Novak finally finishes atop the leaderboard

AVONDALE, La. (AP) — Andrew Novak and Ben Griffin shot a 1-under 71 in alternate-shot play Sunday to become first-time PGA Tour winners — by one stroke — at the Zurich Classic. They finished at 28-under 260 at the Pete Dye-designed TPC Louisiana and Novak finally broke through after a pair of top-three finishes this month — the last a playoff loss to Justin Thomas a week ago at the RBC Heritage. Play was delayed by weather for just over 90 minutes with Novak on Griffin on the eighth hole. Masters champion Rory McIlroy and fellow Irishman Shane Lowry, the defending champions, were in contention through 12 holes, but fell to 12th — six shots behind — with three late bogeys. Danish identical twins Nicolai and Rasmus Hojgaard narrowly missed out on a first PGA Tour win, finishing second after a 68. Novak and Griffin began the PGA Tour's only team event three shots ahead but were caught by Jake Knapp and Frankie Capan III before pulling back ahead when Griffin made a birdie put from nearly 35 feet on the par-3 17th. That gave the eventual winners a two-shot lead after Capan had pulled his tee shot on 17 into the water left of the green. Novak's tee shot also went farther left than intended and he had his hand over his chest as the ball stopped near the water's edge. But the clutch putt by Griffin on 17 allowed his team to win with a par on 18. McIlroy and Lowry were just three shots off the lead when they bogeyed the 384-yard, par-4 13th — with each mishitting a chip before McIlroy missed a par putt from just inside 11 feet. Despite their late fade, they had a large, supportive gallery on 18. McIlroy acknowledged fans with several waves before Lowry made a crowd-pleasing birdie putt. A smiling McIlroy retrieved the ball from the hole and flipped it into the water. The Hojgaard twins were within a stroke of the lead when Nicolai made a 42-foot birdie putt on the par-3 14th. On 16, Rasmus narrowly missed a 27-foot birdie putt to tie for the lead, the ball stopping on edge of the hole. But that was as close as they would get. Isaiah Salinda and Kevin Velo, the PGA Tour rookies who led after each of the first two days, finished with a 71 and tied for eighth at 24 under. They set the tournament better-ball record Thursday with a 58. ___ AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf