LUCAS GLOVER CONTINUED his winning streak and went back-to-back on the PGA Tour as he beat Patrick Cantlay in a playoff to win the St Jude Championship on Sunday evening.
Glover parred the first playoff hole, sealing his second title in as many weeks and winning the FedEx Cup playoff opener.
The 43-year-old American won last week in Greensboro just to qualify for the playoffs, and became the first over-40 winner of consecutive PGA Tour events since Fiji’s Vijay Singh in 2008.
Rory McIlroy, last year’s FedEx Cup champion, finished one shot back after shooting a Sunday 65 to share third with Tommy Fleetwood. McIlroy would have overtaken world number one Scottie Scheffler with a victory.
Glover, the 2009 US Open champion, sank several dramatic long putts on the back nine while Cantlay, the 2021 playoff champion, charged late to force a playoff, which began at the 18th hole at TPC Southwind in Memphis, Tennessee.
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Cantlay’s tee shot went into water left of the fairway. He blasted his third onto the green just inside 22 feet and just inside where Glover’s ball sat after two shots.
Glover two-putted for par, leaving Cantlay a must-make putt. Cantlay’s ball rolled past the right edge and Glover had the victory.
“I was fortunate to get into a playoff,” Glover said. “I said the guns would be coming and they came and I was just last man standing this week.”
The 70-player showdown advanced the top 50 in season points to next week’s BMW Championship, from which only the top 30 qualify for the Tour Championship in two weeks at Atlanta.
Seamus Power finished the tournament tied 66th on four-over par, which saw him drop outside the top 30 overall but was still enough to comfortably see him through to next week.
Cantlay fired a six-under-par 64 and Glover shot one-under 69 to each finish 72 holes on 15-under.
Cantlay chipped in at 10 to pull within two of Glover, who sank a clutch seven-foot pat putt at 11.
Cantlay made an eight-foot birdie putt at 15 to move within one but Glover answered with a tense 20-foot par putt at the 13th.
Glover then sent his tee shot at the 14th into water, falling into a share of the lead despite salvaging bogey on a 30-foot putt.
Cantlay seized the lead with a birdie at the par-5 16th while Glover missed a seven-foot birdie putt at 15.
Glover’s tap-in birdie at 16 gave him a share of the lead but he made yet another intense par putt from just inside 12 feet at 17 and parred 18 to force the playoff, where he prevailed.
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Glover pips Cantlay in St Jude playoff as McIlroy finishes one shot back
LUCAS GLOVER CONTINUED his winning streak and went back-to-back on the PGA Tour as he beat Patrick Cantlay in a playoff to win the St Jude Championship on Sunday evening.
Glover parred the first playoff hole, sealing his second title in as many weeks and winning the FedEx Cup playoff opener.
The 43-year-old American won last week in Greensboro just to qualify for the playoffs, and became the first over-40 winner of consecutive PGA Tour events since Fiji’s Vijay Singh in 2008.
Rory McIlroy, last year’s FedEx Cup champion, finished one shot back after shooting a Sunday 65 to share third with Tommy Fleetwood. McIlroy would have overtaken world number one Scottie Scheffler with a victory.
Glover, the 2009 US Open champion, sank several dramatic long putts on the back nine while Cantlay, the 2021 playoff champion, charged late to force a playoff, which began at the 18th hole at TPC Southwind in Memphis, Tennessee.
Cantlay’s tee shot went into water left of the fairway. He blasted his third onto the green just inside 22 feet and just inside where Glover’s ball sat after two shots.
Glover two-putted for par, leaving Cantlay a must-make putt. Cantlay’s ball rolled past the right edge and Glover had the victory.
“I was fortunate to get into a playoff,” Glover said. “I said the guns would be coming and they came and I was just last man standing this week.”
The 70-player showdown advanced the top 50 in season points to next week’s BMW Championship, from which only the top 30 qualify for the Tour Championship in two weeks at Atlanta.
Seamus Power finished the tournament tied 66th on four-over par, which saw him drop outside the top 30 overall but was still enough to comfortably see him through to next week.
Cantlay fired a six-under-par 64 and Glover shot one-under 69 to each finish 72 holes on 15-under.
Cantlay chipped in at 10 to pull within two of Glover, who sank a clutch seven-foot pat putt at 11.
Cantlay made an eight-foot birdie putt at 15 to move within one but Glover answered with a tense 20-foot par putt at the 13th.
Glover then sent his tee shot at the 14th into water, falling into a share of the lead despite salvaging bogey on a 30-foot putt.
Cantlay seized the lead with a birdie at the par-5 16th while Glover missed a seven-foot birdie putt at 15.
Glover’s tap-in birdie at 16 gave him a share of the lead but he made yet another intense par putt from just inside 12 feet at 17 and parred 18 to force the playoff, where he prevailed.
– © AFP 2023
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FedEx Cup playoffs Golf Lucas Glover Patrick Cantlay Rory McIlroy