Dustin Johnson World Junior: Dunlap, Putrino score comeback wins

Nicholas Dunlap (Huntsville, Ala.) and Jacqueline Putrino (Sarasota, Fla.) overcame final-round deficits to win the Dustin Johnson World Junior Golf Championship Presented by Fujikura Sunday at TPC Myrtle Beach.

Dunlap entered the final round just one shot off the lead and built a cushion that allowed him to overcome a double bogey on No. 16. Dunlap shot 75 Sunday and finished the 54-hole event at 3-under par, two strokes clear of Luke Clanton (Miami Lakes, Fla.), Brendan Valdes (Orlando, Fla.) and Maxwell Ford (Peachtree Corners, Ga.).

Clanton briefly took the lead after a birdie on No. 10 pushed him to 7-under, but double bogies on 15 and 17 derailed his hopes of winning the event. Clanton, Valdes and Ford, the second-round leader, finished at 1-under par.

Putrino was 4-over par on the day and tied with Hyo Joon Jang (Howey in the Hills, Fl.) atop the leaderboard when she made a clutch 18-foot birdie putt on TPC Myrtle Beach’s par-5 18th hole to win the event. Putrino finished at 6-over par, one better than Jang and two strokes clear of Savannah Hylton (Hilton Head, S.C.) and Catherine Park (Irvine, Calif.).

Putrino entered the final round trailing Andie Smith (Hobe Sound, Fla.) by three shots. Smith doubled the opening hole and never found her rhythm on a day when scoring was difficult for the entire field.