On the 17th hole, Patrick Cantlay's tee shot bounces directly over a bunkers and onto the fairway, where he makes a bogey. It was 0: 43.
There is one break. There is one great shot. That's what it took Patrick Cantlay to win the BMW Championship for the second year in a row, with a finish that was nothing like the one he had last year.
He didn't get the top seed in the FedEx Cup because of the victory.
After his 2-under 69 gave him a 1-shot victory over Scott Stallings, there was no need to worry about that.
"I was happy not to go six holes in a playoff last year," he said.
There was a chance that this was going to be headed that way when Cantlay and Stallings were tied down the last hole.
With two holes to play, Cantlay took an aggressive line to cut off the corner of a dogleg and thought he was going for a cluster ofbunker. The ball landed short of the last fairway, took a hop over the sand, and rolled out to the fairway, just 64 yards away.
He thought it would be in a Bunker. When you get a break like that, you need to pay it off.
He hit a spinner with a wedge that stopped 5 feet behind the hole for a par and a one-shot lead. The group ahead narrowly missed a par putt on the last hole for a 69.
The ball was 158 yards to the pin on the steeply pitched green as he fanned his drive into a Bunker.
He said that it was one of the best shots he had hit all week.
The tap-in was the easiest shot he had all day.
Since the FedEx Cup began in 2007, no player has won the BMW Championship and the FedEx Cup in the same year. The playoffs have never had anyone repeat in any of them. He moved to third in the world after the victory.
He played all four rounds with his best friend and only later realized he could have used some help. On the last hole, the putter missed a 7-foot putt that could have given him third place and moved him to fourth.
It would have made him the No. 1 seed, which would have made him the favorite to win the Tour Championship. He will start two shots behind the leader, who missed a short par putt on the last hole that would have cost him the FedEx Cup.
Since his last victory eight years ago, Stallings has gone 238 starts, but he played like he was ready to win again. The last one from just inside 10 feet was the only one he missed.
He has never been to the Tour Championship.
The biggest goal of the year was that. It's better than never.
There was more than one stallings. He is going back to East Lake. When the playoffs began, he was 77th in the FedEx Cup, but a tie for fifth last week moved him to 45th.
Scott made eagle on the 12th hole and hit some superb lag putts on firm, crisp greens for a 71 and a fifth place finish.
Scott had to stand in the sand and try to hit out of a sticky first cut when he tugged his tee shot on the last hole. He hit a great shot after pulling that into a Bunker.
The FedEx Cup playoffs are the same as always. If you scratch it around a lot for the year, you can get rewarded by getting to East Lake and being in the top 30.
The 30th spot went to the man with a 73. The four players who moved into the top 30 are eligible for the tour championship. Stallings, Scott, Wise, and K.H. Lee all had 65s on Sunday.
All Rights Reserved © 2024
