'What a week': Sam Burns storms through field, wins Match Play
AUSTIN, Texas -- The final hours of the last WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play turned into a dud for everyone but Sam Burns.
Burns went on a tear Sunday afternoon in the championship match with eight birdies on his final 10 holes and enough help from Cameron Young for a 6-and-5 victory. It was the second-largest margin in an 18-hole match in this tournament.
Burns won for the fifth time on the PGA Tour. Young, who had a late rally with clutch birdies to eliminate Rory McIlroy in the semifinals, had to settle for his sixth runner-up finish in the past 18 months.
"What a week," Burns said. "I'm so tired."
Burns made it to the championship match Sunday afternoon only when defending champion Scottie Scheffler missed a 4-foot birdie putt on the 20th hole of their semifinal match. Given new life, Burns made birdie from a fairway bunker with a 15-foot putt to advance.
Young had an early lead. Burns squared the match on the fifth hole and took the lead with a chip-and-putt birdie on the par-5 sixth. And then on the next hole, Young missed a 6-foot par putt to fall 2-down. It was his first bogey since the seventh hole Thursday.
All the momentum Young had built up over the week seemed to vanish. And the silky putting stroke of Burns was never better.
He holed a 20-foot birdie putt at No. 8. He made a 12-footer on No. 10 to go 4-up. He birdied the 11th hole from 25 feet -- Young made his from 20 to halve the hole -- and then it ended so abruptly.
Young pulled his shot from rough into the water on the par-5 12th, and then he came up short of the green and into the water on the reachable par-4 13th.
Burns chipped to just inside 3 feet, and Young removed his cap without making him putt.
"It's easy to think you're so close," Young said. "There's one guy standing between you and winning the tournament. And that one guy is Sam Burns playing really well."
The highlight was his semifinal win over McIlroy, who was in full flight for so much of the week. McIlroy was 2-up with three holes to play when Young won the 16th with a birdie and then hit a nifty pitch-and-run up the slope and his purest putt of the week.
On the first extra hole at the par-5 12th, Young was in such a bad spot in the bunker next to the lip that he could blast out to only 169 yards, with McIlroy just over 200 yards for his second. Young hammered pitching wedge to 9 feet and made birdie. McIlroy played short and right of the green, chipped to just inside 9 feet and missed.
That was the kind of theater that graced Austin Country Club all week, particularly Sunday morning. Scheffler was trying to join Tiger Woods as the only back-to-back winners, and he had a 2-up lead over Burns through 10 holes.
Burns rallied back against his best friend on tour, and Scheffler had to get up-and-down from short of the 18th green for birdie to force overtime. He had it won on the second extra hole at No. 13 -- except he missed the putt -- and Burns escaped.
"That's the nature of this match play," Burns said. "It's one holed putt or missed putt away from winning or losing. He gave me a gift there on 13."
Burns in the championship match was close to unbeatable.
"There might not have been anybody beating him today the way he played," Young said.
McIlroy and Scheffler wound up in the consolation match, which McIlroy won 2 and 1. That gave the thin crowd something to watch when Burns ended the title match early. Scheffler played four years for the Longhorns. McIlroy is popular everywhere.
And while that was going on, the Longhorns were on TV trying to get to the Final Four in a game they ultimately lost to Miami.
It was a flat ending to what has been 23 dynamic events of Match Play since the World Golf Championships began in 1999. Match Play was the first one, a 38-hole final won by Jeff Maggert at La Costa. That was a nail-biter. This was a rout.
Match Play will not be on the schedule in 2024 as the PGA Tour moves toward elevated events for the top 70 or so players, a response to the threat from Saudi-funded LIV Golf.
Burns, who made 40 birdies for the week, moved to No. 10 in the world and collected $3.5 million from the $20 million purse. Young got $2.2 million for finishing second, though a trophy after so many close calls would seem to be invaluable.
Taylor Moore outlasts Jordan Spieth, Adam Schenk at Valspar for first Tour win
PALM HARBOR, Fla. — Taylor Moore was never really the star attraction Sunday at the Valspar Championship until he had finished hitting all the right shots and posed with the trophy for his first PGA Tour title that sends him to the Masters.
Adam Schenk and Jordan Spieth provided enough compelling theater for so much of the day, locked in a battle on the back nine of the Copperhead course at Innisbrook.
When it was over, all they shared was misfortune.
Moore surged into the mix with a 9-iron to 5 feet for birdie on the 15th hole and a 25-foot birdie putt on the 16th hole, followed by two tough pars for a 4-under 67.
That turned out to be a winner when Spieth hit his tee shot into the water on the 16th and Schenk, going for his first PGA Tour victory, hit a drive on the final hole that settled next to a large pine tree. He made bogey and finished one shot behind.
Moore, who grew up outside Oklahoma City, was on the practice range anticipating a playoff when he realized he had won at 10-under 274.
“I might have been under the radar to some people watching, but I felt like I was in the golf tournament from the time I teed off today and was just excited to control what I could control and get it done,” Moore said.
The victory sends him to the Masters in three weeks, a welcome addition to his schedule.
Spieth was tied for the lead when he sent his tee shot into the water on the 16th and managed to stay in the game by getting up-and-down from 163 yards to salvage bogey. On the par-3 17th, which yielded only two birdies all day, Spieth hit 4-iron to 6 feet — only to miss the birdie putt.
Tommy Fleetwood was part of a three-way tie early on the back nine until he took bogey on the par-5 14th. Spieth didn’t realize anyone else was in the mix.
“I thought it was me and Adam. I thought it was down to us two,” Spieth said. “I was thinking it was Tommy one back of us with a few holes to go and so I thought we could still kind of control it from the last group. Then I saw 10 (under) was posted walking off 16 green.”
The real heartbreak belonged to Schenk, whose wife flew down to Florida for the final round a month before she is due with their first child. Schenk holed a 70-foot birdie putt on the 12th hole. He made tough par saves on the 16th and 17th holes to stay tied.
On the 18th, however, he pulled his tee shot to the left. It was roughly the same line as Moore had hit his tee shot earlier, only Schenk’s ball rolled through the gallery and stopped next to a pine tree.
“Wish I could have lightly hit somebody and stayed where I had a chance to get to the green, but it did not, and I didn’t deserve it,” Schenk said.
His only shot was hitting an inverted gap wedge left-handed, and it was a dandy, shooting across the fairway into the rough. His third shot came up just short of a ridge and rolled onto the fringe 40 feet away. The par putt to force a playoff hit the hole, but had too much pace and hopped out.
