Stefano Mazzoli Wins the Corales Puntacana Championship With a 24-Foot Birdie on the Last

For 71 holes, Stefano Mazzoli had never been at 20 under. The 72nd was the only one that counted.

The 29-year-old Italian rolled in a 24-foot birdie putt on the par-4 18th to shoot 6-under 66 and win the Corales Puntacana Championship at 20-under 268, his first PGA TOUR title. Mazzoli started Sunday four shots behind Todd Clements and finished one ahead of Clements and Gordon Sargent, who tied for second at 19 under. Ben James and Will Gordon shared fourth at 18 under. The final scoring is on the official PGA TOUR leaderboard (opens in a new tab).

Four Back and Moving

Mazzoli's front nine was the kind that changes a Sunday. Birdies at the third and fourth, a bogey at the fifth, then three straight birdies at the sixth, seventh and eighth for a 4-under 32 at the turn. That was five birdies on the front alone, and it still left the Italian chasing, because Clements was making birdies of his own early on the back nine.

The back nine was a grind. Mazzoli birdied the 12th and 14th, gave one shot back along the way, and the birdie at 14 pulled the deficit down to one, per the DP World Tour. Then the leaderboard started to tilt.

Where Clements Lost It

Clements had led or shared the lead after each of the first three rounds, with a tournament-record 198 through 54 holes, and a few holes into the back nine he looked like the man who would close it out. The 13th changed everything. A double bogey on the par 4 dropped Clements to 20 under and let the field back in.

From there, the Englishman could not find the birdie to steady things. A bogey at the par-4 16th dropped Clements to 19 under, into a three-way tie with Mazzoli and Sargent, who had just birdied the 16th. Clements played the final six holes in 3 over and signed for a 71.

It is the same story Corales told in 2025, when Joel Dahmen led after three rounds and bogeyed the final three holes to hand the title to Garrick Higgo. You can read that one in our 2025 final-round recap. This course does not let 54-hole leaders coast home.

The Putt on 18

Mazzoli reached the 18th green at 19 under, facing a 24-footer. Mazzoli later explained that the caddie double-checked the line before the putt, and the ball dropped on its final roll. That posted 268, the number nobody behind him could match.

Sargent, playing in the second-to-last group, had a long birdie try at the 18th to get to 20 under and could not convert. Clements had one more chance too, a birdie putt on the final green to force a playoff, and it came up short.

"I'm just grateful and honored to win on tour," Mazzoli said, per the AP. "That was a dream since I was a kid."

The win came after a difficult stretch, by the winner's own account. "It's been a rollercoaster, this past year," Mazzoli said. "You doubt yourself quite a lot, but I've always been really determined on working, sacrifice and everything."

What the Win Changes

This was only Mazzoli's third PGA TOUR start, and the DP World Tour rookie, promoted from the HotelPlanner Tour last year, now has a PGA TOUR card through 2027. The $720,000 winner's check came from a $4 million purse. Because Mazzoli was not yet a TOUR member, no FedExCup points came with the win, per the PGA TOUR. On the DP World Tour side, the co-sanctioned title moved Mazzoli from 127th to 39th in the Race to Dubai standings and to the top of that tour's Closing Swing rankings. Mazzoli came into the week 424th in the Official World Golf Ranking, so the jump there will be big too.

For Clements, it is a painful near miss that will still look good on a résumé. "Look, I'm proud of how I played," Clements said. "Gave it my all, wasn't meant to be. That's part of the game." The tie for second was a career-best TOUR finish, per Golf Today.

The Rest of the Board

Sargent closed with a 67 for a best-ever TOUR finish in 31 starts, per Golf Today, and Golf Channel reported that Sargent called the week a big confidence builder. James, in his fifth start as a professional and paired with Clements in the final group, shot 70 and finished fourth, his first top-10 as a pro. Gordon's closing 66 produced a share of fourth and a first TOUR top-10 in 20 starts.

Joe Highsmith, Marcel Schneider and Jacob Skov Olesen tied for sixth at 17 under. Blades Brown, the 19-year-old Special Temporary Member, shot 70 and tied for 11th at 15 under. Max McGreevy, tied for third to start the day, managed only a 71 and shared 11th. Luke List posted the best Sunday score among the top 20, a 64, to climb into a tie for 15th.

The 2026 edition was the last opposite-field event on the PGA TOUR calendar this season, per Golf Channel, and it delivered a finish worth the move to July. Relive how the week built in our Round 1, Round 2 and Round 3 recaps, and the PGA TOUR's final-round story (opens in a new tab) has more.

The takeaway: Clements owned this tournament for three days, but Mazzoli owned the one putt that mattered.

Sources: PGA TOUR (AP final-round story, points and payouts, leaderboard), AP, DP World Tour, Golf Channel, Golf Today. More golf coverage on Undrafted.

Photo: PGA TOUR.