Hudson Swafford looked like he might run away with his second PGA Tour title when he made the turn Sunday at the Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship. The script flipped on the 33-year-old, however, when he made double-bogey at the Corales Club’s par-4 13th.
That opened to the door to his chasers. A group ahead, Canadian Mackenzie Hughes made birdie on No. 14 for a two-shot swing that left him right on Swafford’s heels and then, after he parred No. 15 and Swafford bogeyed, tied with him.
Ultimately, Swafford came out on top but he made it interesting down to the wire – leaving his birdie putt up a steep slope several feet short. He made the par to finish alone at 18 under.
Swafford seemingly couldn’t get anything else to go his way coming down the stretch in the Dominican Republic. He had gone 28 holes without a bogey before he botched the 13th.
He only made one more, at No. 17, coming into the clubhouse. That putt couldn’t have come at a better time, though. It gave him control heading to the final hole.
Tyler McCumber, who started the day six shots back, had added his name to the leading group when he holed a long putt for birdie on the final hole for a closing 66 to also become a threat. He ended up in solo second as Hughes ultimately finished alone in third after a bogey at No. 18.
The past two editions of the Puntacana event have been considerably more predictable. The 54-hole leader won each time. Adam Long, this year’s 54-hole leader, finished fifth after a closing 74.