Schenk, playing for the 10th consecutive week so he can take time off when his son is born, closed with a 70.
“It stinks to get so close,” he said.
Spieth missed a par putt on the 18th that was worth FedEx Cup points and money, signed for a 70 and tied for third with Fleetwood.
No one was paying all that much attention to Moore until the 29-year-old who played at Arkansas started hitting one quality shot after another. He stuffed his approach to 2 feet on No. 12 for a birdie. He effectively won the tournament with a great swing with a 9-iron on the 15th and his big putt on the next hole.
Moore got up-and-down for par with a long bunker shot on the 17th, and he two-putted from about 70 feet just off the green at the 18th.
The victory for Moore was worth $1,458,000 and moved him to No. 9 in the FedEx Cup standings. Along with the Masters, he gets in the PGA Championship. He moved from No. 103 to just inside the top 50 in the world.
Scottie Scheffler on top of golf world after dominant Players Championship win
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — Scottie Scheffler was going to win the golf tournament.
No drama remained in this 49th Players Championship. Scheffler, like a surgeon, had drained every ounce of drama out of the final round before he made the turn. The thing was all over but the trophy ceremony and the $4.5 million winner’s check being handed to him.
Yet there Scheffler was standing in the middle of the 18th fairway alongside his caddie Ted Scott holding a five-shot lead and he was still as stone-faced as he’d been all day around TPC Sawgrass.
It wasn’t until Scheffler, who had to punch out from the pine straw to the fairway after an errant drive on the last, hit his third shot onto the 18th green that he exhaled. He took his hat off, crouched over and had some words with Scott, smiling for the first time all day.
“Let’s win this thing by five,’’ Scheffler told Scott.
So, he did.
Scheffler calmly got up-and-down from the fairway for par and finished 17-under par, five shots clear of runner-up Tyrrell Hatton and seven-shots better than Viktor Hovland and Tom Hoge. His 3-under-par 69 bettered his final-round playing partner, Min Woo Lee, by seven shots.
It’s been 392 days since Scheffler broke through for his first PGA Tour victory, at the 2022 Waste Management Phoenix Open. Sunday marked his sixth win in that dizzying span, last April’s Masters being one of them.
Not only did the win elevate Scheffler back to No. 1 in the world rankings, but he now owns the impressive distinction as only one of three players to hold a Masters green jacket and a Players Championship title at the same time.
The other two?
Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods.
“He’s had an amazing 15-month stretch of golf,’’ Hatton said. “He’s very impressive, incredibly consistent. [I] played with him last Sunday [at Bay Hill] and it was clear like he didn’t have his best that day, but he still hung around and had a chance there right at the end (Scheffler finished tied for fourth). It’s a pretty tough thing to do to be up there when you don’t have your best golf and still give yourself a chance to win.’’
Scheffler on Sunday made his move on Lee and the rest of the field, separating himself when he chipped in for birdie on No. 8 to move to 14-under par, good for a four-shot lead at the moment.
He has a running bet with Scott for an undisclosed sum of cash on how many chip-ins he’ll have this year. The agreed-upon number was 10. Scheffler’s chip-in on No. 8 on Sunday was his 11th already.
And it’s only March.
“I think he chipped in three times this week and when he got his 11th, he was like, ‘Do I get a bonus for this?’ ’’ Scott said. “I’m like, ‘No, you are. You met your quota.’ ’’
It was a chip-in on the third hole at Augusta last April that propelled Scheffler to win his first career major championship.
“It definitely got me going,’’ Scheffler said. “I played great after that. It definitely kick-started me a little bit. I mean, this chip-in was a little bit easier than the one at Augusta.’’
Jordan Spieth, one of the game’s best short-game wizards, said, “He’s got great hands. He’s got every shot. I think that Teddy made a very bad bet. I think Teddy will probably reevaluate considering we’re not even midway through March.’’
Scheffler, who’s remarkably unaffected by any and all chaos around him, has the perfect disposition to handle what he went through Sunday and to handle the No. 1 ranking. As the decibels rise, he’ll carry on as he always does — unaffected.
“He’s obviously used to being in this position now, he’s done it so many times already,’’ Aussie Cam Davis, who finished tied for sixth, said. “I think he’s just got the attitude for it. It just looks like he’s calm, just doing his business, not really worrying what everyone else is doing and churning out birdies, which is what you need to do out here.
“Obviously, he’s got his system down and figured out and I think the closer everyone else can get to finding theirs and sticking to it regardless of what’s going on the better chance we’ll have of keeping up with him.’’
Perhaps the only thing that was more impressive than what Scheffler did on the golf course Sunday was the fact that his 87-year-old grandmother, Mary DeLorenzo, kept up with him walking the golf course with a walker.
“I mean, it’s pretty impressive she’s walking so many holes out here,’’ Scheffler said. “She’s a trooper. I really don’t know what to say. She’s had a rough last year with Grandpa passing away, and we have an uncle that’s pretty sick. I’m just happy that we’re able to kind of enjoy all this together.’’
Wild finish as 30-year-old underdog stuns McIlroy in maiden PGA win
30-year-old Kurt Kitayama has claimed his first-ever PGA Tour win with a stunning victory at the $20m USD Arnold Palmer Invitational, beating Rory McIlroy by one shot in a stunning boilover.
Kitayama turned professional in 2015, but in his 50th tournament the American finally claimed his maiden victory in sensational fashion, with a host of the world’s top players breathing down his neck throughout the final round.
A clutch 14-foot birdie putt on 17 gave him a one-shot lead entering the final hole at Bay Hill Club and Lodge in Orlando Florida.
From 191 yards in the rough, Kitayama landed a sensational approach shot onto the green.
He only needed to two-putt for victory, but his 47-foot attempt was almost perfectly struck – ending up teetering on the edge of the cup.
Even McIlroy was left in disbelief as he watched on, shaking his head that the ball didn’t fall.
Remarkably, Kitayama had suffered a triple bogey on the ninth hole while leading, before fighting back to win, making him the first player since 1983 to win despite a triple bogey or worse in the final round.
His even-par final round saw him finish nine-under overall.
The victory earns him $3.6m USD, nearly as much as his previous career earnings of $4,194,548 USD. It also rockets him up 33 spots on the FedExCup hunt into sixth place ahead of the Players Championship this week.
