2021/05/03 15:07 GOLF PALM HARBOR, Fla. (AP) Eight times this season, Sam Burns has been atop the leaderboard after every round except the one that mattered. That changed, finally, at the Valspar Championship. Burns got some help from Keegan Bradley hitting into the water on the 13th hole, and then the 24-year-old from Louisiana took it from there with two big birdies that led to a 3-under 68 and a three-shot victory Sunday. Burns won for the first time on the PGA Tour after twice failing to convert 54-hole leads in the Houston Open last fall and the Genesis Invitational at Riviera in February. The victory moves him into the top 50 in the world and all but assures a spot in the U.S. Open, along with his first trip to the Masters next spring.
O Ward gets first IndyCar win at Texas after big first-lap crash
Pato O Ward felt calm while he enjoyed the ride in the closing laps in Texas, getting his first IndyCar Series victory at the track closest to the Mexican-born driver s hometown.
The Canadian Press Pato O Ward , The Canadian Press
FORT WORTH, Texas Pato O Ward felt calm while he enjoyed the ride in the closing laps in Texas, getting his first IndyCar Series victory at the track closest to the Mexican-born driver s hometown.
“It’s really cool to do it in a place that’s very close to my heart, is very close to home,” said O Ward, whose win came four days before his 22nd birthday. “It’s a great place to do it. A lot of my family was here, so it’s really cool to share this moment with them.”
Patricio O Ward Has Arrived
IndyCar s newest race winner has only been in the series for 26 races, but his first win was a long time coming. Jared C. TiltonGetty Images
Patricio O Ward s IndyCar success has been inevitable since he won six of the last eight races on his way to the 2018 Indy Lights Series championship. Inevitability is a long road, but that expectation has finally turned into a race win that will be the first of many.
O Ward s winding road to IndyCar starts with a one race deal. It was the final race of the 2018 season, and an ambitious Harding Racing program gave him a chance to prove he belonged in their car the next season. He finished ninth, and he was inked to a full-season contract for the two-car Harding Steinbrenner Racing that offseason.
3 May, 2021
Pato O’Ward felt calm while he enjoyed the ride in the closing laps in Texas, getting his first IndyCar Series victory at the track closest to the Mexican-born driver’s hometown Sunday.
“It’s really cool to do it in a place that’s very close to my heart, is very close to home,” said O’Ward, whose win came four days before his 22nd birthday. “It’s a great place to do it. A lot of my family was here, so it’s really cool to share this moment with them.”
O’Ward passed Josef Newgarden with 23 laps to go Sunday and stayed in front the rest of the way in the No. 5 for Arrow McLaren SP. The organization will now follow through with a promise to let O’Ward test a Formula One car at the end of this year.
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