Las Colinas, TX—
They say sometimes it the short game not the long game that wins it all and today Brandon Todd proved that as he held off a charging Mike Weir on the back 9 at the Four Seasons in Las Colinas.
“I have a great short game,” Brendon Todd said, “and even I’ll say it was special this week.”
With Mike Weir making an early charge two groups in front of him, Todd holed out from the bunker for birdie at the par-3 second. At the fifth, he rolled in a birdie putt inside 14 feet. At the ninth, he stuck his approach inside 6 feet.
And then at the par-4 13th, he got creative. After his tee shot landed 12 inches from a tree, giving him no chance to hit right-handed, Todd took a 4-iron and went southpaw. He didn’t even flip the club over, instead using the back of it. His chip from 65 feet finished inside 8 feet. He buried the par putt.
With the win, Todd becomes the eighth first-time winner on Tour this season. The $1.242 million first-place price is more than Todd earned during his first three seasons on Tour. The win also secures his place on Tour for the next few seasons, giving him a full exemption through the 2015-16 season. He now has a spot in the PGA Championship later this season and in the Masters next year. The University of Georgia product jumped 40 spots in the FedEx Cup standings, moving up to 11th place.
Mike Weir carded a 3-under round of 67 to finish at 12-under and alone in second place. Charles Howell III and Marc Leishman finished tied for third at 10-under. Louis Oosthuizen began the round tied with Todd for the lead at 10-under.
“ Iam happy with the way I played today, said Weir. Sometimes you have to be happy with your individual rounds and the result for the weekend.”
