Sabbatini Wins 2009 HP Byron Nelson Championship
IRVING, TX – Rory Sabbatini wins the HP Byron Nelson Championship with a tournament record 19-under par 261. His final round score of 64 is the 2nd lowest by a winner in tournament history. It equals the lowest finish by a winner this season on the PGA TOUR. Sabbatini led the field with 26 birdies, 4 more than Dustin Johnson, the closest competitor in that category.
Coming in 2nd, at two strokes behind the leader was Brian Davis, with a 263. This was Davis’ 3rd consecutive top-5 finish. Davis has the longest active streak (20) of consecutive rounds of par or better on the PGA TOUR.
Sabbatini talked about his win, “You know, I managed to get off to a good start, putting the ball in the fairway, putting it on the greens and giving myself some looks at it, and then obviously things developed pretty well. It was evident again today that my putter was still on form and my short game was performing well.”
Sabbatini, a hometown favorite, expressed how emotional this victory was, “Obviously this tournament is very special. I’ve had reasonably good success here in the past, and it’s one that I wish I had have been able to win it and look up and see Byron sitting there on the 18th green. It would have meant a lot. But Peggy (Nelson) being here today was special, and obviously his name and his legend lives on with this tournament and with the Salesmanship Club and just in north Texas here. You know, what a wonderful name to be associated with now. Obviously absolutely amazing man, one of the greatest names in the history of the sport, and just really, there’s no words to express how much honor there is to be associated with him.”
Sabbatini collects 500 FedEXCup points to move into 7th place in the points standings. Zack Johnson, who didn’t play this week, remains at the top of the standings. Also not playing, Tiger Woods drops to 11th.
D. A. Points earned his career-best PGA TOUR finish by coming in 3rd with a score of 264 after a final round of 65.
Fred Couples finished 8th with a 269, his third top-10 finish this season.
