Nov 19, 2017 3 min read

Austin Cook was chased by proven PGA Tour winners all day at the RSM Classic.

Now the Arkansas player is one of them.

The PGA Tour rookie held off veterans Brian Gay, Chris Kirk, Kevin Kisner and Brian Harman Sunday at the chilly, windy Sea Island Club’s Seaside Course.

Cook closed with a 3-under 67 for a four-stroke victory over J.J. Spaun. The victory in the final PGA Tour event of the calendar year gave Cook a spot in the Masters next year.

“It was definitely exciting … real brutal with the wind,” Cook said. “I got off to a slow start but I was able to keep my head level and know there was a lot of golf to be played. With the wind and those conditions, a lot could happen.”

Cook birdied three of his last four holes after the three-shot lead he began the day with slipped to one over Spaun. Cook made a 14-foot birdie putt at No. 18 to finish at 21-under 261.

Spaun shot a 66.

Gay, the oldest contender of the week at 45, eagled the par-4 18th hole from 161 yards with a 9-iron to break out of a five-way tie for third and finish at 16 under. He shot 68.

Kirk (71) and Kisner (68), past winners of the tournament, St. Simons Island resident Brian Harman (65) and Andrew Landry (67) tied for fourth at 14 under.

Cook, 26, from Little Rock, earned $1,116,000 and improved to third on the FedEx Cup points list.

It’s the second year in a row that a rookie won the RSM Classic. Mac Hughes survived a five-way playoff to capture the title last year in a Monday finish.

Spaun, a stocky former University of San Diego player, made the biggest move of the day and twice cut Cook’s lead to one shot – the last time on an 8-foot birdie putt at the par-4 16th.

However, Spaun bogeyed No. 17 when he failed to get up-and-down from a greenside bunker, and Cook birdied No. 15 with a 4-footer and No. 17 with a 15-footer to seal the victory.

Spaun’s birdie at No. 16 could have put him into a tie for the lead but he missed a 4-foot birdie attempt on the previous hole.

“That (Spaun’s miss at No. 15) was big,” said Cook, who said he’s an obsessive leaderboard-watcher and knew exactly when Spaun had come within a shot.

Jutanugarn wins CME: Ariya Jutanugarn of Thailand won the CME Group Tour Championship with birdies on her last two holes Sunday and some big help on a short miss by Lexi Thompson.

Thompson had a one-shot lead when she missed a 2-foot par putt on the 18th hole. That dropped her into a three-way tie, and then Jutanugarn holed an 18-foot birdie putt on the final hole for a 5-under 67 and a one-shot victory.

Fleetwood winner in Dubai: Tommy Fleetwood was crowned the European Tour’s Race to Dubai champion after a spectacular collapse on the back nine by his nearest challenger, Justin Rose.

Rose appeared to be on track for a third win in as many starts when he eased to a 19 under total after 11 holes Sunday without any trouble on the Earth course of Jumeirah Golf Estates. But his round unraveled after that with bogeys on the 12th, 14th and 16th holes to finish with a two-under par 70 and a share of fourth place.