Harris English was tied with McIlroy one shot back on eight under, with world number two and defending champion Scottie Scheffler, 2020 champion Tyrrell Hatton, Jordan Spieth, and Patrick Cantlay all one shot further back. Australia’s Jason Day was equal tenth on five under overall.
“It was really hard. I’m going to sleep really well tonight. It’s everything I kind of mentally prepared myself for,” said Kitayama.
“I’ve always dreamed of winning on the Tour and to finally do it, it’s pretty amazing.”
McIlroy said: “Disappointment, obviously. I feel like I gave myself a great chance … It was a battle all day, I felt like I hung in there really well but just came up one short.”
Chris Kirk wins Honda Classic in playoff; 1st title since 2015
PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. -- Chris Kirk waited nearly eight years to win a PGA Tour event again. Waiting one more hole on Sunday was no problem.
Kirk stuck his approach to the par-5 18th to tap-in range, and his birdie on the first hole of a playoff lifted him past Eric Cole for the victory at the Honda Classic on Sunday.
Cole had a chance, playing his third shot from the sand to just outside of 10 feet for a birdie that would have extended the playoff. But it lipped out, and Kirk nudged his ball in for his fifth career win -- his first since prevailing at Colonial in 2015.
"I was obviously very, very nervous today having not won in so long," Kirk said. "Coming down the stretch, I felt good."
And he'll be the last Honda winner. The car company is ending its title sponsorship of the event after 42 years, with a new sponsor set to be in place -- the PGA Tour hopes, anyway -- in the coming weeks.
They finished 72 holes tied at 14-under 266, Kirk shooting 69 on Sunday, Cole shooting 67.
Kirk earned $1,512,000 for the win, and is now eligible to play the Masters again for the first time since 2016. Cole earned $915,600 for the runner-up finish, a check that more than doubles what the 34-year-old has earned in 14 previous tour starts.
"I loved it. It was a lot of fun," Cole said. "I can't wait to get back and do it again. I didn't have my best stuff today, and I was proud of how hard I fought."
Kirk went to the par-5 18th with a one-shot lead. His tee shot found the fairway. His second shot found the water, leading to bogey. Cole made par, giving Kirk new life in the playoff.
"Bad swing at the wrong time. ... Thank God it worked out," Kirk said.
Kirk hadn't held a trophy since 2015. That's not to say he hasn't done any winning in that span.
He walked away from the game in May 2019 because of alcoholism and depression. He dealt with anxiety and struggled with handling pressure, even though he had a penchant for making it seem like no big deal on the golf course -- he was a four-time winner, plus made a big putt to help the U.S. win the Presidents Cup at South Korea in 2015.
The tour gave him a major medical extension for the time he missed, meaning he had a set number of tournaments to do well enough to regain his full status. He got it back by the slimmest of margins at the Sony Open in 2021.
And now he's a champion again.
"I just have so much to be thankful for," Kirk said. "I'm so grateful for my sobriety, I'm so grateful for my family, I'm so grateful for everyone that has supported throughout the past three or four years."
Tyler Duncan, ranked No. 360 in the world coming into the week, shot 66 on Sunday and was third at 12 under. Monday qualifier Ryan Gerard, playing the weekend for the first time on the PGA Tour, shot 67 and finished fourth at 10 under.
Gerard's career earnings on tour went from $0 to $411,600. His plans for the next few weeks might be changing based on this finish.
"I've got to go book some flights and hotel rooms, swipe the credit card," said Gerard, who came into the week ranked 472nd in the world. "We'll see what happens."
Defending champion Sepp Straka (68) was in a group tied for ninth at 9 under, with all four of his rounds in the 60's. Also in that group: Shane Lowry, who had a chance to win the Honda last year and finished with an even-par 70.
"I played lovely, and I just couldn't get it going," Lowry said.
Genesis Invitational payout: Jon Rahm adds to unbelievable two-month haul
Jon Rahm earned his third PGA Tour victory of the year at the Genesis Invitational, pushing his 2023 earnings to an amazing amount.
In just five starts this year, Rahm has made $9,402,750 on the Tour. That doesn't include the $462,000 he made at the CJ Cup in October, which is part of this wraparound season. Scottie Scheffler set the Tour's single-season earnings record last year, with $14,046,190 (not including the Tour Championship payout).
Rahm's haul this week was $3.6 million, thanks to the Genesis being a designated event. He also won the Sentry Tournament of Champions (a designated event as well) and The American Express.
Here are the full purse and FedExCup breakdowns for those who made the cut at Riviera Country Club:
2023 WM Phoenix Open purse: Payout info, winner’s share at TPC Scottsdale
Buckle up, golf fans. We have a wild Sunday ahead at the WM Phoenix Open.
Not only do we have two of the world’s top three players set to battle for the title and the right to ascend to World No. 1, we also have a designated event purse: $20 million is up for grabs, including a sweet payday of $3.6 million for Sunday’s winner. That’s more than double the money at stake in “regular” PGA Tour events.
To put that increase in perspective, 65th place will take home $43,000 at TPC Scottsdale. At last week’s AT&T Pebble Beach, which featured a $9 million purse, 65th place earned $19,350.
Scottie Scheffler, 13 under par through 54 holes, holds a two-shot over Canadian Nick Taylor and Jon Rahm, who are 11 under. Jordan Spieth is lurking at 10 under alongside Adam Hadwin. And just four shots back is a bevy of big names: Rickie Fowler, Xander Schauffele, Jason Day, Sungjae Im and Tyrrell Hatton.
Given the drama that awaits on TPC Scottsdale’s closing holes, this will certainly be a tournament finish to remember.
You can check out the complete payout breakdown below.
We have an exciting couple of weeks ahead at The Oak Room! We are currently full for Valentine's Day and Trivia Night - but there's still some availability for Karaoke with Poppy on the 16th!! We look forward to seeing you there!
Justin Rose leads by two at AT&T Pebble Beach as players prepare for Monday finish
Justin Rose's impressive fairway bunker shot and eagle at AT&T Pebble Beach
PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. – Playing golf sunrise to sunset on the Monterey Peninsula sounds like a delectable opportunity, even when the weather comes at you with an assortment of conditions from hail to sunshine and everything in between.
To know that you can have a few more holes on Monday morning with a chance to win $1.62 million is . . . well, it’s this year’s AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am where Justin Rose started his day with some fire at Monterey Peninsula CC and ended it with some early-evening magic at Pebble Beach to put his name atop the leaderboard.
