Brendon Todd held a share of the third-round lead before shooting a bogey-free final round 66 to win by two shots over Mike Weir. Todd led the field in Fairways Hit, Total Putts and Strokes Gaines – Putting for the week.
Brendon Todd
The win comes in Todd’s 77th PGA TOUR start at the age of 28 years, 9 months and 26 days.
Collects 500 points and moves from No. 51 to No. 11 in the FedExCup standings.
Earns fully-exempt status through the 2015-16 season. Todd has never played in a major championship.
Is the 12th player (13 wins) in his 20s to win on TOUR this season, compared to 10 winners in their 30s (13 wins) and one over the age of 40 (John Senden). The 12 different winners in their 20s this season matches the total from all of last season.
Todd wins in his fourth start at the HP Byron Nelson Championship: 2009/MC, 2012/MC, 2013/T17 and 2014/Win.
Todd wins in his 17th start of the season, with previous top-10 finishes at the Valero Texas Open (T6), Humana Challenge (T6).
Todd had not held a lead on TOUR prior to holding sole possession of the round two lead and a share of the third-round lead this week.
Todd (a 2007 graduate of the University of Georgia) joins the large contingent of winners from Universities in the state of Georgia this season, including the University of Georgia (two-time winner Bubba Watson, Russell Henley, Chris Kirk, Harris English, Brendon Todd), Georgia Tech (Matt Kuchar, Chesson Hadley) and Augusta State University (two-time winner Patrick Reed). Reed attended Georgia one season before transferring to Augusta State.
Todd is the ninth former Bulldog all-time to win on TOUR. Bubba Watson leads the group with five career wins.
Todd is the first former Georgia Bulldog to win the HP Byron Nelson Championship.
Todd’s 2013-14 starts-made cuts-top-10s-wins: 17-14-3-1
Todd’s career starts-made cuts-top-10s-wins: 77-38-4-1
Brendon Todd’s – HP Byron Nelson Championship Statistics
Driving Accuracy 40 of 56 (71.4%) 1st
Greens in Regulation 43 of 72 (59.7%) T55
Total Putts
Driving Distance
Strokes Gained – Putting 9.744 (2.436 avg) 1st
So far this season, 21 of the 27 PGA TOUR wins have come from U.S.-born players, with the six international winners hailing from South Korea (Seung-Yul Noh), Germany (Martin Kaymer) and Australia (Jason Day/World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship, John Senden/Valspar Championship, Steven Bowditch/Valero Texas Open, Matt Jones/Shell Houston Open).
About Brendon Todd
Birthdate: July 22, 1985
Birthplace/Resides: Pittsburgh, Pa./Atlanta, Ga.
Family: Wife, Rachel
Height, Weight: 6-3, 180
Education: University of Georgia (2007, Business Marketing)
Turned Pro: 2007
Joined TOUR: 2012
Web.com Tour Graduate (2008, 2013)
Todd is the eighth first-time winner on TOUR this season: Jimmy Walker, Kevin Stadler, Chesson Hadley, Matt Every, Steven Bowditch, Matt Jones, Seung-Yul Noh, Brendon Todd. There were 12 first-time winners on TOUR last season.
The 54-hole leader/co-leader has won three times in the last seven years at the HP Byron Nelson Championship (Adam Scott/2008, Jason Dufner/2012, Brendon Todd/2014).
The third-round leader/co-leader has won 14 of 25 stroke-play events this season, most recently Martin Kaymer at THE PLAYERS Championship and Brendon Todd at the HP Byron Nelson Championship.
Just six past winners of the HP Byron Nelson Championship in the last 18 years were unable to record all four rounds in the 60s (Keegan Bradley-2011, Jason Day-2010, Adam Scott-2008, Brett Wetterich-2006, Sergio Garcia-2004 and Jesper Parnevik-2000).
