VALLARTA, Mexico — Andrew Novak saw his six-stroke lead cut in half until he ran off three straight birdies on the back nine Sunday that sent him to a 2-under-par 69 and a five-shot victory in the Mexico Open, his first individual tournament triumph on the PGA Tour.
Novak staked himself to a big lead with rounds of 61-62 the previous two days, and it was going to take something special to track him down. But with a soft bogey on the 10th hole of the Norman Course at Vidanta Vallarta, the 31-year-old American’s lead was down to three over countryman Steven Fisk and Mexico-born Norwegian player Kristoffer Ventura.
And then it was effectively over. Novak hit a greenside bunker shot to four feet from the cup on the par-5 12th, drove the 13th green to 15 feet for a two-putt birdie, then ended his decisive run with a 45-foot birdie putt on the 14th.
“That kind of really settled everything,” Novak said. “Just happy with how I played today. I thought I grinded it out pretty well.”
He finished the 72-hole tournament at 25-under 259.
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