Yin Ruoning shoots 65 to win in Malaysia, Thitikul finishes second again

INZAI CITY, Japan (AP) — Nico Echavarria claimed the Zozo Championship for his second PGA Tour victory, shooting 3-under 67 on Sunday to win by a shot over Max Greyserman and Justin Thomas.

Echavarria, a Colombian who played at the University of Arkansas, birdied two of the final three holes — including the 18th — to add to the title he won last year at the Puerto Rico Open.

He finished at 20-under 260 at the Narashino Country Club, located about 80 kilometres from central Tokyo. It’s a course record, topping the 261 Tiger Woods shot in winning in 2019.

“It’s incredible to win a tournament that Tiger’s won,” Echavarria said, setting up a joke. “This is my second victory, so I just need 80 more victories to catch him. I’m on my way, though.”

Nick Taylor of Abbotsford, B.C., finished tied for 33rd at 7 under. Adam Svensson of Surrey, B.C., and Ben Silverman of Thornhill, Ont., finished tied for 46th at 4 under.

Echavarria said the win last year helped build his confidence.

“I don’t think I would have won this week without the victory in Puerto Rico,” he said. “I pulled a lot from that moment in the last round on Sunday in Puerto Rico, I used it a lot this week to stay patient, stay calm.”

Echavarria hugged his girlfriend, Claudia De Antonio. on the 18th after the victory in what he called “a very special moment.”

“It’s surreal,” he said. “It’s been a good year for me, I just haven’t had that top result. I’ve been very consistent, I’ve learned a lot this year. To finish the year this way is, it’s incredible, especially doing it here in Japan in such an amazing country.”

Thomas, who played in the final threesome with Greyserman and Echavarria, closed with a 66. He is trying to win his first PGA title in 2 1/2 years. His last was the 2022 PGA Championship, which gave him 15 PGA titles.

“Obviously bummed and disappointed, but I played so well,” Thomas said. “I played plenty well enough to win the tournament. Hit so many good putts today that just didn’t go in, that’s the difference.”

Greyserman, trying for his first tour win, took a one-shot lead with a 30-foot birdie on the 14th — his only birdie on the back nine. He closed with a 65 at the Narashino Country Club and has been runner-up in three of his last five PGA events.

He’s a close friend of Echavarria’s. But the loss, of course, hurt.

“You know, I didn’t quite execute down the stretch when I needed to. I mean, Nico stepped up there and he hit a great second shot (on 18). He earned it.”

—

AP golf:

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

DETROIT (AP) — Leon Draisaitl scored his second goal of the game 18 seconds into overtime and the Edmonton Oilers beat the Detroit Red Wings 3-2 on Sunday night.

Evan Bouchard also scored and Calvin Pickard stopped 25 shots to help the Oilers win their second straight. Connor McDavid and defenceman Mattias Ekholm each chipped in with two assists.

Andrew Copp had a goal and an assist, and J.T. Compher also scored for the Red Wings, and Patrick Kane had two assists. Cam Talbot finished with 30 saves.

The Oilers beat the Red Wings for the fifth time in six games (5-0-1).

TAKEAWAYS

Oilers: With his two goals, Draisaitl extended his point streak to six games (five goals, three assists). McDavid has 25 points (five goals, 20 assists) in 16 career games against Detroit.

Red Wings: Defenceman Jeff Petry had an assist on Copp’s goal for his first point of the season.

KEY MOMENT

Detroit’s penalty-killing unit, ranked 31st in the NHL at 64.3 per cent, successfully killed off a tripping penalty to Copp with 1:51 remaining in regulation, assuring the team of at least one point.

KEY STAT

The Red Wings have been outshot in six consecutive games and are 3-3 over that span. Detroit is 31st in the NHL in shots allowed per game (34.7) and 32nd in shots on goal per game (24.6). The Red Wings have given up at least 30 shots in six straight games, while going five games in a row generating fewer than 30 shots on goal.

UP NEXT

Oilers: Visit the Columbus Blue Jackets on Monday.

Red Wings: Host the Winnipeg Jets on Wednesday.

—

AP NHL:

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Nick Suzuki and Brendan Gallagher each had a goal and assist and the Montreal Canadiens defeated the Philadelphia Flyers 4-3 on Sunday night.

Suzuki extended his NHL point streak to seven games. He scored in the first period and assisted Cole Caufield on a power-play goal late in the second period. Montreal won consecutive games for the first time this season.

Jake Evans also scored for Montreal and Cayden Primeau made 23 saves to secure the win.

Aleksei Kolosov made 20 saves in his NHL debut for Philadelphia, which lost for the seventh time in eight games.

Travis Sanheim had a pair of goals for Philadelphia. He and Travis Konecny scored 29 seconds apart in the final three minutes to pull within a goal.

TAKEAWAYS

Canadiens: Mike Matheson and David Savard were key to the Canadiens’ defensive effort, getting in the way of several shots. Matheson blocked seven and Savard blocked four.

Flyers: Kolosov became the first Belarus-born goalie to play in the NHL. The Flyers are looking to settle an unstable goaltending situation. His signature save came on a sprawling stop on a 2-on-0 breakaway when he slid post-to-post to make a pad save on Caufield.

KEY MOMENT

Montreal defenceman Logan Mailloux intentionally fired a shot into traffic and it redirected off Gallagher’s leg and over Kolosov’s shoulder to give Montreal a 2-1 lead early in the second period.

KEY STAT

19-6: The Flyers have really struggled in the second period this year and have been outscored by their opponents by 13 goals. It was more of the same in the second period against Montreal, as the Canadiens outscored the Flyers 3-0.

UP NEXT

Canadiens: Host the Seattle Kraken on Tuesday.

Flyers: Visit the Boston Bruins on Tuesday.

—

AP NHL:

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.