Golf roundup: Rickie Fowler makes it interesting before winning the Honda Classic

Rickie Fowler made it interesting Sunday for as long as it took him to make two big putts to pull away in the Honda Classic.

Staked to a four-shot lead, Fowler hit one putt into a sprinkler hole, hit a tee shot into the water and watched a big lead shrink to one over Gary Woodland early on the back nine. Fowler answered with consecutive birdie putts of 40 and 25 feet and closed with a one-over-par 71 for a four-shot victory.

“If I don’t make those putts, I’ve got a pretty tight race,” Fowler said.

Instead, those chasing him had the biggest problems with the closing stretch at PGA National.

Fowler effectively ended it with a shot over the water to within three feet that stretched his lead to five shots with two holes to play.

Woodland appeared to have second place wrapped up until he three-putted the 17th, and then tried to lay up on the par-five 18th and came up short into the water. He closed with another bogey for a 69.

He had to share second place — the difference of $128,000 — with Morgan Hoffmann, who missed a four-foot birdie putt on the 18th and setted for a 68.

Fowler hit his tee shot into the water on the 17th hole and made bogey, then hit a wedge into the bunker on the 18th and closed with another bogey to finish at 12-under 268.

He had gone 13 months and 25 starts worldwide without a victory. It was his first PGA Tour victory since the Deutsche Bank Championship in September 2015.

Yang cruises to LPGA Thailand victory

Amy Yang rarely wavered with a big lead during the final round of the Thailand LPGA tournament, shooting a 4-under 68 to win by five strokes Sunday.

Due to rain delays, Yang was forced to play her final five holes of the third round on Sunday morning, and she led by five strokes after 54 holes.

Later in the day, the 2015 Thailand champion saw her lead reduced to three shots on several occasions, but the South Korean held on to post a record 22-under 266 on the Siam Country Club’s Pattaya Old Course.

The previous tournament record of 21 under was held by Suzann Pettersen in 2007 and Ai Miyazato in 2010.

So Yeon Ryu, the 2011 U.S. Women’s Open champion, matched Yang with a 68 to finish second.

Lexi Thompson had the best round of the day, a 67, to finish tied for fourth, nine strokes behind, and level with fellow American Danielle Kang, who shot 68.

Fichardt prevails at the Joburg Open

Darren Fichardt won the weather-affected Joburg Open with a four-under 68 for a one-shot victory over Stuart Manley and Paul Waring in a tournament reduced to three rounds because of rain and a waterlogged course.

South African Fichardt birdied his last hole, straight after dropping a shot on No. 17, to finish 15-under par overall and just ahead of Welshman Manley and Englishman Waring.

The top three secured places in this year’s British Open.

The European Tour event at Royal Johannesburg and Kensington was decided over 54 holes after heavy rain on the first and third days led to delays with the course flooded. There was also a two-hour delay on Sunday morning for more rain before play could get underway.

Fichardt claimed his fifth tour title and first in four years with five birdies in the final round but had to lift himself after a mistake on No. 17 to pick up a shot on the last hole to win. He rolled in a two-foot putt to clinch the title, his first on the European Tour since the 2013 Africa Open.

Manley shot a third straight 67 to set the clubhouse target at 14 under, a score matched by Waring. Waring’s birdie putt on the last lipped out and would have forced a playoff had it dropped.

Three players tied for fourth behind those two: England’s James Morrison and South Africans Brandon Stone and Jacques Kruyswijk. First-round leader Paul Peterson of the United States finished with a 3-under 69 for a share of seventh place.