Desert Golf Classic
Rookie Long bags his first PGA title
Three players were tied before American sank a 14-foot putt to prevail
Los Angeles — Rookie Adam Long birdied the final hole to edge Phil Mickelson and Adam Hadwin by a stroke to collect his first PGA Tour victory at the Desert Classic in southern California on Sunday. The three had been tied before Long sank a 14-foot putt to shoot a seven-under-par 65 and prevail with a 26-under 262 in his sixth appearance on the PGA Tour. Mickelson (69), who had led the first three rounds at La Quinta Country Club, and Canadian Hadwin (67) finished at 25-under. “I got a pretty good read off Phil’s putt,” Long told Golf Channel about the last hole. “It was one of those putts you just know you’re going to make. And you can’t control that, but when you have that feeling it’s a good one. I’m in pretty disbelief right now. I don’t really know what happened.” Hadwin had a three-stroke lead on the back nine while Mickelson experienced putting problems before rallying to catch Long and the Canadian. A clutch approach shot with the ball below his feet that set up Long’s clos...
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