D.A. Points wins Puerto Rico Open

D.A. Points secured his third PGA Tour title with a two-stroke victory over Bryson DeChambeau, Retief Goosen and Bill Lunde in the Puerto Rico Open.

D.A. Points fired a closing round of 66 at Coco Beach Golf and Country Club to win the Puerto Rico Open and earn a two-year exemption on the PGA Tour.

Points began the final round in Puerto Rico with five straight birdies but he then started to struggle, dropping shots at the sixth, eighth and 10th holes. It looked like things might unravel but he regained his composure with good par saves on the 11th and 12th holes.

"I said, `If I can just make this putt, I've got a chance to kind of get the momentum going back the other way.' And then I holed a nice putt on 13 and then I settled my swing down and started hitting it close again," he said. "Golf is like that, right? You have highs and lows and rarely do you just play every hole perfect. To bounce back after kind of a rough stretch there, I'm really proud."

Points held on to win by two shots from former U.S. Amateur Champion Bryson DeChambeau, two-time U.S. Open winner Retief Goosen and Bill Lunde.

3 Talking points from the Puerto Rico Open

1 – This was a big week for Points who had lost his card a year ago. He is now exempt for two years on the PGA Tour and, although the victory doesn’t earn him a place at The Masters, it does gain him entry into The Players Championship and the USPGA Championship.

2 – Retief Goosen posted a closing 64 to finish in a tie for second. It was his best PGA Tour result since he won the Transitions Championship in 2009.

3 – Chris Stroud had held the lead through 54 holes – the first time he had been in that position on the PGA Tour. Trying to win for the first time in his 277th start, he struggled to a closing 71 and finished four back.

Puerto Rico Open Coco Beach Golf and CC, Rio Grande, Puerto Rico Mar 23-26 Purse: $3,000,000 Par: 72

1    D.A. Points (USA)        64    69    69    66    268    $540,000 T2    Bryson DeChambeau (USA) 68 65    70    67    270    $224,000 T2    Retief Goosen (RSA)    68    67    71    64    270    $224,000 T2    Bill Lunde (USA)        65    68    69    68    270    $224,000 T5    Whee Kim (Kor)        71    65    67    68    271    $109,500 T5    Sam Saunders (USA)    70    69    67    65    271    $109,500 T5    Peter Uihlein (USA)    69    68    68    66    271    $109,500 T8    J.J. Henry (USA)        69    65    75    63    272    $90,000 T8    Chris Stroud (USA)    69    65    67    71    272    $90,000

Note: Player score in bold signifies Titleist ball usage