Lucas Glover built on his victory in the Wyndham Championship to triumph in the first leg of the FedEx Cup Playoffs; Glover and Patrick Cantlay both finished level on 15-under-par; Tommy Fleetwood and Rory McIlroy were tied for third, one shot back from the leaders
Last Updated: 14/08/23 1:53am
Lucas Glover celebrates with the St Jude Championship trophy
Lucas Glover claimed a dramatic play-off win over Patrick Cantlay to make it back-to-back wins on the PGA Tour in the FedEx St Jude Classic.
Cantlay had mounted a charge on the final day to reel in overnight leader Glover, winner of the previous week’s Wyndham Championship, with a flawless six-under-par final round of 64 which included birdies on the third, fourth, sixth, 10th, 15th and 16th holes.
He had even briefly held the outright lead after Glover had dropped a shot with a bogey on the 14th, but the 2009 US Open champion clawed that back two holes later and carded a one-under 69 to finish 15-under for the tournament and tied with Cantlay to send the first leg of this year’s FedEx Cup Playoffs to sudden death.
The 43-year-old immediately gained the initiative in the play-off after Cantlay went straight into the water from his tee shot, and making par proved enough to seal victory with his opponent missing a putt to save par.
“Closing holes here aren’t easy birdies, and aren’t easy pars really under pressure, so it was just keep fighting, stay close, stay close, and I was fortunate to get in a playoff,” Glover said.
“I said [after the third round] the guns would be coming, and they came. I was just last man standing this week.”
Cantlay, an eight-time winner on the PGA Tour, was left to rue that tee shot on the first hole of the play-off after hauling himself into to contention.
Patrick Cantlay fought back to force a play-off, but was left to rue a wayward tee shot
However, the 31-year-old quickly turned his attention to the defence of his BMW Championship title later this week at Olympia Fields, where he is aiming to lift the trophy for the third year running.
“I obviously made a bad tee shot and paid the price,” Cantlay said. “I’m in a good spot and two big weeks coming up, so I’m looking forward to it.
“I’m obviously playing really well, and next week is a golf course that I enjoy, so looking forward to it.”
England’s Tommy Fleetwood and Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy were the American duo’s nearest challengers, but they both narrowly missed out on glory after finishing tied for third and one shot behind on 14-under for the tournament.
Fleetwood tries to stay positive after missing out
Fleetwood was firmly in contention for his maiden PGA Tour title at the start of the final round, but bogeys on the second and 12th holes proved costly despite him shooting four birdies – three of which came on the back nine – in a two-under round of 68.
The 32-year-old, a six-time winner on the DP World Tour, has now had 28 top-10 finishes on the North American circuit without going on to lift a title.
Nevertheless, Fleetwood was determined to take the positives from his performance at TPC Southwind after finishing just one shot behind eventual winner Glover and Cantlay.
Tommy Fleetwood’s wait for a maiden PGA Tour title goes on after finishing one shot off the leaders
“It’s better than being the other way – it’s better than being nowhere near,” Fleetwood said. “Of course it’s frustrating, but I think I have to look at it in a positive way, be proud of the golf I’m playing and the work that we’re doing.
“I’ll keep playing the way that I have done, and again, so close today, and I think overall the performances even sort of when I’ve been in contention and in those last rounds, I haven’t done loads wrong, and I’m feeling very, very comfortable. It’s just trusting that it will happen and keep playing my game.
“Like I say, it’s easy to like be on a downer about it, but at the end of the day, it’s much better than a lot of other scenarios.”
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