One golfer who lives in Fort Collins and one who used to reside there had weekends to remember at the PGA Tour’s CareerBuilder Challenge in La Quinta, Calif.
Sam Saunders, who moved from Fort Collins to Atlantic Beach, Fla., in 2016, posted the low score in Sunday’s final round, shooting an 8-under-par 64 en route to an eighth-place finish at 18-under-par 270. Jon Rahm won with a 266 total after a playoff.
Saunders (pictured), grandson of Arnold Palmer, made nine birdies at the Stadium Course on Sunday in moving up 34 places on the scoreboard and earning $171,100. The top-10 showing was Saunders’ first on the PGA Tour since early August and sixth overall in his career. He has yet to record a win on golf’s premier circuit.
Meanwhile, Tom Whitney made the cut for the first time in a PGA Tour event, finishing 67th in La Quinta, where he went to high school. The Fort Collins resident went 68-68-71-74 for a 7-under 281 total and received $12,095 for his first PGA Tour check.
Whitney, a former Air Force Academy golfer, was playing in just his second PGA Tour event after being awarded a sponsor exemption. He missed the cut earlier this season in the Children Open in Las Vegas in October after winning a Monday qualifier. He missed the 36-hole cut in that tournament.
Whitney spent 2017 on the Web.com Tour, competing in 15 events, with a best showing of fifth place in the Lincoln Land Charity Championship in June. He finished 89th on the Web.com season-long money list.
Elsewhere, former Coloradan Wyndham Clark fired a 6-under-par 66 and shares the lead after Sunday’s first-round action at The Bahamas Great Abaco Classic.
Clark made an eagle, six birdies and two bogeys, and was one of five players who was 6 under par after Sunday. The tournament will continue through Wednesday.