Buoyed by a scintillating 215-yard bunker shot to set up a 6-foot eagle at the par-5 sixth and then a deft 20-foot birdie putt at the par-3 seventh, Rose pushed into a two-shot lead in an effort to win for the first time on the PGA TOUR since the 2019 Farmers Insurance Open.
The 42-year-old Englishman was 3-under in the final round, 15-under for the tournament when he ran out of daylight walking down the 10th fairway. He will return Monday morning to hit a 143-yard approach into the No. 10 green and continue through Pebble’s back nine.
He’ll have plenty of company close behind, because playing competitor Peter Malnati is sitting at 13-under, tied with Brendon Todd and Denny McCarthy, both of whom will return to face birdie putts – Todd from 8 feet at No. 13, McCarthy 14 feet at No. 16.
Taylor Pendrith, one of 20 players to finish their fourth rounds before play was called , closed with a 64 – 275 to have the clubhouse lead at 12-under. But clearly this is not Pendrith’s tournament to win, it’s Rose’s.
And should the Englishman snap a stretch of 67 PGA TOUR tournaments without a victory, he’ll likely give credit to his heroics at the sixth hole.
“No, it’s not comfortable,” said Rose of his position in the bunker down the left side of the fairway. The second shot at the sixth is a blind shot up and over a massive hill that feels like a mountain.
Rose weighed his options – a high 7-iron, perhaps? – before settling on a 4-iron that required him to hit it flush. Rose pulled it off. “I was really focused, just made sure I hit the back of the ball,” he said.
“You’ve got to strike it. You know that if you catch it half-an-inch fat, you could be in the ravine. Obviously, for it to climb up there to 6 feet (was a bit fortunate). But I did my part. I struck it, stayed out of trouble, committed to it.”
That it led to an eagle and ushered him into a birdie at the seventh and a gut-check par at the demanding par-4 eighth was a huge relief to Rose.
He had returned to Pebble Beach for his fourth round after having played 10 holes in 6-under at Monterey Peninsula CC to seize the lead at 12-under, but a sloppy bogey at Pebble’s pedestrian opening hole almost sucked all the air out of his great morning.
The play at the sixth “was a momentum builder,” said Rose, who focuses not on his lengthy skid but his positive play of late (four straight cuts made, a top 10 and two top 20s).
“I’ve been trending,” he said.
Were you to narrow your focus to just Sunday’s partial final round at Pebble, no one was trending quite like McCarthy, a veritable putting machine when he gets it cooking. Surely, he did over Pebble’s front nine as he rolled in seven birdie putts that totaled no more than 27 feet.
“A great day. I felt really comfortable all day,” said McCarthy, who played nine holes at Monterey Peninsula CC to finish Round 3, then came to Pebble and hit five shots inside of 15 feet.
Whether McCarthy can maintain his roll, or whether he has enough holes to catch Rose and win for the first time on the PGA TOUR remains to be seen. But the onetime University of Virginia standout does know this – he has finally seen what all the hoopla is about when people talk about “Pebble weather.”
“I’ve played this tournament three times before and had perfect weather,” he said. “So this is the year, I guess, that I was due to get some bad weather.”
Weekly Read Fore! Things: Max Homa's Rally, Jon Rahm's Run and Two Cuts Made in One Week
The Farmers Insurance Open had a impressive winner with Max Homa's Sunday rally, and a rare story in 72nd place.
Fore! Things
1. Max Homa’s victory at the Farmers Insurance Open was impressive in many ways, including rallying from five back. His final-round 66 was one of just 11 scores under par and one of just three—along with Keegan Bradley and Jason Day—under 69.
2. Jon Rahm was unable to pull off a third straight victory, but there is no shame in another top 10. Starting with the FedEx St. Jude—the PGA Tour’s first playoff event last August—Rahm has gone T5, T8, T16, T2, win, T4, win, T8, win, win, T7.
3. U.S. Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick is the only top-10 player in the world entered at Pebble Beach this week. Jordan Spieth is also in a field that has just 22 of the top 100 in the world.
4. Harold Varner defends his title at the PIF Saudi International, the Asian Tour event that will see nearly every LIV Golf player tee it up. Bubba Watson is making his first start since having a knee procedure following last year’s PGA Championship.
Fore! More Things
1. After contending the week prior in Abu Dhabi, Padraig Harrington, 50, shot an opening-round 81 in Dubai—then bounced back with a 16-shot improvement, a 65. He still missed the cut.
2. Circumstances allowed Scott Brown to play in two events last week, not without controversy. Brown made the cut at the Korn Ferry Tour event in the Bahamas, which concluded on Wednesday. But because he got into the field at the Farmers Insurance Open, he withdrew to head to San Diego. It’s hard to pass up a PGA Tour start and it was also impossible for Brown to know he’d get in. He ended up finishing 72nd after shooting 77-77 over the final two rounds.
3. LIV Golf is expected to fill out the rest of its 48-player field for the start of its league season this week while the Saudi International tournament is being played outside of Jeddah. But this announcement has been delayed several times.
4. There are 66 days until the first round of the Masters.
Jon Rahm earns fourth title in five starts at The American Express
Jon Rahm wins second title of 2023 at The American Express
LA QUINTA, Calif. – Jon Rahm shares a group chat with two accomplished NFL pros, Arizona Cardinals tight end Zach Ertz and recently retired defensive lineman J.J. Watt. “Complete golf nerds,” he describes them.
Rahm appreciates the commitment and grind to sustain success for a long period of time, notably Watt’s dietary sacrifices to maintain optimal health and recovery levels throughout his career as a three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year.
“I mean, eating 10 dry chicken breasts a day has to get old very quickly,” Rahm said.
In the highly competitive world of professional sports, someone’s always coming for those at the mountaintop. Rahm is playing some of the world’s best golf, if not the best, and uncovering all possible clues is essential to maintaining that edge.
Rahm’s current recipe is proving quite effective. He carded a four-round total of 27 under at The American Express for a one-stroke victory over TOUR rookie Davis Thompson, his fourth win in five official starts worldwide. With his ninth career PGA TOUR title, he moves atop the FedExCup standings and continues one of the more impressive hot streaks in recent memory at the game’s highest level.
Two weeks ago, Rahm rallied from six strokes back in the final seven holes to edge Collin Morikawa at the Sentry Tournament of Champions. This week, Rahm shared the 54-hole lead with Thompson at 23 under, and a steady Sunday sufficed. The ultimate edge came at the par-5 16th hole. Rahm’s second shot flirted with a cavernous bunker on the Stadium Course’s iconic San Andreas hole before settling in the fairway, 33 yards from the hole. He pitched to 9 feet and drained the putt, which caught the lip and spun nearly all the way around before dropping.
