Carl Pettersson wins RBC Heritage

Carl Pettersson played a solid final round of 69 to win the RBC Heritage over the Harbour Town Golf Links at Hilton Head. Zach Johnson was five shots back in second place.

Carl Pettersson wins Heritage (Getty Images)
Fergus Bisset
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Carl Pettersson played a solid final round of 69 to win the RBC Heritage over the Harbour Town Golf Links at Hilton Head. Zach Johnson was five shots back in second place.

Pettersson began the last day with a one-shot advantage over Colt Knost but the Swede, now an American citizen, started fast with three birdies in the first five holes. At that point, his lead was four. That advantage was increased to five when Zach Johnson dropped a stroke to par at the 10th.

Johnson had one more look at the top of the leaderboard when he made a birdie at the 15th, before Pettersson made a bogey at the same hole. That meant the lead was just three. But Johnson failed to capitalise on the chance with a bogey of his own at the next hole. That left Pettersson in the clear and able to cruise home to victory, his fifth PGA Tour title.

"It was great," he said after the round. "I didn't want to put too much pressure on myself so I downplayed the whole thing. Getting off to a birdie start was key though."

Zach Johnson managed to stay ahead of Colt Knost to claim second place, Knost finished alone in third.

Luke Donald finished in a tie for 37th and so resigned his position as World Number 1. Rory McIlroy has taken over despite not swinging a club this week. The Englishman had needed to finish in the top eight to retain Number 1 spot.

"Now, my focus is on winning tournaments," he said.

RBC Heritage Harbour Town Golf Links, Hilton Head, South Carolina 12-15 Apr, purse $5,700,000, par 71

1   Carl Pettersson (Swe)   70   65   66   69   270   $1,026,000 2   Zach Johnson (USA)   71   68   66   70   275   $615,600 3   Colt Knost (USA)      67   66   69   74   276   $387,600 T4   Billy Mayfair (USA)   72   70   67   69   278   $250,800 T4   Kevin Stadler (USA)   72   71   67   68   278   $250,800 T6   Matt Bettencourt (USA)   73   69   68   69   279   $198,075 T6   Boo Weekley (USA)   70   66   70   73   279   $198,075 T8   Harris English (USA)   68   68   73   71   280   $153,900 T8   Matt Every (USA)      68   72   73   67   280   $153,900 T8   Jim Furyk (USA)      68   75   67   70   280   $153,900 T8   Charley Hoffman (USA)   74   65   71   70   280   $153,900 T8   Kevin Na (USA)      70   68   69   73   280   $153,900

Note: Player score in bold signifies Titleist ball usage

Where next? European Tour - Louis Oosthuizen wins Malaysian Open

Fergus Bisset
Fergus Bisset
Contributing Editor

Fergus is Golf Monthly's resident expert on the history of the game and has written extensively on that subject. He has also worked with Golf Monthly to produce a podcast series. Called 18 Majors: The Golf History Show it offers new and in-depth perspectives on some of the most important moments in golf's long history. You can find all the details about it here.

He is a golf obsessive and 1-handicapper. Growing up in the North East of Scotland, golf runs through his veins and his passion for the sport was bolstered during his time at St Andrews university studying history. He went on to earn a post graduate diploma from the London School of Journalism. Fergus has worked for Golf Monthly since 2004 and has written two books on the game; "Great Golf Debates" together with Jezz Ellwood of Golf Monthly and the history section of "The Ultimate Golf Book" together with Neil Tappin , also of Golf Monthly.

Fergus once shanked a ball from just over Granny Clark's Wynd on the 18th of the Old Course that struck the St Andrews Golf Club and rebounded into the Valley of Sin, from where he saved par. Who says there's no golfing god?

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