Todd is the 12th players to claim their first TOUR win at the HP Byron Nelson Championship: Don January (1956), Johnny Pott (1960), Charles Coody (1964), Mark Hayes (1976), Neal Lancaster (1994), Robert Damron (2001), Ted Purdy (2005), Brett Wetterich (2006), Jason Day (2010), Keegan Bradley (2011), Sang-Moon Bae (2013), Brendon Todd (2014).
Mike Weir
In 2013, Weir utilized his one-time top 25 PGA TOUR career money exemption and is using his one-time top 50 PGA TOUR career money exemption this season.
Weir (2nd) records his first top-10 finish since a sixth-place finish at the 2010 Humana Challenge.
Making his 401st career start, this marks the first back-to-back-to-back-to-back rounds in the 60s since he posted all four rounds in the 60s at the 2013 John Deere Classic (finished T27). Weir’s last round in the 60s before this week came in January at the Humana Challenge (second-round 69).
Weir was limited to 19 events in 2010 due to a partial ligament tear in his right elbow. That year, he finished outside the top 125 on the money list for the first time since rookie campaign in 1998.
Weir missed 18 consecutive cuts over three seasons as he worked back from injuries. He missed his final two cuts of the 2011 (MC and WD) season, all 14 cuts during the 2012 season and the first two cuts of the 2013 season.
Weir has eight career victories on TOUR: 1999 Air Canada Championship, 2000 World Golf Championships-American Express Championship, 2001 THE TOUR Championship, 2003 Bob Hope Chrysler Classic, 2003 Nissan Open, 2003 Masters Tournament, 2004 Nissan Open, 2007 Fry’s Electronics Open.
Stephen Ames (2009 Children’s Miracle Network Classic) is the last Canadian player to win on TOUR. Other Canadian players to win on TOUR include: Mike Weir, Stephen Ames (Trinidad-born), George Knudson, Al Balding (first Canadian to win on the PGA TOUR), Stan Leonard, Dave Barr, Dan Halldorson and Richard Zokol.
Weir celebrated his 44th birthday this week on May 12 (44 years, 0 months, and 6 days).
Coming into the week, Weir ranked No. 187 in the FedExCup standings and No. 605 in the Official World Golf Rankings. He moves to No. 87 in the FedExCup standings. Weir was ranked as high as No. 3 in the World after the 2003 Greater Milwaukee Open.
Weir’s previous results in the FedExCup standings: 2007/87th, 2008/6th, 2009/29th, 2010/128th, 2011/259th, 2012/NA, 2013/174th.
Weir notches his firs top 10 in his 12th start at the HP Byron Nelson Championship. His previous-best finish in T11 in 2001.
Weir (44 years, 0 months, and 6 days) would have become the second-oldest winner in tournament history behind Sam Snead (1958) at 46 years and 12 days.
Marc Leishman
Leishman (T3) records his third top 10 of the season and third career at the HP Byron Nelson Championship.
Leishman was trying to become the fifth golfer to win PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year and also win the HP Byron Nelson Championship in his career. The list includes: Vijay Singh, Ernie Els, Tiger Woods and Keegan Bradley. Note: the PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year award began in 1990.
Leishman made his sixth start at the HP Byron Nelson Championship: 2009/T8, 2010/T12, 2011/MC, 2012/T3, 2013/T12, 2014/T3.
Leishman was trying to become the fifth Australian to win the HP Byron Nelson Championship and third in the last seven years. The Aussies to win in Dallas include Jason Day (2010), Adam Scott (2008), Bruce Devlin (1969) and Peter Thomson (1956).
Louis Oosthuizen
Oosthuizen finished T11 in his third start in the HP Byron Nelson Championship. He missed the cut in 2012 and had to WD last year after the third round with a neck injury.
Oosthuizen has now only converted one of four third-round leads/co-leads on TOUR:
2010 Open Championship
2012 Shell Houston Open
2012 Deutsche Bank Championship 2nd
2014 HP Byron Nelson Championship T11
Oosthuizen had missed three of four cuts on TOUR coming into this week. His only top 10 this season came at the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship (T5).
