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A long, complicated, strange week in Saudi Arabia ended as well as it could have, as Harold Varner III (-13) made a walk-off eagle putt on the 72nd hole of the Saudi International on Sunday. Varner beat Bubba Watson (-12) by a stroke to lock up the second professional win of his career in 224 starts.
Varner led going into the final round but was 1 over on the day when he stepped to the par-5 closing hole, one back of new leader Bubba Watson, who was in the house with a round-of-the-day 66. Nobody else on the board really made much noise, so it was only Watson that Varner III needed to tie with a birdie or somehow even leapfrog with an eagle on the finishing hole.
After two shots to the front of the green and facing what would have been a tough two-putt to get into a playoff with Watson, Varner III laid down the hammer of his life and celebrated like he meant it.
The week started with more chatter of rival leagues, and Phil Mickelson — who finished T18 this week — sprinkled in talk of the PGA Tour’s greed, which added fuel to what has honestly felt like a pretty small fire. Then Bryson DeChambeau withdrew from the tournament with hip and wrist injuries (that he said were from a fall) after rumors that he was offered $135 million to come join the Super Golf League.
All of this was wrapped up in the reality that this golf tournament is funded by the PIF, which is the financial arm of the Saudi government. With the appearance fee rumors floating in the background, it’s not difficult to connect the dots that the Saudis are simply trying to sportswash their own perception on a global stage.
So, yeah, we kind of needed a good ending (though that might be the point of sportswashing to begin with), and then we got one.
For some players, this week was all about getting a check and heading back home. For Varner, winning here is a big deal. The field strength at this event this week was…
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Source : cbssports
