing for the playoff when Harrington, who had started the final round with a three-shot lead, made a superb putt to set up a birdie at the 17th.
They were tied for the lead until Harrington took a long stand on the 18th from the fairway, went about 8 feet away and made the par putt. Harrington shot 71,
Kelly won for the 12th time on the 50-and-over circuit, and the first time since the Shaw Charity Classic in August 2022. He had spent most of that year battling a wrist injury and rheumatoid arthritis.
“It took a while,” Kelly said. “We wonder if we’ll ever do it again when the injuries start to pile up.”
The SAS Championship was the final tournament before the Charles Schwab Cup qualifiers begin next week for the top 72 players.
Woody Austin, despite a 75 in the final round, is tied for 17th and moved up two spots to 71st. Lee Janzen retained 72nd place. Ernie Els enters the playoffs as the No. 1 seed.
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