On the par three 17th, Goosen was in a bunker left of the green and hit out to four feet to save par. Alker had a lengthy birdie putt that he rammed some 10 feet by and three-putted.
“I’m glad it flipped my way,” Goosen said.
Goosen said his ball was sitting nicely in grass near the edge of the bunker. He was first to play and wanted to put pressure on Alker, torn between a five iron and a four iron. He went for the longer club to be safe, and it didn’t work out the way he imagined — in so many ways.
“The ball was a little bit above my feet and the ball was sitting up so nicely,” Goosen said. “I was in between a five and a four and I thought I’ll just hit a smooth four and completely thinned it.”
No worries. Instead of laying up short of the water and leaving a short wedge for his third, Alker followed him into the water.
“I thought Steve was going to lay up and just go from there,” Goosen said. “When he hit it in the water it was a bit of a shock.”
Alker did not question his decision, saying his ball was sitting up perfectly in the light rough and a solid five iron should have been enough.
“Just got a little high on the face and just kind of come out soft,” Alker said.
Ricardo Gonzalez, who had a one-shot lead at the start, was tied for the lead until taking bogey after a drive into a fairway bunker on the 16th, and then making bogey from the bunker on the par three 17th. But his birdie on the 18th gave him a 71 and moved him into a share of second place with Alker and Alex Cejka (68).
Lydia Ko finishes 13th
On the LPGA Tour, Kiwi world number eight Lydia Ko finished in a share of 13th at the Ford Championship in Arizona, five shots back from Nelly Korda who recorded a remarkable third straight victory.
Ko carded a final round 70 to finish at 15-under.
Top-ranked Korda became the first LPGA Tour player in eight years to win three straight starts, shooting a seven-under 65 in soggy conditions for a two-stroke victory.
Korda stayed steady through four days in the desert, entering the final round two shots back through weather that got progressively worse at Seville Golf and Country Club. Korda nearly holed out her second shot for birdie on the short par four 16th to take the lead and birdied No. 18 to finish at 20-under 268 for her 12th career LPGA victory.
She’s the first LPGA player to win three straight starts since Ariya Jutanugarn in 2016. Australian rookie Hira Naveed shot 66 to finish second at 18 under in her second career start.
Ryan Fox 78th in Houston
Ryan Fox carded a final round one-over 71 to finish five-over at the Houston Open, 17 shots back from eventual winner Stephen Jaeger of Germany.
Jaeger became a PGA Tour winner for the first time and will head to the Masters later this month. His victory ended Scottie Scheffler’s bid for three straight victories. Scheffler had his chances right to the end. He had a five foot birdie putt to force a playoff and missed it left.
Jaeger finished with nine straight pars and shot 67 to win on his 135th attempt on the PGA Tour. Scheffler tied for second with Tony Finau, Thomas Detry, Alejandro Tosti and Taylor Moore. Tosti was tied for the lead until a bogey on the 18th.
