JACKSON, Miss. — Luke Record received when he least anticipated it, getting right into a five-way playoff Sunday within the Sanderson Farms Championship and ending it rapidly with a birdie putt from simply inside 45 toes for his second profession PGA Tour victory.
The playoff wouldn’t have been attainable if not for Ben Griffin struggling down the stretch on the Nation Membership of Jackson. Griffin missed an 8-foot par putt on the ultimate gap.
That gave an opportunity to Record, Swedish sensation Ludvig Åberg, Henrik Norlander and Scott Stallings, all of whom returned to the par-4 18th gap alongside Griffin. None seemed to have an inexpensive birdie likelihood till Record poured in his putt and slammed his fist in celebration.
Record closed with a 2-under 70 and missed a birdie likelihood from simply inside 10 toes on the ultimate gap, freely giving his cap to a fan as a result of he figured that may be the final gap he performed.
“It has been a full curler coaster,” Record stated. “I hung in there. I did not suppose it was going to be sufficient, however right here we’re. It has been a loopy 20 minutes.”
Griffin had a birdie putt within the playoff from about 35 toes and slapped his left knee when he realized it was going to overlook on the low aspect. This was his event to win, beginning with a three-shot lead and nonetheless main by two photographs with three holes to play.
However he went from the precise tough to lengthy and proper of the sixteenth inexperienced, chipping to some 20 toes and lacking the putt to take bogey. Nonetheless with a one-shot lead, he was within the left tough when he pulled his strategy to the 18th gap close to the grandstands. He chipped 8 toes by the outlet and his par putt for his first PGA Tour win grazed the precise fringe of the cup.
“I hit the fallacious shot on the fallacious time,” Griffin stated of his strategy into the 18th in regulation. “I wanted to maintain it low with the wind up there, and I selected a membership that I used to be hitting it excessive. I want I had perhaps taken a bit extra time and actually thought by the shot.
“It is a bummer,” he stated. “I assumed I used to be going to nonetheless have the ability to get it executed right now.”
Griffin had gone 44 holes with out a bogey till making one on No. 8, and it was a wild trip the remainder of the best way. He closed with a 74 and completed with 4 others at 18-under 270.
Norlander, additionally going for his first PGA Tour title, briefly had the lead till he hooked his strategy on the par-5 14th into the water and made bogey, after which pulled his strategy on the seventeenth and wound up lacking a 12-footer for par. He closed with a 70.
Norlander had the final likelihood to increase the playoff, placing from off the inexperienced on the 18th about 20 toes away. It had an excessive amount of tempo and was off line.
Stallings additionally shot 70, getting up-and-down for par from left of the 18th inexperienced to maintain alive his probabilities. Within the playoff, he was simply over the again of the inexperienced however had a troublesome putt by the perimeter and a ridge from simply exterior 30 toes.
Aberg, informal as ever, was at a desk when he completed his spherical of 68. Given a shock likelihood, he pushed his strategy to the 18th within the playoff properly to the precise to some 55 toes. He lagged it simply left of the outlet and it seemed as if he would get one other likelihood till Record made his inconceivable birdie putt.
“To be truthful, I assumed each time I used to be on the golf course that 18 (below) wasn’t going to make it,” Aberg stated. “It ended up the best way it did, and I used to be very lucky for that. However congrats to Luke for that final putt. It was unbelievable. Kudos to him.”
Record received for the primary time since one other playoff victory at Torrey Pines in early 2022. He had not completed within the high 10 since then, and he stopped enjoying in the course of July to deal with accidents to his thumb and his foot.
Now he’s headed again to the Masters, and he begins the brand new 12 months at Kapalua for The Sentry.
The ultimate hour was so unpredictable that two others additionally had an opportunity to win. Mark Hubbard stood over a 12-foot birdie putt on the seventeenth gap to take the lead. He three-putted for bogey, took bogey on the ultimate gap and shot 67 to overlook the playoff by one shot.
Carl Yuan was seemingly out of it till he holed out on the fly for eagle on the seventeenth gap, placing him one shot behind Griffin. However he got here up properly in need of the 18th gap, made bogey and shot 72 to overlook the playoff by one shot.
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