Rahm felt a comfort level Sunday in the California desert, cultivated through a work ethic that he describes as “obsessive.” It translated to a trophy.
“I think today was about as comfortable as I’ve been in a long time on the golf course, tee to green,” Rahm said Sunday evening. “Every time I felt like this in the past, I’ve ended up going on to win, just because it takes a lot of pressure off a lot of parts of my game, knowing that basically I’m going to hit the shot that I’m envisioning. And that’s a really unique zone to put yourself in.
“That doesn’t happen as often as I wish. I wish I could be like that every single time, that I know I’m going to stripe it into the middle of the fairway and hit the shot at the pin. But it doesn’t always happen. So I’m glad I enjoyed a day like that today.”
The victories are nice, and Rahm intends to savor this one. Four wins in five official starts is rarified air. But he knows that for those who wish to remain among the game’s elite, there’s no time for complacency. The search for the extra edge is eternal.
That’s where observation of other peak performers comes in. For Rahm, a notable source of inspiration is the late Kobe Bryant, the five-time NBA champion with the Los Angeles Lakers and 18-time NBA All-Star.
Rahm felt a connection with Bryant around “obsession” for the craft, and although he takes work-life balance seriously as a husband and father raising a young family, he knows the importance of recognizing the traits that brought him to the game’s highest level – and can keep him there long-term.
“I spent a lot of time (in college) listening to a lot of his interviews and videos, because I see a lot of similarities between us in the way we approach our craft,” Rahm said. “Because ‘craft’ is the key word for Kobe. And having that obsessiveness that we both have over the game, it’s somebody to learn from for sure.
“Work ethic beats talent any day of the week, period. And I like to think that I have a really hard work ethic and I put a lot of time in.”
Talent is key to earning a PGA TOUR card, but it’s the intangibles that separate good from great. How can you find that extra stroke that so often proves the difference, as it did Sunday for Rahm?
J.T. Poston played in Sunday’s final grouping alongside Rahm and Thompson, carding a closing 68 for a T6 finish, his fourth consecutive top-21 showing on TOUR. Poston has hit a stride in the past year, earning his second TOUR title at the John Deere Classic last summer and moving to the fringes of potential Presidents Cup captain’s selection.
Poston is an established TOUR pro with an eye on taking the next step into the game’s elite. A Sunday in the final group with Rahm proved instructive.
“You knew what kind of heater he was on and how good he was playing and the scores he’s been shooting,” Poston said. “You knew he was going to be hard to beat. Watching him today, he obviously played great, but my takeaway is that he’s human too. He didn’t go out there and shoot 64 again and just blow everybody away; he had to earn it.
“For somebody that’s watching from a distance, it almost gives you a little bit of confidence where you’re like, ‘OK, that’s the guy who’s obviously playing the best of anyone in the world right now, and he’s still making mistakes, he’s not perfect.’ It gives you confidence that you don’t have to be perfect, and you can go out and win too.”
Rahm is doing plenty of winning these days. He’ll keep striving to uncover clues in the quest to remain on the “elite” side of the razor-thin edge between elite and very good.
Just don’t expect him to adopt Watt’s chicken diet.
Yet another thrilling lineup is promised in the Coachella Valley: Jon Rahm, Scottie Scheffler, Tony Finau, Patrick Cantlay, Xander Schauffele, Will Zalatoris, Tom Kim, etc.
What, you were expecting Bad Bunny, Rosalía and Frank Ocean? Come back to these parts for those artists and many, many more in mid-April for the annual music and arts festival. This week’s focus is on The American Express, although Gwen Stefani and Darius Rucker will be entertaining in the event’s concert series later in the week.
A trio of courses is set to host the tournament. Details on the format and more below.
In his tournament debut last year as a PGA TOUR rookie, the SoCal native carded a career-low 62 at Nick Tourney in the second round and finished T33. Three top-six finishes this season.
Serves as a litmus test for his game right now. Since splashing here in 2019, he’s gone T12-T10-T12-T11, but after opening 2023 with a T13 at Kapalua, he missed the cut at Waialae by four.
Back for redemption after getting upended by a closing 77 to finish T40 in his debut last year. He sat T5 and just three shots off the lead entering the finale. Opened 2023 with a T13 at Kapalua.
If only he was more comfortable with a PGA TOUR card... The (very) early Rookie of the Year favorite is 8-for-8 with seven top-15 finishes, including a T12 last week at Waialae.
Tom Kim … The 20-year-old is making personal history of sorts this week because this is the first host site on TOUR where he’s making his second appearance (MC, 2021). T5 at Kapalua two weeks ago.
With a T6 (2020) and a solo second (2022) in the last two editions with a 54-hole cut, he’s earned this faith. And, hey, at least TCU lost by a zillion since his T3 as a first-timer at Kapalua.
The 26-year-old still struggles in putting four rounds together, but his floor is so high. Also, in two appearances with 54-hole cuts at PGA WEST, he finished T18 in 2019 and T6 in 2020.
The lefty has been a fixture here throughout his career. Since 2016, he’s 6-for-7, all paydays going for a top 25, including a pair of T3s (2017, 2022). All 24 rounds this season are par or better.
Arrives with a pair of strong streaks in tow. For one, he’s cashed in 13 straight starts with three top-five finishes; T4 at Sony. And at PGA WEST since 2018, he’s 5-for-5 with four top 25s.
It’s Si Woo SZN. He’s fresh off the surge to win the Sony Open in Hawaii and he’s only two years removed from his victory at PGA WEST in 2021. Also placed T11 in his title defense.
Ended his injury sabbatical by limbering up with a T11 in his first appearance at Kapalua where he was sub-70 in every round. Opened last year with a T6 in his debut at The American Express.
Sixth appearance and fourth consecutive since returning with a T14 in 2020. Added a solo fourth in 2021. Shed whatever rust he had with a well-balanced T7 at Kapalua two weeks ago.
He’s a machine for whom there’s no reason not to expect him to contend. He’s mastered the art of cadencing competition with rest. He’s also gone T9-2nd-9th in his last three appearances.
His quartet of title defenses are on the horizon, but this is neither a bridge nor a primer for all of that. He’s finished third (2020) and T25 (2022) at PGA WEST. Rested after a T7 at Kapalua.
