Golf news: Gemma Dryburgh falters in LA, Tony Finau holds off Jon Rahm, Colin Montgomerie's strong Texas finish

Gemma Dryburgh slipped out of the top ten after a frustrating final day at the LPGA’s JM Eagle LA Championship as Australian Hannah Green landed a play-off win in Los Angeles.

Dryburgh started the closing circuit at Wilshire Country Club just three shots off the lead after firing a joint-best round of the day with a five-under-par 66 on Saturday. But, despite feeling good about her chances, it just didn’t happen for the Scot as she chased a second success on the circuit following her breakthrough win in the TOTO Japan Classic in November. The tone for her day, really, was set by a bogey-6 at the second and she mixed three further bogeys with two birdies thereafter. That left her signing off with a 73 for a four-under-par total, finishing in a tie for 13th in the $3 million tournament.

Green claimed her three LPGA title triumph after beating China’s Xiyu Lin and Indian’s Aditi Ashok in a play-off, which was needed after they’d finished locked together on nine-under-par. “I said the first one was important, obviously a major championship,” said Green of her victory in the 2019 Women’s PGA Championship. “I said the second one (later that same year in the Portland Classic) was nearly just as big because then I proved to everyone and myself that I could back it up. But I think honestly this one is really important because I feel like this is just going to kick start remembering learning to win. It's tough to win golf tournaments. Sometimes you can play your best golf and it not be good enough. You've just got to hang in there. I think this is honestly just as big as the first two.”

Elsewhere, Tony Finau landed his sixth PGA Tour title triumph after holding off world No 1 Jon Rahm to come out on top in the Mexico Open at Vidanta. Finau, who has now won four times on the circuit since the end of July, closed with a 66 for a 24-under 260 total to win by three shots from Rahm after his closing 67. “I knew today was going to be a tall task going against Rahmbo with the form that he's in,” said Finau of The Masters champion having catapulted himself into contention with a sensational 61 on Saturday. “I was really put to the test and came out on top, which feels great.”

Hannah Green reacts to holing a birdie putt at the 72nd hole to get into the play-off in the JM Eagle LA Championship presented by Plastpro at Wilshire Country Club. Picture: Harry How/Getty Images.

Rahm covered the opening 15 holes in the final round in four-under before a bogey at the par-3 17th killed off his hopes of catching long-time leader Finau. “It’s a great reminder of what I still need to do to be able to keep winning tournaments and that's almost a blessing in life, to know that the work is not really done,” said the Spaniard. I believe Arnie [Palmer] said the path to success is always under construction and that couldn't be any more true.”

Meanwhile, Colin Montgomerie finished joint-third behind Kiwi Steven Alker after signing off with a bogey-free 68 in the Champions Tour’s Insperity Invitational at The Woodlands in Texas. And, on the PGA Tour Latinoamerica, Sandy Scott recorded his five top-20 finish in seven starts as a rookie as the Nairn man claimed a share of 16th spot in the Diners Club Peru Open.