GOLF – PGA Champions Tour rookie Zach Johnson birdied his first three holes and shot a 7-under-par 65 yesterday to capture the inaugural Portugal Invitational at The Els Club Vilamoura in Algarve, Portugal.
Johnson, who finished at 19-under 197, won for the fourth time in 2026 and edged second-round leader Stewart Cink by two shots.
Ireland’s Padraig Harrington shot a 2-under 70 to finish in third place at 15-under.
Tim O’Neal (-13) placed fourth and Spain’s Miguel Angel Jimenez and Sweden’s Mikael Lundberg tied for fifth at -12.
Cink made a critical bogey on the par-4 second hole and fell back to 12-under.
He trailed Johnson by three strokes after three holes but got back to 14-under with back-to-back birdies on holes four and five.
Harrington assumed a brief lead with a birdie on the first hole and knotted Johnson at 15-under after another birdie at No. 5.
But he gave that back with a bogey on the par-3 sixth hole before Johnson went on a crucial run.
Johnson responded with birdies at Nos. 7, 9 and 11 and sealed the victory with a birdie on the closing hole.
“I’ve played nice. I mean, that goes without saying,” he said.
“And I’ve earned it. It has not been easy. At the same time, when you have successes, you really reflect pretty easily.”
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