With three wins, a T2 and a T4 in his last five official starts worldwide, he’s a default No. 1 here. Oh, and not that he needs more evidence, but he’s also a former champion (2018) at PGA WEST.
Eight courses across three tournaments in three weeks. That’s how the West Coast Swing opens, so for any golfer scheduled to launch into the stateside version of the 2023 slate, patience will be a weapon. Naturally, for rookies and other first-timers, the learning curve will be getting a workout.
The American Express is anchored by the Pete Dye Stadium Course at PGA WEST. The Nicklaus Tournament Course at PGA WEST (a/k/a “Nick Tourney”) and La Quinta Country Club share in the duties. Each of the 156 in the field will get one lap around each course before the cut falls at the conclusion of the third round. The champion will be decided among the low 65 and ties on the Stadium Course on Sunday.
Every entrant will be paired with an amateur for the first three rounds. That usually leads to longer time spent inside the ropes, but there can be a nice balance of pleasure with the profession for all who embrace the experience.
Each course is a stock par 72 ranging from 7,060 yards at La Quinta to just 7,187 yards on the Stadium Course. The latter was extended by 40 yards with a back tee at the par-5 16th hole that now can reach 600 yards. In consideration of fairness across all courses – and this goes for next week’s Farmers Insurance Open and the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am the week after – hole locations remain in similar spots on the greens until the rotation is complete. While foot traffic always is concentrated around holes, they will be separated by as few paces as possible.
La Quinta CC is the easiest of the three, but even its scoring average of 69.917 last year was its highest of the last six times it’s been utilized. (It sat out the 2021 edition due to the pandemic.) With TifDwarf bermuda greens now fitted on its back nine, the aforementioned learning curve will apply to all there. The primary rough is up half-an-inch to 1.75 inches this year.
Nick Tourney checked up at 70.256 in 2022. Although it’s been among the easiest par 72s most seasons, this is likely a new norm since its greens were modified to TifEagle bermuda and increased to an average of 7,000 square feet prior to the 2021 edition of the tournament. The thickest rough on both tracks at PGA WEST is trimmed to two inches.
The Stadium Course averaged 70.571 a year ago, and that includes a final-round split of 70.914. That’s the bull’s-eye when weather cooperates, which it will again this week. After rain clears out on Monday, a dry pattern will dig in for the remainder. Daytime temperatures will climb into the mid-60s and winds will be light.
All greens are prepped to run no longer than 11 feet on the Stimpmeter, so even the amateurs will be busy penciling circles.
Rahm went on a heater in the final round at at Kapalua to overtake Collin Morikawa
The 2023 Tournament of Champions looked to be Collin Morikawa’s to lose for the first 67 holes. In complete control of his game and holding a six-stroke lead heading into Sunday, the rest of the field was simply playing for second place. Everyone except for Jon Rahm, that is. Seeing his name drop as many as nine strokes behind Morikawa’s, the Spaniard kept his head down and went to work. The result? He totaled 27 under and was rewarded with a two-stroke victory at the Plantation Course at Kapalua.
Beginning his final round with a bogey, the former world No. 1 fell to 16 under and appeared to be on the cusp of nice finish, but certainly not a memorable one. A birdie on his second hole immediately put Rahm back to even par on the day, and four additional par breakers on his outward half saw him reach 21 under for the tournament.
“If you told me at the beginning of the round after that bogey that I was going to do what I did and have a three-shot lead after finishing, I don’t know if I would’ve believed you,” said Rahm.” But at that point, it’s not like winning is really in mind. You just have to get to work and start making birdies and that’s what I did. That stretch of four through six, making those three birdies, birdieing nine allowed me to get into a rhythm and the stretch of 12 through 15 was very important as well.”
A birdie on the 12th put Rahm within five of Morikawa and in with a chance to pull off a stunner. Two more birdies on 13 and 14 put him within three. With Morikawa still needing to play the more accessible holes on the back nine, on paper, this Herculean effort from Rahm was another performance at Kapalua which would come up short.
Coming into the week with five top-10 finishes in as many starts at the Tournament of Champions, Rahm has experienced his fair share of close calls at this event. Shooting 33 under at this tournament a year ago, a record-setting performance from Cameron Smith was the only thing that stood in between Rahm and his first victory at Kapalua.
There would be none of that this season as an emphatic eagle on the par-5 15th propelled Rahm to 26 under. At that same time, Morikawa began to show cracks with his newly revamped chipping and putting reverting back to their troubled selves. A bladed bunker shot on the drivable par-4 14th led to his first bogey of the championship before more short-game woes occurred on 15 and 16 with bogeys following.
“So 15 is when it truly became a reality when I had that putt to get within one shot and knowing how good I was playing 16 and 18 are good birdie options,” said Rahm. “When that putt went in and then on 17 I couldn’t believe it when I missed the green right we had a one-shot lead and everything changed. It took quite an effort to settle myself down and change my mindset … it was a bit of a rollercoaster five minutes there.”
A birdie on the closing hole put the finishing touches on a stellar 10-under 63 in which Rahm played his final 17 holes in 11 under. Going 27 under on the week and now 60 under at the Plantation Course over his last eight rounds, the consistent greatness from the former world No. 1 was finally enough to bag him a much deserved, and perhaps overdue, trophy in Hawaii.
Tournament & Lunch: $30.00 plus applicable course fees.
Lunch without Golf: $25.00
Tournament Price includes $5.00 prize fund
The delicious menu for the day: Baked Ziti, Italian Sausage, Meatballs, Garlic Bread, Caesar salad, Apple Cobbler and Draft Beer
After Tournament Activities start at 1pm!
Please sign up in pro-shop and bring a check when signing up or if using member account let staff know, and we can apply it to your account!
Game Rules
This will be a Step back scramble
A four-person team event in which each player hits his/her tee shot and the best shot is selected. The player whose shot is selected steps aside for the next shot. Continue this step back format on each shot until the ball is holed. You must select a minimum of 2 tee shots from each player
Payout will be for the top two teams and also the last place team, with gift cards redeemable in the pro shop for merchandise.
We will have closest to the pin and long drive prizes for men and women
Team dynamics, emerging stars and what's next for the U.S. team: Takeaways from the 2022 Presidents Cup
The U.S. team captured the Presidents Cup again, taking down the International team 17½ to 12½ at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Sunday. It was the Americans' ninth straight victory and 12th in 14 editions of the event.
