Report: PGA Tour Plans to Bar Japanese Golf Tour Players Who Play in LIV Events
Sep 1, 2022
FILE - The PGA Tour logo is shown during a press conference in Tokyo, Tuesday, Nov. 20, 2018. Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy have illustrated with words what PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan got wrong. McIlroy said players leaving for Saudi-funded LIV Golf are taking the easy way out. Woods says they are turning their backs on the tour that made them. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara, File)
The PGA Tour will reportedly ban any players from the Japan Golf Tour who have already participated in LIV Golf Series events or choose to participate in LIV events during the 2022-23 series, according to Bob Harig of SI.com.
Per that report, "The move helps explain why all four of the Japanese players who competed in the last LIV Golf Invitational Series event in New Jersey are not in this week’s field outside of Boston."
Those players are Yuki Inamori, Ryosuke Kinoshita, Jinichiro Kozuma and Hideto Tanihara, who played in the July's LIV Golf Series event at the Trump Bedminster in New Jersey.
Per a letter sent from the Japan Golf Tour to its players this week, as obtained by Harig, those players who played in an LIV event "remain ineligible for all events across all PGA Tour-sanctioned tours through the end of the calendar year, including the Zozo Championship."
The PGA Tour already banned three LIV Golf defectors—Talor Gooch, Hudson Swafford, and Matt Jones—from its FedEx Cup Playoffs, a decision that US District Judge Beth Freeman upheld in early August after those players requested a temporary stay on the decision amidst their lawsuit against the PGA Tour.
"We're disappointed that Talor Gooch, Hudson Swafford and Matt Jones won't be allowed to play golf," the LIV Golf Series said in an statement at the time. "No one gains by banning golfers from playing."
Gooch, Swafford and Jones are part of a lawsuit comprised of 11 total players who made the exodus to LIV Golf, including Phil Mickelson, in response to the PGA Tour banning them from events.
"These suspended players—who are now Saudi Golf League employees—have walked away from the TOUR and now want back in," PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan wrote in a memo to PGA Tour members earlier in August. "To allow reentry into our events compromises the TOUR and the competition, to the detriment of our organization, our players, our partners and our fans."
And now the PGA Tour's ban on LIV defectors has extended to the JGTO.
The LIV Golf Series, backed by Saudi Arabia, remains a highly controversial operation. It has been accused of being a venture undertaken to help sportswash the country's human rights violations.
FedEx Cup Standings 2022: Points, Playoff Standings After BMW Championship
Aug 21, 2022
WILMINGTON, DELAWARE - AUGUST 21: Patrick Cantlay of the United States plays his shot from the third tee during the final round of the BMW Championship at Wilmington Country Club on August 21, 2022 in Wilmington, Delaware. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)
Patrick Cantlay will try to replicate the same path he took to the FedEx Cup title last season.
Cantlay won the BMW Championship for the second straight season on Sunday. He edged out Scott Stallings by one shot at Wilmington Country Club in Delaware.
Cantlay used a fortuitous bounce over the bunker on his tee shot on the 17th hole that led to birdie. He finished off the victory with a par on the 18th hole.
The win allowed Cantlay to become the first golfer to repeat his title at a FedEx Cup event in 16 years.
The only difference between Cantlay's run to the FedEx Cup from last season is that he will not enter the Tour Championship in first place in the overall standings.
Scottie Scheffler holds the lead in the FedEx Cup standings, which means he will start with the best score at the Tour Championship next weekend.
The other major development to come from Wilmington featured Adam Scott, who used a tie for fifth to jump over the cut line and qualify for the Tour Championship.
Scott and Aaron Wise were the last two golfers on the right side of the bubble and will go into the Tour Championship in 29th and 30th places.
Cantlay produced his second straight win at the BMW Championship to move into second place in the FedEx Cup standings.
Cantlay used a final-round 69 to hold off a handful of contenders who made runs at the lead throughout Sunday's round.
Cantlay finished off the win with a bit of luck on the 17th hole. His tee shot appeared to be headed for the bunker, but it bounced over the sand and into a terrific spot where he could hit an approach shot to set up a birdie putt.
The reigning FedEx Cup champion then finished off the victory with a par on the 18th hole to remain one shot ahead of Scott Stallings.
Stallings produced the biggest improvement in the FedEx Cup standings, as he went from 46th to 12th with his second-place finish. He was able to jump half the Tour Championship qualifiers because the points associated with each finishing position are quadrupled in the postseason.
