Aaron Wise with the Byron Nelson trophy
Aaron Wise with the Byron Nelson trophy

T&T Byron Nelson: American Aaron Wise wins AT&T Byron Nelson in Texas


American Aaron Wise carded a flawless final round to win his first PGA Tour title at the AT&T Byron Nelson in Texas.

Final leaderboard

-23 Aaron Wise

-20 Mark Leishman

-19 Branden Grace, JJ Spaun, Kevin Mitchell


Final round report

Aaron Wise has claimed his first victory on the PGA Tour with a bogey-free final round at the AT&T Byron Nelson in Dallas.

The 21-year-old hit six birdies to card a round of six-under 65, finishing three shots ahead of second-place Marc Leishman on 23-under overall - and claiming a new tournament record.

Australia's Leishman - who produced a stunning opening round of 61 - shot 68 on day four, recovering from a bogey on the second hole to hit an eagle on the par-four fifth, before two further wayward shots gave him bogeys on the 10th and 15th holes.

Wise, who shared a four-shot lead with Leishman heading into the final round, continued to pull away from his opponent on a day hit by a four-hour weather delay, with four birdies in a row on holes seven to 10.

In a video posted on the PGA Tour Twitter page, he told a press conference: "It was awesome, everything I dreamed of. It was incredible. Marc played great, really gave me a run for his money. He hit the ball incredible. I knew he would have a ton of looks from hole three on, and he did. Unfortunately, he didn't make all the putts and I was able to edge him out.

"It was just a great day for me. I came out really solid. I've been hitting the ball amazingly all week and that continued today.

"And I was able to finally get the putter hot in the middle stretch of that round and birdieing seven through 10 really set me apart because I looked at the leaderboard there on eight green and realised that a lot of people were making an early charge and I knew I needed to kind of separate myself and I was able to do that because my putter got hot and to walk up 18 knowing I kind of had it locked up was pretty cool.

"I don't think many people get to do that their first win. It was truly special for me to be able to take in the crowd like that."

Branden Grace fired a round of 62 - to match his lowest career best - and finish in joint third with JJ Spaun and Keith Mitchell, who both got round the final day in 63 and ended on 19-under overall.

World number three Jordan Spieth struggled to make an impact on his home-town tournament, the Texan shooting 67, which included two bogeys and six birdies, to be tied for 21st on 11-under overall alongside defending champion Billy Horschel.

Scot Russell Knox finished in joint 16th on 12-under and Englishman Brian Davis dropped to 73rd on the leaderboard on one-over.


Day three report

Australia's Marc Leishman and American Aaron Wise share a four-shot lead over the rest of the field heading into the final round of the AT&T Byron Nelson in Texas.

A three-putt bogey on the 18th cost Wise what would have been a one-shot advantage after he completed a three-under-par 68 to sit 17-under at Trinity Forest Golf Club in Dallas.

Leishman - who produced a stunning opening round 61 - signed for a 69, recovering from a bogey on the second hole to sink successive birdies at 14 and 15 as he battled with the American for the outright lead as conditions turned more windy.

Wise, meanwhile, dropped two shots on the front nine, where he also picked up four strokes before the turn.

The 21-year-old, chasing a first PGA Tour victory, looked set to finish the third round holding a narrow lead following back-to-back birdies on 16 and 17, only to then lose composure at the 502-yard final hole.

Leishman's compatriot Matt Jones climbed up four places on Saturday into a tie for third with Kevin Na (69) on 13 under after his 68 left him four shots adrift of the leaders, having also made a bogey at the 18th.

Charles Howell III was the biggest mover, some 44 spots, with his blemish-free six-under 65 leaving the American in a group of players tied for 11th at 10 under.

World number three Jordan Spieth was struggling to make an impact on his home-town tournament, the Texan shooting an even-par 71, which included three bogeys, to be tied for 29th on seven under.

Brian Gay, meanwhile, sits in a tie for fifth place at 12 under following a round of 72 - which saw one of his drives casually picked up and then swiftly put down by a spectator, the man wearing flip flops and having a drink, as the ball rolled off the fairway into sand towards a concessions stand.

Leishman is 10/11 favourite at Sky Bet with Aaron Wise 13/8 and Kevin Na next in the betting at 20/1.


Day two report

Australia's Marc Leishman holds a one-shot halfway lead at the AT&T Byron Nelson in Texas after following his stunning opening round 61 with five-under-par 66.

The 34-year-old was unable to reach the exhilarating heights of his opening round, but still produced six birdies against a single bogey at Trinity Forest Golf Club in Dallas.

At 15 under par Leishman leads by one from American Aaron Wise - the 21-year-old who finished second on his last appearance at the Wells Fargo Championship.

Leishman, who won twice on the PGA Tour last season, started on the back nine and holed a 55-foot birdie putt at the 12th before picking up another shot on the 14th.

Finding two bunkers cost him a dropped shot at the 15th, but four birdies in five holes from the first kept him ahead of the chasing pack.

"I'll certainly take that - when you shoot a really low one like I did yesterday then it's hard to back it up," Leishman told the PGA Tour website.

"There probably was a few more out there but I holed a couple of good putts."

Wise fired six birdies and an eagle in his round of 63, with compatriot Brian Gay a shot further back on 13 under after a round of 62.


Day one report

Marc Leishman hit two eagles in a 10-under round of 61 to take a commanding three-shot lead after the first day of the AT&T Byron Nelson in Dallas.

The Australian set out his stall early - holing a short putt for three at the par-five first and notching up two birdies in the front nine to go four-under at the turn. A trio of consecutive birdies followed and his second eagle of the day came at the par-five 14th from a 13ft putt.

Speaking after the round to The Golf Channel, Leishman said: "I didn't even think about 59, every other time I have been close to it I have thought about it. I didn't get ahead of myself which was good. 61, I'll take that."

Two Americans, JJ Spaun and Jimmy Walker, sit on seven-under, the former carding six birdies in seven holes, but bogeying the par-four 15th.

A chasing pack of eight sit a shot behind that and tied for fourth, while Ireland's Seamus Power is at five-under with 11 other players. Northern Ireland's Graeme McDowell carded a 67 to sit tied for 23rd, with an eagle on the par-five seventh cancelled out by dropped shots on the 9th and 18th.

Leishman is 9/4 with Sky Bet to convert his sparkling start to a tournament win. Walker is 7/1 with Jordan Spieth 12/1 after a two-under 69.

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