Michael Thorbjornsen holds off charging Xander Schauffele to claim first PGA Tour title
Michael Thorbjornsen captured his first PGA Tour title at the Rocket Classic.
Michael Thorbjornsen held off a chasing pack that included two-time major champion Xander Schauffele to claim his first PGA Tour title at the Rocket Classic.
The 24-year-old carded a faultless 7-under par 63 at Detroit Golf Club to reach 18-under par.
He finished two shots clear of Schauffele (65), while 54-hole leader Davis Riley had to settle for third on 15-under.
Denmark's Rasmus Hojgaard, former Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama and England's Matt Wallace were among those to finish inside the top-10.
"I don't know how to feel right now," Thorbjornsen told Golf on CBS. "It was such a battle out there. Playing with some great players.
"Everyone, I feel like, was in the mix kind of after nine holes.
"[I am] just really happy I kind of stuck to the process. Committed to hitting certain shots and just very, very happy with how I played."
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Position | Player Name | Score |
1 | Michael Thorbjornsen | -18 |
2 | Xander Schauffele | -16 |
3 | Davis Riley | -15 |
4 | Rasmus Hoejgaard | -14 |
5 | Matt Wallace | -13 |
5 | Kristoffer Ventura | -13 |
5 | Hideki Matsuyama | -13 |
8 | Cameron Young | -12 |
8 | Davis Thompson | -12 |
8 | Chris Kirk | -12 |
8 | Michael Kim | -12 |
8 | Ryan Gerard | -12 |
8 | Rickie Fowler | -12 |
8 | Patrick Cantlay | -12 |
15 | Sung-Jae Im | -11 |
15 | Rico Hoey | -11 |
15 | Doug Ghim | -11 |
15 | Michael Brennan | -11 |
15 | Keegan Bradley | -11 |
20 | Keita Nakajima | -10 |
20 | Russell Henley | -10 |
20 | Corey Conners | -10 |
20 | Luke Clanton | -10 |
20 | Ricky Castillo | -10 |
20 | Chandler Blanchet | -10 |
26 | Ben Kohles | -9 |
26 | Kevin Roy | -9 |
26 | Mac Meissner | -9 |
26 | Stephan Jaeger | -9 |
26 | Jacob Bridgeman | -9 |
31 | Chun-An Yu | -8 |
31 | Jordan Spieth | -8 |
31 | Brandt Snedeker | -8 |
31 | Jordan Smith | -8 |
31 | David Lipsky | -8 |
31 | Jackson Koivun | -8 |
31 | Emiliano Grillo | -8 |
38 | Justin Lower | -7 |
38 | Thorbjoern Olesen | -7 |
38 | Ben James | -7 |
38 | Austin Eckroat | -7 |
42 | Hank Lebioda | -6 |
42 | Si-Woo Kim | -6 |
42 | Joe Highsmith | -6 |
45 | Gordon Sargent | -5 |
45 | Adrien Saddier | -5 |
45 | Marco Penge | -5 |
45 | Beau Hossler | -5 |
45 | Christiaan Bezuidenhout | -5 |
50 | Zachary Blair | -4 |
50 | Jackson Suber | -4 |
50 | J. J. Spaun | -4 |
50 | Neal Shipley | -4 |
50 | Adam Schenk | -4 |
50 | Matt McCarty | -4 |
50 | Matt Kuchar | -4 |
50 | Ryo Hisatsune | -4 |
50 | Max Greyserman | -4 |
50 | Patrick Fishburn | -4 |
60 | Johnny Keefer | -3 |
61 | Nick Taylor | -2 |
61 | Mark Hubbard | -2 |
61 | Nicolai Hoejgaard | -2 |
61 | Brian Campbell | -2 |
65 | Dylan Wu | -1 |
65 | Karl Vilips | -1 |
65 | Zecheng Dou | -1 |
68 | William Mouw | E |
68 | Peter Malnati | E |
70 | Adam Svensson | +1 |
71 | Tony Finau | +2 |
71 | Harris English | +2 |
73 | Marcelo Rozo | +6 |
Thorbjornsen began the final round two strokes behind Riley, who started in disastrous fashion by playing the first six holes in 3-over par.
Riley bounced back, playing the final nine holes in 1-under but it was too late.
Thorbjornsen hit the turn in 2-under and added more circles on his score card at the 10th, 12th, 14th and 15th.
He made par at 16 and 17 before signing off in style, holing a 25-foot putt for birdie at the last.
Schauffele hit the turn in 4-under but saw his momentum halted with a sloppy bogey at the 13th.
Although Schauffele responded with a birdie at the 14th, he missed a glorious birdie chance at the 15th and then ran out of holes.
Thorbjornsen credited his new swing coach, the renowned Sean Foley, in the immediate aftermath of victory.
And he also paid tribute to his family.
"I think every bit of success that I have out here is a family win, even my sisters as well," he said.
"They've sacrificed a lot in order for me to be in this position.
"It's definitely a team effort. I love my mum. I love my dad.
"My dad's been my swing coach up until basically a month, month and a half ago.
"He's done so much for me, and we've put in so many hours together.
"This one's for you guys. I know they're probably freaking out and very emotional watching at home."
Ben Smith joined the GolfMagic team in September 2021, initially as a content executive.
These days, he assumes the position of content manager.
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