Scheffler wins again at Memorial. Stark takes U.S. Women’s Open

DUBLIN, Ohio (AP) — Scottie Scheffler never lost the lead and never gave anyone much of a chance down the stretch Sunday in another relentless performance, closing with a 2-under 70 for a four-shot victory to join Tiger Woods as the only repeat winners of the Memorial.

Slowed by hand surgery at the start of the year from a freak accident, Scheffler appears to be in full stride with one major already in the bag and another around the corner at the U.S. Open.

On one of the tougher PGA Tour tests of the year, Scheffler made one bogey over the final 40 holes at Muirfield Village. He finished at 10-under 278.

Ben Griffin tried to make it interesting at the end with a 12-foot eagle on the par-5 15th and a 25-foot birdie putt on the par-3 16th to close within two shots with two to play. Scheffler, however, doesn’t make mistakes. Griffin made double bogey on the 17th.

Griffin made a 4-foot par on the 18th for a 73 to finish alone in second, worth $2.2 million, more than what he earned when he won at Colonial last week.

Sepp Straka (70) finished another shot back.

Scheffler now has won three times in his last four starts — the exception was Colonial, a tie for fourth the week after winning the PGA Championship — and expanded his margin at No. 1 in the world to levels not seen since Woods in his peak years.

Woods is a five-time winner at Memorial who won three straight from 1999 through 2001. No one had repeated at Muirfield Village since then until Scheffler.

United States Golf Association

ERIN, Wis. (AP) — Maja Stark of Sweden continued the steady play she demonstrated all week to win the U.S. Women’s Open at Erin Hills for her first major championship.

Stark shot an even-par 72 to finish at 7-under 281, two strokes ahead of top-ranked Nelly Korda and Japan’s Rio Takeda.

Stark earned $2.4 million in the biggest event of the women’s golf season. The 25-year-old Stark became the sixth Swede to win a women’s major, and the first since Anna Nordqvist in the 2021 Women’s British Open. The former Oklahoma State player is the first Swede to win a U.S. Women’s Open since Annika Sorenstam in 2006.

Stark won her second second LPGA Tour title. She also won the 2022 ISPS Handa World Invitational in Northern Ireland, an event co-sanctioned by Ladies European Tour.

Korda closed with a 71, and Takeda had a 72.

Hye-Jin Choi (68), Ruoning Yin (70) and Mao Saigo (73) tied for fourth at 4 under. Hailee Cooper (70) and Hinako Shibuno (74) were 3 under.

European Tour

SALZBERG, Austria (AP) — Nicolai von Dellingshausen of Germany closed with a 5-under 65 to win the Austrian Alpine Open by two shots and capture his first title on the European tour.

Von Dellingshausen began the final round one shot behind fellow German Marcel Schneider and quickly seized control with three birdies and an eagle on the opening nine. After another birdie to start the back nine, he closed with eight straight pars.

Von Dellingshausen finished at 19-under 261, two ahead of Schneider (68) and Kristoffer Reitan, who was coming off a victory in Belgium last week at the Soudal Open. Reitan shot a 60, missing an eagle putt on the final hole in his bid for only the second 59 in European tour history.

PGA Tour Champions

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Miguel Angel Jimenez won the Principal Charity Classic at Wakonda Club for his third PGA Tour Champions victory of the year, beating Soren Kjeldsen and Cameron Percy with a birdie on the first hole of a playoff.

Jimenez closed with a birdie on the 311-yard, par-4 18th for a 2-under 70, then made a 4-footer for another birdie on the extra hole. The 61-year-old Spanish star led wire-to-wire, opening with rounds of 63 and 66.

Jimenez has 16 career PGA Tour Champions victories, also winning the Trophy Hassan II in February in Morocco and the Hoag Classic in March in Newport Beach, California.

Kjeldsen finished with a 63, and Percy shot 67 to match Jimenez at 17-under 199. Kevin Sutherland was a stroke back after a 68.

Korn Ferry Tour

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Trace Crowe made five birdies on the front nine to build a comfortable lead, and then survived a few nervous moment before pulling away with a 5-under 65 to win the UNC Health Championship for his second career Korn Ferry Tour title.

Crowe had a one-shot lead over Martin Laird going into the final round and was four ahead heading to the back nine.

Laird stayed in the game, and a two-shot swing on the 14th — Laird made birdie, Crowe his first bogey of the day — trimmed Crowe’s lead to one. Crowe birdied the 15th for a two-shot swing in his favor, and Laird bogeyed the next two.

Crowe finished at 21-under 259 for a five-shot win over Laird (69), Davis Chatfield (68) and Hank Lebioda (61).

Other tours

Mikiya Akutsu closed with a 1-under 71 to win the Mizuno Open by four shots over Young-Han Song and Riki Kawamoto on the Japan Golf Tour. All three players earned a spot in the British Open as part of Open Qualifying Series. ... Rocco Repetto Taylor won his first Challenge Tour title on home soil when he closed with a 4-under 68 for a one-shot victory in the Challenge de Cadiz in Spain. ... Malcolm Mitchell closed with a 1-under 71 and defeated Jonathan Broomhead in a playoff to win the Gary & Vivienne Player Challenge on the Sunshine Tour in South Africa. ... Nanako Inagaki held on with a 1-over 73 for a one-shot victory in the Resort Trust Ladies on the Japan LPGA. ... Yunji Jeong shot a 1-under 70 and for a one-shot win in the Suhyup Bank MBN Ladies Open on the Korea LPGA.

___

AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf