Puerto Rico Open: Martin Trainer wins by three shots
Martin Trainer underlined his capabilities when it comes to closing out golf tournaments to land the Puerto Rico Open.
Puerto Rico Open leaderboard
-15 Trainer
-12 Berger, Sloan, Wagner, Baddeley
-11 Schwartzel, Stefani
Day four report
Martin Trainer underlined his capabilities when it comes to closing out golf tournaments to land the Puerto Rico Open.
Trainer won twice on the Web.com Tour in 2018, his only top-five finishes, and after a run of seemingly modest form again emerged to win this opposite-field event as a PGA Tour rookie.
Pre-tournament favourite Daniel Berger cut through the pack to finish in a share of second with Johnson Wagner, Roger Sloan and Aaron Baddeley, the latter unable to convert his 54-hole lead.
Trainer burst out of the traps with three birdies in his opening five holes on Sunday, enough to take the lead as Baddeley stalled, before bogeys at the sixth and seventh saw him fall one behind Wagner.
But as Wagner bogeyed the 17th, Trainer moved back to the top of the leaderboard and after adding a birdie at the 15th to those earned at nine and 10, he was suddenly two clear.
A final birdie at the last for a round of 67 gave him a three-shot victory - his previous best finish on the PGA Tour having been a tie for 28th two weeks earlier.
Berger’s final-round 66 represented a welcome return to form ahead of his home event next week, while Canada’s Sloan shot 67 to also finish in a tie for second - his best PGA Tour finish.
Masters champion Charl Schwartzel was among the birdies early in a round of 66 which, like Berger, justified the decision to tee it up in low-tier company as the former major champion searches for his best form in what is a Presidents Cup year.
He finished tied for sixth alongside Shawn Stefani, whose seven-under 65 was the low round of the day in Puerto Rico.
Baddeley, meanwhile, moved two clear when chipping in at the first but bogeys at the fifth, sixth and eighth ended his challenge. Birdies at the 15th and 18th were at least enough to see him climb from eighth to second as Trainer stood tall under the pressure of the final round.
Day three report
Australia's Aaron Baddeley will take a one-shot lead into the final round of the Puerto Rico Open after a bogey-free 66 on Saturday.
The former world number 16 has improved his score by two strokes each round, following an opening 70 with Friday's 68, and six birdies helped our headline tip move one ahead of halfway leader Nate Lashley.
Baddeley picked up shots at three of the first five holes and added another at the ninth, before further steps forward at the 11th and 15th saw him post 12-under-par.
Joey Garber had earlier carded a round of 65, one better than Baddeley, to move inside the top five on nine-under, alongside Martin Piller after he shot 66.
Lashley though sits alone in second and just one shot behind thanks to a third straight sub-70 round, which ended with a birdie, while Martin Trainer also signed off on a high and is in third place, two adrift.
Day two report
Roberto Diaz, DJ Trahan and Nate Lashley share a three-way tie for the lead after the second round of the Puerto Rico Open.
American Trahan shot a five under par round on Friday to propel himself 11 places up the leaderboard while his countryman Lashley and Mexican Diaz, who holed four birdies and did not drop a shot, both went round in four under to join Trahan on eight under par.
Canadian Roger Sloan, who shot an eagle on the 17th hole, joins two more Americans in Martin Trainer and Ben Crane a shot back on seven under par.
Overnight leader Andres Romero has slipped down the leaderboard after a round of 73 left the Argentinian on five under par for the tournament, level with South Africa's Charl Schwartzel after his round of four under par on Friday.
Day one report
The Argentinian had six birdies - including the par-three eighth and 11th holes - in his blemish-free round of 66, leaving him one shot clear of Austrian Sepp Straka, who was left to rue a bogey on the 14th.
Nate Lashley and Joey Garber both enjoyed eagles on the par-five second as they signed for 68s to join a nine-way tie for third place along with Ollie Schniederjans, one of our pre-tournament selections.
American DA Points, who won this tournament last year when it was turned into a charity event following the devastation of Hurricane Maria, carded three birdies and two bogeys in a round of 71 that left him in a tie for 36th.
Day 1 in 45 seconds ⛳️ pic.twitter.com/hAZHp1JCWR
— PR Open (@PuertoRicoOpen) February 22, 2019
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