Over four days, Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas emerged as the face of American team golf, now that Dustin Johnson and Patrick Reed are competing on the LIV Golf circuit. South Korea's Tom Kim became a household name, and the International team showed a lot of heart in competing better than expected.
Here are five things we learned this week at Quail Hollow:
These guys like each other
Everyone needs someone to love them like JT loves Jordan, and vice versa.
There's no question the International team has inherent hurdles the Americans don't have to deal with, starting with language barriers, cultural differences and unfamiliarity with each other.
International team captain Trevor Immelman wasn't exaggerating (that much) when he called this U.S. team the greatest ever assembled. The 12-man U.S. squad included five of the top 10 players in the Official World Golf Ranking. Each of them was in the top 25.
And when U.S. team captain Davis Love III can roll out the tandems of Thomas-Spieth and Xander Schauffele-Patrick Cantlay each session, it's like having Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander in a five-game series.
Spieth and Thomas, who have known each other since they were kids, went 4-0 in foursomes and four-ball matches. Cantlay and Schauffele, who are friends, both hail from California and won the PGA Tour team event in New Orleans this past season, went 2-1. The players went a combined 3-1 in singles.
"It's really fun, right?" Spieth said earlier this week. "He's my best friend in the whole world. We've played a lot of golf together. We've played a lot of golf against each other. Now we've played quite a bit with each other. There's nothing more fun than these team events, playing alongside JT."
When it looked like the Presidents Cup might turn into another rout on Friday, one of the most exciting things to watch was Spieth and Thomas feeding off each other, fist bumping, chest bumping and screaming at each other along the way.
"Having the opportunity to not only win a point for your team but win a point with one of your best friends, it's just one of those things," Thomas said. "We know each other's games. We know how to feed off each other. We know how to help each other. We know how to stay out of each other's way."
And that's what makes the core of U.S. stars so dangerous in team events going forward. LIV Golf might have actually done the Americans a favor by luring away Reed, who was popularly known as "Captain America" by fans but wasn't so popular in the team locker room. Reed infamously complained of captain Jim Furyk's "buddy system" in choosing pairings at the 2018 Ryder Cup in Paris, which the Americans lost, 17½ to 10½.
The 12 players who competed for the U.S. this week genuinely seemed to like each other. There wasn't an elephant in the room because of Bryson DeChambeau's ongoing beef with Brooks Koepka, or because Reed was unhappy about having to play with Tiger Woods instead of Spieth.
A few times this past week, Presidents Cup rookie Max Homa, a five-time winner on the PGA Tour, mentioned that he wasn't particularly close to anyone else on the U.S. team. But when Homa said it again during a news conference after Sunday's victory, Sam Burns quipped, "Love you, Max."
"Love you, Sam," Homa replied.
"Sam's a perfect example of somebody I've always gotten along with great and somebody I was looking forward to getting to spend real time with," Homa said.
Tom Kim is a superstar
The South Korean phenom's name is Joohyung Kim, but he prefers Tom, a childhood nickname given to him because of his fondness for Thomas the Tank Engine. These days the 20-year-old has as much steam building as his namesake.
After winning the Wyndham Championship for his first PGA Tour victory a month ago, Kim's pro debut in a team event was a coming-out party. He was the youngest player on either team and the third youngest to ever compete in the Presidents Cup, behind only Ryo Ishikawa and Jordan Spieth.
Kim went 2-3 in matches this week, and he was the pulse of the International Team and a crowd favorite at Quail Hollow Club because of his exuberant celebrations. On Sunday, Kim showed up at the first tee wearing sunglasses and egging the crowd to cheer. He was a rock star.
After losing his first two matches, Kim and his partners at least gave the International Team a glimmer of hope on Saturday.
In the Saturday morning foursomes, Kim paired with South Korea's K.H. Lee to take down world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler and Sam Burns. That afternoon, Kim and Si Woo Kim stunned the seemingly unbeatable tandem of Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele in four-ball competition. Kim had an eagle on the par-4 11th hole and then made a 10-footer for birdie on the 18th to defeat Cantlay and Schauffele.
"I think the sky's the limit," said Kim's caddie, Joe Skovron, who was on Rickie Fowler's bag until recently. "When you're 20 years old and you've already won as much as he has around the world and to respond in this environment like he did, you know, and he seems to have a work ethic to go with it and a plan. "
Homa isn't bad, either
It's difficult to imagine that not long ago Homa didn't have much confidence in his game. He was one of the funniest pro golfers on Twitter (and still is), but he didn't have much to show for his work in terms of results. At the end of the 2020 season, he was 70th in the FedEx Cup standings.
Since February 2021, however, Homa has won four times on tour. He won the Genesis Invitational in 2021, the Fortinet Championship and Wells Fargo Championship this past season and then defended his Fortinet Championship title in Napa, California, last week. He didn't arrive in Charlotte for his Presidents Cup debut until early Monday morning.
Homa, 31, delivered a signature moment of the Presidents Cup on Friday. Playing with Billy Horschel, their match against Canada's Taylor Pendrith and Corey Conners was tied after 16 holes. Homa made a 12-foot birdie putt on the 17th hole to go 1 up. Then, after Pendrith made a clutch 15-footer for birdie on the 18th, Homa made another 12-footer to win the match.
After defeating Tom Kim on Sunday, Homa improved to 4-0 in his Presidents Cup debut. He is only the fourth Presidents Cup rookie to go 4-0-0 or better in his debut.
"I've said it a million times, but last year, at Kiawah [Island], doing the fitting for the Ryder Cup, knowing I didn't really have much of a chance anymore was tough," Homa said. "Looking at yourself in the mirror and all the USA gear, it was hard. But I've got a thing seared into my brain, and my main focus this season was to make this team, to play with these guys.
"A lot went into that. And to be here was one thing, and then to come out and play some great golf was another. And this week has been beyond special, validating, meaningful, all of the above. It meant a lot."
The PGA Tour needs more superstars, especially after so many big names like Dustin Johnson, DeChambeau, Cameron Smith and others defected to LIV Golf. The tour should embrace Homa's personality more than ever before.
Rory McIlroy rallies to win Tour Championship, third FedEx Cup title
ATLANTA -- This year it became easy to overlook Rory McIlroy's four majors, 30 wins on four continents and two years at No. 1 in the world. He has been viewed mostly as the strongest voice and staunchest defender of the PGA Tour in its battle against Saudi-funded LIV Golf.
