At the HP Byron Nelson golf tournament last week Rory Sabbatini stood in the 16th fairway with a 3 stroke lead, but when he watched Brian Davis make a 26 foot eagle putt on the green in front of him, he saw that lead all but evaporate. After making a birdie on the 15th hole and taking a 3 stroke lead, it looked like Sabbatini would be able to cruise to victory, but Davis wasn’t having any of that. He wasn’t going to give him the golf tournament, he was going to make him work for the victory, and work he did. Not only did Sabbatini make a birdie on the par 5 16th, he also made birdie on the par 3 17th to build his lead back to 3 strokes heading to the 18th tee. When Sabbatini’s par putt slid past the cup on the final hole, it made little difference, because he was left with a tap in for a bogey and the win.
Sabbatini shot a final round 6 under par 64 to finish with a tournament record 19 under par. Davis also shot a final round 6 under par to finish in second place at 17 under par. It was fun to watch two great players matching each other, shot for shot. The only thing that would have been better was if they had been playing together.
With this win Sabbatini is only the 14th player in PGA Tour history to win both the HP Byron Nelson and The Colonial golf tournaments in their careers. His last tournament win was in 2007 and, oddly enough, that victory was at The Colonial, which will be played next week in Fort Worth, Texas.