Scottie Scheffler and Jordan Spieth
Amateur sponsor exemption Scottie Scheffler finished T22 in his first career start on TOUR. Scheffler is currently the No. 1 ranked junior in the Golfweek/Sagarin Boys rankings, the AJGA Polo rankings and the Junior Golf Scoreboard rankings. The 17-year-old is a three-time Texas UIL 4A individual champion. He has signed a letter of intent to play with the University of Texas.
Jordan Spieth finished T16 in his first career start on TOUR at the 2010 HP Byron Nelson Championship at the age of 16. This week, Spieth finished T37 with rounds of 70-67-73-68.
Spieth at the HP Byron Nelson Championship: 2010/T16, 2011/T32, 2013/T68 and 2014/T37.
Miscellaneous Notes
Gary Woodland (T7) records his fourth top 10 of the season this week at the HP Byron Nelson Championship. He has made 13 of 14 cuts on TOUR this season. He missed the cut in his first start of the year at the Frys.com Open.
Dustin Johnson finished T7 for his third top 10 in five starts at the HP Byron Nelson Championship (2009/T4 and 2010/T7).
Matt Kuchar (T7) records his TOUR leading ninth top-10 finish of the season. Since the start of the 2010 season, Matt Kuchar has five wins and a TOUR-best 46 top-10 finishes. During that period, Kuchar has made 101 of 107 cuts.
James Hahn (T5) records his third career top 10 on TOUR and his first since the 2013 AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am (T3) and 2013 Humana Challenge (T4).
Graham DeLaet (T7) notches his sixth top 10 of the season and first since a T8 at the Valspar Championship in March. DeLaet finished T10 last year in Dallas preceded by a T41 in 2012 and a MC in 2010.
Charles Howell III (T3) notches his sixth top-10 finish of the season, but his first since the Waste Management Phoenix Open in February. This marks Howell’s first top 10 at the HP Byron Nelson Championship in his 11th career start. Howell’s round was aided by an eagle-5 on No. 16 from 167 yards followed by a birdie-3 on No. 17. He finished nearly an hour before the leaders and was T3 at the point when he finished.
Boo Weekley (T5) records his first top 10 at the HP Byron Nelson Championship in his third start (2012/T63 and 2013/MC). He will attempt to defend his title next week at the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial, a feat no one has accomplished since Ben Hogan in 1952 and 1953.
Tim Herron needed $212,444 at this week’s HP Byron Nelson Championship to retain his Major Medical Extension for the rest of the season. He finished T22 to earn $64,055, coming up short of the money needed. Herron will be placed in the Past Champion category the rest of this season.
The tournament scoring record of 261 was set by Rory Sabbatini in 2009.
Dating to 2000, there have been eight international-born winners of the championship (2000-Jesper Parnevik,
2002-Shigeki Maruyama, 2003-Vijay Singh, 2004-Sergio Garcia, 2008-Adam Scott, 2009-Rory Sabbatini, 2010-Jason Day, 2013-Sang-Moon Bae).
Four shots is the tournament record for the biggest come-from-behind win after 54 holes by Keegan Bradley (2011), John Cook (1998), Bob Eastwood (1985) and Lanny Wadkins (1973).
Five past HP Byron Nelson Championship winners competed this week: Keegan Bradley (T29), Vijay Singh (T37), Rory Sabbatini (T45), Jason Dufner (T48), Sang-Moon Bae (MC).
Bogey-free rounds:
R1: Jhonattan Vegas (70; 18 pars)
R2: Charlie Beljan (65), Retief Goosen (65), Morgan Hoffmann (66), Charles Howell III (66), Graham DeLaet (66), Will Wilcox (68)
R3: James Driscoll (66), Charles Howell III (69)
R4: Brian Harman (65), Brendon Todd (66)
Scoring Averages at the par-70 TPC Four Seasons Resort:
Front 9 Back 9 Total Cumulative
Thursday 35.513 35.583 71.096 —
Friday 35.104 35.292 70.396 70.748
Saturday 34.738 35.083 69.821 70.551
Sunday 34.986 35.500 70.486 70.541