So perhaps it was only fitting that a most tumultuous year for the PGA Tour culminated Sunday with McIlroy holding its biggest prize.
He had the final say with his clubs.
Six shots behind before the Tour Championship started, 10 shots back after two holes, McIlroy rallied from a six-shot deficit in the final round against the No. 1 player in the world and closed with a 4-under 66 to become the first three-time winner of the FedEx Cup.
"It's been a tumultuous time for the world of men's professional golf in particular,'' he said. "I've been in the thick of things. I guess every chance I get, I'm trying to defend what I feel is the best place to play elite professional golf in the world.
"It's in some ways fitting that I was able to get this done today to sort of round off a year that has been very, very challenging and different.''
It came at the expense of Masters champion Scottie Scheffler, the No. 1 player in the world who birdied four of six holes Sunday morning to finish the storm-delayed third round at 66 and build a six-shot lead. Not even McIlroy, who birdied the last two holes in the morning to get into the final group, thought he had a great chance.
But then Scheffler never regained his groove, missing fairways and greens and par putts. He made only one birdie in a closing round of 73 and tied the PGA Tour record for losing a six-shot lead in the final round.
"I just didn't get off to a good start early, but after that I grinded as hard as I could,'' Scheffler said. "For whatever reason my swing wasn't where it had been the first few days this week.''
McIlroy had a 17-under 263 for his raw score, the best of the week. He started at 4 under as the No. 7 seed and finished at 21 under to capture the $18 million bonus.
Sungjae Im fell back with a double bogey on the 14th hole and still managed a 66 to tie for second with Scheffler.
McIlroy referred to the final round as a "spectacle," and not just because of the pro-McIlroy crowd that chanted his name along the closing holes.
"Two of the best players in the world going head-to-head on the best tour," he said.
McIlroy needed plenty of help from Scheffler, who never trailed until the 70th hole. Scheffler looked out of sorts early, and McIlroy capitalized. With three straight birdies, he tied Scheffler on the seventh hole. And then it was a nail-biter to the end.
It was a stunning display at East Lake that turned on two shots.
McIlroy holed a 30-foot birdie putt on the par-3 15th hole to tie for the lead.
After he flew the green by some 20 yards, his pitch was running fast and headed off the front of the green when it hit the pin and settled 7 feet away. He saved par. Scheffler blasted out of a bunker to just inside 10 feet and missed, making bogey that put him behind for the first time all week.
Scheffler badly misread a 10-foot birdie chance on the 17th to tie, sending the Tour Championship to the final hole with $18 million on the line.
Scheffler's 4-iron on the par-5 18th sailed short and right into a bunker, and he blasted out over the green. McIlroy went left against the grandstand, took relief and got onto the green for an easy par.
"I wanted to win the season-long title,'' Scheffler said. "I've had a really great year and I wanted to finish it off with a win here, and unfortunately I wasn't able to do that.''
McIlroy won the FedEx Cup in 2016 in a playoff. He won the FedEx Cup again in 2019, the first year of a staggered start. This might have been the sweetest of all, coming off a year in which the PGA Tour has been in a nasty battle with LIV Golf, which already has attracted some two dozen players and now is part of an antitrust lawsuit against the PGA Tour.
It was McIlroy who has declared fierce loyalty to the PGA Tour over the past few years when rival leagues were coming into view. And it was McIlroy who joined Tiger Woods in leading a momentous player-only meeting last week that led to significant changes ahead for the tour.
So, yes, this had an extra level of satisfaction. And no, he didn't mind the burden he carried as the de facto voice of the tour.
"If you believe in something I think you have to speak up, and I believe very strongly about this. I really do,'' McIlroy said. "I hate what it's doing to the game of golf. I hate it.
"I think when you believe that what you're saying is the right things, you're happy to stick your neck out on the line.''
Even at the Tour Championship, typically a celebration of the end of the year, there was talk all weekend of more defections coming in the next few days. The Daily Telegraph reported three weeks ago that British Open champion Cameron Smith was leaving for LIV Golf, and sources confirmed his expected move to ESPN.
Harold Varner III, Marc Leishman and Anirban Lahiri also are expected to leave, sources told ESPN. Cameron Tringale announced his decision on Twitter.
Still to be determined is Joaquin Niemann, whose manager said the Chilean golfer would discuss the options with his father later Sunday.
"Everyone on tour has had to deal with a lot," McIlroy said. "Even the guys that have went to LIV have had to deal with a lot. It's just been a very tumultuous sort of era in our game. This is the best place in the world to play golf. It's the most competitive. It's got the best players. It's got the deepest fields. I don't know why you'd want to play anywhere else.''
With all that speculation, the Tour Championship that looked to be a runaway turned into a dynamic show. And in the end, the tour's biggest voice had its biggest trophy.
Will Zalatoris claims first PGA Tour victory after impossible bounce on final hole
This was one of the craziest bounces in PGA Tour history.
The final round of the FedEx St. Jude Championship — the first round of the PGA Tour playoffs — provided some incredible drama on Sunday evening. Will Zalatoris and Sepp Straka entered a playoff tied at 15-under after the 18th hole. After trading pars on the first two holes of the playoff, the two golfers headed to the par-3 11th, where Zalatoris was the first to tee off.
The 25-year-old American hit an errant tee shot that looked to be headed straight toward the water, which would have set Straka up for a victory. But in what can only be described as a miracle, his ball hit the stone wall that guards the water, bounced up in the air several times, and somehow managed to come to rest safely on the ledge – and out of the drink.
While Zalatoris escaped the penalty, he still had a near-impossible lie below the grass line on the top of the wall, setting the stage for Straka to win if he could get the ball onto the green. Instead, the Austrian hit a near identical shot to Zalatoris – only his ball was not as fortunate and ended up in the water.
Straka took it back to the tee for his third shot after the penalty, and was unable to find the green yet again, hitting the bunker. After watching the advantage shift even further in his direction, Zalatoris then decided to take a penalty himself, as hitting the ball off the stone ledge had disaster potential.
He managed to find the green on his second tee shot – and sunk a putt to win the tournament and earn the $2.7 million winner’s check.
The win was Zalatoris’ first on the PGA Tour, though he has gotten agonizingly close on multiple occasions. He finished second in the 2021 Masters in his first season on the PGA Tour, and in 2022 he lost to Justin Thomas in a playoff at the PGA Championship and came in second yet again in the 2022 US Open at Brookline.
In the first round of the PGA Tour playoffs, the Wake Forest product finally tasted victory.
