Brendon Todd claims second win in a row at Mayakoba Golf Classic
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Brendon Todd claimed his second title in a row with a one stroke victory at the Mayakoba Golf Classic on Monday
Brendon Todd has surged to the top of the FedEx Cup Standings after following up his Bermuda Championship win with a one-shot victory at the weather affected Mayakoba Golf Classic.
34-year-old Todd, who had four holes left to play on Monday after play was suspended due to darkness on Sunday, immediately surged ahead with a birdie at the 15th to get to 21-under-par.
He gave that shot back at the very next hole, but he wasn’t the only one as fellow overnight leader Taylor Vaughan also dropped a shot to fall back to -19.
A final up and down for par left Todd with a closing three-under 68, and a one shot victory over Taylor, Adam Long and Carlos Ortiz.
“It’s just amazing how fast this game can turn,” said Todd, who earned his card back through the Korn Ferry Tour Finals after struggling to make less than a dozen cuts on the PGA Tour over the past four years.
“It turned fast in the wrong direction for me in 2015, it turned fast the other direction for me, so I’m enjoying it and I’m just going to keep grinding.
“I’ve playing well for a while and the confidence I gained from winning in Bermuda, it’s natural to take that confidence into the next event. I was able to do that this week and I’m really happy about that.”
Thursday’s first round was washed out entirely, but Todd’s excellent play from earlier in the month resumed when the contest did on Friday, posting an opening eight-under 63 to end just one stroke behind Danny Lee.
After following that up with rounds of 68 and 65, Todd soon found himself back at the top of the leaderboard on Sunday thanks to three birdies in his first nine holes – only for play to be postponed due to darkness with four holes left to play.
When play resumed early on Monday morning, Todd promptly moved out in front by himself when he rolled in a 15 foot putt for birdie with his first stroke of the day.
Todd then dropped that shot after missing a short putt for par following an excellent bunker shot, but overnight co-leader Taylor Vaughn also fell foul to the 16th, failing to save par from the bunker to keep the margin at one stroke. And he wasn’t the only one: Sitting at 19-under-par, Harris English also struggled in the bunker and took six, eventually finishing in a tie for 5th on -17.
With a par on the 17th, Todd took that one stroke lead to the 18th, making an up and down for a par to win his second PGA Tour event in a row.
Behind him, Ortiz, who finished in a tie for second, had the best finish by a Mexican in the Mayakoba Classic since it began in 2007.
