PALM BEACH GARDENS – South Africa’s Rory Sabbatini held off fast-closing Yang Yong-Eun of South Korea on Sunday to win the $5.7 million Honda Classic and capture his sixth career US PGA title.Sabbatini, who had not won since the 2009 Byron Nelson Championship, began the final round with a five-stroke lead and fired a par 70 to finish on nine-under par 271 and defeat Yang, who fired a closing 66, by one stroke.
“I’m just beside myself. It’s fantastic,” Sabbatini said of the triumph, which came after a battle with skin cancer. “An awful lot has happened since the last time I won. It’s great being here again.”
Sabbatini birdied the par-5 third hole for the first time this week but ended the front nine with a bogey that trimmed his lead to four strokes. “You can’t get too complacent,” Sabbatini said. “You have to really still commit to what you’re doing out there and focus in on what you’re doing.” Yang and American Jerry Kelly each birdied the par-4 13th to close the gap to three strokes with five holes remaining and when Sabbatini took a bogey at 14, Yang was within two strokes but Kelly missed his chance with a bogey at 14. “Y.E. played a fantastic round.
He did what he had to do to put the pressure on me,” Sabbatini said. “Lucky I had enough of a cushion that I didn’t get too concerned about it.”
