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MANILA, Philippines — Rico Hoey finally delivered the kind of performance that had eluded him all season, firing a brilliant, eagle-laced seven-under 64 to finish in a share of seventh place at the inaugural ONEflight Myrtle Beach Classic in South Carolina on Sunday (Monday Manila time).
His sizzling final round at the par-71 Dunes Golf and Beach Club not only marked his best showing of the 2025 PGA Tour season but also set the tone for a highly anticipated start in next week’s PGA Championship at Quail Hollow in Charlotte, North Carolina.
While New Zealand’s Ryan Fox emerged victorious in a thrilling three-man playoff over Canada’s Mackenzie Hughes and American Harry Higgs with a birdie on the first extra hole, it was Hoey’s late surge that turned heads and hinted at bigger things ahead.
Fox closed with a 66 to join Hughes (67) and Higgs (68) at 15-under 269 before edging them out with a birdie on the par-5 18th. Taiwan’s Kevin Yu narrowly missed joining the playoff with a 270 after a final-round 65.
For Hoey, who started the day far off the leaders, it was a showcase of resilience, precision and determination.
After a discouraging three-putt bogey on the par-4 second hole, the ICTSI-backed Filipino bounced back in style with a 15-foot birdie on the third. On the par-5 fourth, Hoey used his power and control to reach the green in two and buried a curling 21-foot eagle putt to ignite his charge.
He missed close-range birdie looks on the sixth and seventh but made up for it with a bomb — a 30-foot birdie putt on the eighth that dropped dead center.
At the back nine, Hoey kept his foot on the gas. He rolled in a 25-footer for birdie on No. 12, tapped in for another on the par-5 13th, and capitalized again on the long par-5 15th with a stress-free birdie.
His precision off the tee paid off again on the par-3 17th, where he stuffed his iron to eight feet and drained the putt to cap a scintillating 64.
With a 12-under 272 total, Hoey climbed into a six-way tie for seventh — his first Top 10 finish this season. The performance was a major leap forward after a missed cut at the Zurich Classic and a tied for 52nd place at The CJ Cup Byron Nelson.
It also bettered his previous season-best joint 11th finish at the Houston Open in March and a share of 12th at the Corales Puntacana Championship in April.
More than just a morale boost, the 29-year-old Hoey’s red-hot finish at Myrtle Beach could serve as a springboard heading into the second major of the year. The University of Southern Carolina produce is set to tee it up at the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow Club, a course known for favoring long, aggressive ball-strikers — qualities Hoey displayed in abundance on Sunday.
The former Philippine national team standout, now in his second year on the PGA Tour, has been hunting consistency after a promising rookie campaign that included four Top 10 finishes and a dramatic five-way playoff loss at the ISCO Championship.
With his form peaking at the right time, Hoey now heads into his PGA Championship debut with confidence and momentum.
Over in the Epson Tour, Germany’s Sophia Popov drew on her LPGA Tour experience to emerge triumphant at the Carlisle Arizona Women’s Classic, grinding out a composed two-under 69 to seal a wire-to-wire win at TPC Scottsdale’s Champions Course on Sunday.
Popov, a former AIG Women’s Open champion, compiled a four-day total of 270, holding off a late rally by China’s Michelle Zhang, who fell just short despite a final-round flourish.
Zhang closed with a six-under 66, highlighted by birdies on three of her final six holes, but ultimately ran out of holes to complete the comeback, finishing two shots adrift at 272. Colombia’s Valery Plata took solo third at 273 after firing the tournament’s best final-round score – a bogey-free 65 peppered with three birdies over her last four holes.
Meanwhile, Clariss Guce and Sam Bruce, who both showed early promise, saw their campaigns unravel during moving day and were unable to mount significant recoveries in the final round.
Guce, a two-time winner on the Epson Tour, struggled to regain her rhythm after a third-round 74. She opened her final round brightly with a birdie on the first hole but stumbled with a costly triple bogey on the par-4 ninth. Another dropped shot on No. 12 was partially offset by birdies on Nos. 13 and 18, helping her salvage a 72 for a four-day total of 283 – good for a tie at 22nd, 13 shots off the lead.
Bruce, who made a strong impression with consecutive rounds of 68, lost momentum with a third-round 76 and couldn’t fully recover on Sunday.
She bogeyed Nos. 3 and 4, birdied the eighth, but gave the shot back on the ninth. Additional bogeys on Nos. 10 and 12 were mitigated slightly by a birdie on the par-5 18th, rounding out her final-round 72 and finishing at 286 for a tie at 37th place.
Over in New Jersey, Thailand’s Atthaya Thitikul secured her fifth LPGA Tour title in emphatic fashion, carding a bogey-free 69 to claim the Mizuho Americas Open at Liberty National Golf Club in Jersey City, also on Sunday.
Thitikul, who won the $4 million Race to CME Globe prize last year, posted a 17-under 271 total to finish four strokes clear of France’s Celine Boutier.
Thitikul birdied the frontside twice and kept her composure through the back nine, capping her round with a birdie on the 17th to seal the deal.
Boutier had matched her early birdie but faltered with bogeys on Nos. 2 and 6. Though she clawed back birdies on the 10th and 13th, another slip-up on the 15th ended her bid for a rally, and she signed for an even-par 72 to finish runner-up at 275.
Spain’s Carlota Ciganda and American Andrea Lee shared third place at 276 after rounds of 70 and 72, respectively.
