NAPLES, Fla. — LPGA star Lexi Thompson and two-time Masters champion Bubba Watson finished ninth out of 12 teams in the QBE Shootout on Sunday.
But their 23-under total was Thompson’s best in her five appearances in Greg Norman’s PGA Tour event. Thompson had tied for fourth while playing with Tony Finau in 2017, but they had shot 21 under.
“You’re welcome,” Watson joked. “Michael Jordan’s number.”
Thompson and Watson shot a 4-under 68 in the final round, which uses a better-ball format. That meant Thompson had to play her own ball from the same tee as all 23 male players, roughly 900 yards further than the Tiburón Gold Course layout she played in the LPGA’s Tour CME Group Tour Championship a few weeks ago.
“The experience was great,” Watson said. “Today I just didn’t have it. This is the first time, I guess counting the pro-am, playing five days in a row in 3 1/2 months. She played unbelievable. I couldn’t ask for a better partner. She putted phenomenal. She hit a lot of amazing shots, even playing those tees. Even today, playing her own ball, she hit so many great shots.
“I couldn’t ask for a better partner, but she could — I didn’t make that many birdies today.”
Thompson had played with Bryson DeChambeau in 2016, and Finau in 2017 and 2018, and Sean O’Hair two years ago. She wasn’t able to play in last year’s Shootout after the U.S. Women’s Open was moved back due to the coronavirus pandemic and ended up being the same week.
Thompson and DeChambeau tied for 11th in 2016, and Finau and Thompson were seventh in 2018 following up their fourth-place finish the year before. O’Hair and Thompson were last in 2019.
“It was overall amazing,” Thompson said. “I was so happy to be able to team up with (Bubba) this week. This week is so much fun, growing up with older brothers, just playing with the guys and playing from all the way back. But to be alongside Bubba, always rooting me on, helping me out, and just feeding off each other as a team is an honor to be out there, and we had a lot of fun doing it.”
Lexi Thompson of the United States plays his shot from the 18th tee during the final round of the QBE Shootout at Tiburon Golf Club on December 12, 2021 in Naples, Florida. (Photo by Cliff Hawkins/Getty Images)
Leaders go cold
Marc Leishman and Jason Day had a three-shot lead going into the final round of the QBE Shootout on Sunday. Then they extended it to four early at Tiburón Golf Club at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Resort.
And then they went cold.
The two Aussies made one birdie in an eight-hole stretch on the middle of the front nine and early on the back. By the time they made back-to-back birdies on Nos. 13 and 14, they were chasing eventual winners Jason Kokrak and Kevin Na.
“I mean, just a little bit off, I think,” Leishman said. “Just cold putters. But Kevin and Jason, they played some unbelievable golf. I don’t even know what we shot. We just left too many shots out there and just couldn’t get it going. In four-ball you have to see those putts drop in and we weren’t able to do that.”
“We just didn’t get the putter rolling today, so kind of started from the get-go with me three-whacking off the front edge there,” Day said. “Just didn’t get any sort of momentum kind of rolling unfortunately.”
Day is still working on some swing changes to keep his back, on which he had noninvasive surgery, from bothering him.
“It’s still not 100%,” Day said. “Obviously every day I come off and I’m just a little bit in pain still because it’s just not quite — it’s hard. Like I’m standing out there and I’m trying to get my left hip back and cover it with the ball, I feel like it’s going to go 50 left and then I kind of dump it back underneath, which is the old move and it’s no good for me.”
Burns, Horschel bogey again
Sam Burns and Billy Horschel bogeyed in the modified alternate shot format Saturday, and joked they’d be OK making another bogey in the final round if it meant a victory.
That nearly was the case.
The pair bogeyed the par-3 No. 5, but birded 10 of the last 11 holes to finish second at 32-under.
“Once again got off to a slow start like we did in the scramble format and once again we made another bogey as two professionals playing a best ball format, so that’s really solid,” Horschel said sarcastically. “But other than that, we got hot.”
Burns hit it tight on the 18th hole, but Horschel holed out for birdie from near the water hazard.
“Billy stealing my thunder on 18,” Burns joked.
Horschel missed a birdie putt on No. 15 for the only par on the back nine.
“I missed a putt I think I’ve had five straight years and I missed it the same way every time,” Horschel said.
“We’ve got it in the book this time,” Burns interjected.
“We marked it in the book this time for next year,” Horschel followed up.
Defending champions just short
Harris English and Matt Kuchar said neither played all that well Sunday. Still, they tied for third, two strokes behind winners Jason Kokrak and Kevin Na.
So in seven appearances, English and Kuchar have won three times, finished second two times, third one time, and somehow in 2017 tied for 10th.
English had made an eagle on No. 17 to get them to 31 under, one back of Kokrak and Na at the time, but Kokrak birdied No. 18.
“It was a good run all things considered,” Kuchar said. “I don’t think either one of us were on our best form and I think we partnered up fairly well. There were a couple holes Harris was out that I was able to kind of hold on, recover, even make some birdies, which was fun. And then Harris just kind of owns this back nine and put it on on the back nine. Really, really kind of got us back in at least with a chance on the last hole.”
“We didn’t have our A-game today, I certainly didn’t, but he kept me in it,” English said. “We had a chance down the stretch.”
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