Chesson Hadley wins Puerto Rico Open

Chesson Hadley of the USA picked up his first PGA Tour title with a two shot victory over New Zealand's Danny Lee in the Puerto Rico Open at Trump International GC in Rio Grande.

Chesson Hadley wins Puerto Rico Open (Getty Images)
Fergus Bisset
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Chesson Hadley of the USA picked up his first PGA Tour title with a two shot victory over New Zealand's Danny Lee in the Puerto Rico Open at Trump International GC in Rio Grande.

In difficult, windy conditions Hadley produced an excellent final round of 67 to hold off Lee by two strokes. The rookie birdied three of the first five holes of his final round. Although he dropped a shot at the sixth, he gained it right back again at the seventh.

The 26-year-old then reeled off nine straight pars before birdies at the 17th and 18th were enough to seal the victory. It was just Hadley's 13th start on the PGA Tour.

"It's incredible, it's a dream come true," he said. "It hasn't sunk in yet. It'll be nice to sleep on it and wake up knowing I'm a PGA Tour champion."

With the win, Hadley has earned a two-year exemption on the PGA Tour and will have a spot in The Players Championship as well as the PGA Championship.

"It opens doors," he said. "I've never played in a Major before."

Lee pushed Hadley all the way to the line, he birdied three of his last four holes to post a 68.

"I really felt like I did my best. I gave it my best, but Chesson was just playing rock solid," said the New Zealander. "He made a couple of good up-and-downs from bad tee shots. When he plays like that, it's just really hard to catch. He just didn't make any silly mistakes at all."

Ben Martin fired an excellent closing round of 66 to claim third place on his own with a group of five players sharing fourth.

Puerto Rico Open presented by seepuertorico.com Trump International GC Puerto Rico, Rio Grande, Puerto Rico Mar 6-9, purse $3,500,000, par 72

1   Chesson Hadley (USA)   68   65   67   67   267   $630,000 2   Danny Lee (NZ)      67   68   66   68   269   $378,000 3   Ben Martin (USA)      68   67   70   66   271   $238,000 T4   Jason Gore (USA)      67   69   66   70   272   $131,950 T4   Richard Lee (USA)   69   68   68   67   272   $131,950 T4   Carl Pettersson (Swe)   71   66   66   69   272   $131,950 T4   Wes Roach (USA)      69   66   70   67   272   $131,950 T4   David Toms (USA)   72   64   67   69   272   $131,950 T9   Ricky Barnes (USA)   68   68   69   68   273   $94,500 T9   Jerry Kelly (USA)      69   67   67   70   273   $94,500 T9   Chris Stroud (USA)   73   67   68   65   273   $94,500

Note: Player score in bold signifies Titleist ball usage Where next? WGC-Cadillac Championship - Patrick Reed takes the title

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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