Four golfers ended up leaping the cut line to make it to East Lake Golf Club next week. K.H. Lee moved up seven spots to 26th, Adam Scott made a 16-spot jump to 29th and Aaron Wise boosted himself from 31st to 30th. Wise beat out Shane Lowry by 18 points.
J.J. Spaun, Joohyung Kim, Davis Riley and Kevin Kisner fell out of the top 30 with their respective performances in Delaware. Kisner experienced the biggest drop of the group from 28th to 38th.
The 30 golfers headed to the Tour Championship will start in an adjusted scoring format, with Scheffler owning a lead on the entire field.
Scheffler will start the tournament at 10-under with Cantlay two shots back. Zalatoris will begin the event in third at seven-under, Xander Schauffele will be fourth at six-under and Sam Burns will be fifth at five-under.
The rest of the Tour Championship field will be assigned scores in groups of five. For example, Nos. 6-10 will start together at four-under and so on.
Tom Weiskopf Dies at Age 79: Golf Course Architect Won The Open Championship in 1973
Aug 21, 2022
TROON, SCOTLAND - JULY 14: Tom Weiskopf of USA tees off during practice for the 133rd Open Championship on July 14, 2004 at the Royal Troon Golf Club in Troon, Scotland. (Photo by Stuart Franklin/Getty Images)
Former Open Championship winner, golf architect and broadcaster Tom Weiskopf died on Saturday of pancreatic cancer. He was 79.
"The PGA Tour is saddened at the passing of Tom Weiskopf, a towering figure in the game of golf not only during his playing career but through his accomplished work in the broadcast booth and golf course design business," PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan said in a statement. "Tom is leaving behind a lasting legacy in golf. The beautiful swing he showcased during his 16 career PGA Tour victories is still being emulated today, while his golf courses remain as testaments to his love for the game. Our hearts and deepest sympathies are with his wife, Laurie, two children, Heidi and Eric, and the entire Weiskopf family during this time."
The rest of the golf world also reacted to the news of Weiskopf's death:
Sending my deepest condolences to Tom Weiskopf’s family. Another great life gone too soon due to pancreatic cancer. Rest In Peace, Tom. 🙏 pic.twitter.com/ngROcrWWYX
Sitting at the Road Hole for 4 days next to Tom Weiskopf at The Open was the absolute best.
Calling golf was fun, sure. But his stories, wisdom, kindness & the laughs shared remain the things I treasure and always will. Love to Laurie and all his family and friends everywhere.
RIP Tom Weiskopf. Underrated great player, underrated fantastic architect. Love his reachable risk/reward 5’s, short tough 3’s and especially his great drivable 4’s on just about every course he designed.
Sorry to hear the passing of Tom Weiskopf. Thoughts and prayers to his family. Great talent on the course and second career in golf course architecture. #rip
Tom Weiskopf infamously skipped the 1977 Ryder Cup (after playing previous two) to go hunting… but won 16 times on PGA Tour in era of Jack including 1973 Open at Troon. … also prolific course designer. … not in World Golf Hall of Fame.
Weiskopf won 16 PGA Tour events during his career, though his only major came at the 1973 Open Championship. Four times he finished as the runner-up at The Masters, having the misfortune of running into the legendary Jack Nicklaus throughout his career.
Nicklaus, of course, won a record 18 majors during his career.
"Jack knew he was going to beat you," Weiskopf said of his rival. "You knew Jack was going to beat you. And Jack knew you knew he was going to beat you."
Weiskopf was renowned for a picaresque swing and plenty of power. He was one of the most talented players of his time, though his playing career didn't reach the heights he would have liked, which he attributed to a drinking habit that he kicked for good in 2007.
But he found a second and third life after his playing days in the sport, both as a broadcaster for CBS, ESPN and ABC and as a course designer.
Among his designs was Scottsdale's Troon North, Scotland's Loch Lomond, TPC Scottsdale's Stadium Course and San Antonio's La Cantera.
"I look at golf courses a lot of different ways, but I look at the aesthetic course each course can offer," he said in 2017. "You create aesthetic value by having big mature trees, beautiful vista water features and bunker styles. That creates the beauty of the golf course, I think. How could you find a better piece of property than this piece of property, for 36 holes of golf?"
And it was in that second pursuit that Weiskopf seemed to find his true calling.
"I should have done more," he told Golf Digestin 2009. "But I don't dwell on it anymore. I will say this, though: If it wasn't for the fact that I love so much what I'm doing now [golf course design], I would probably be a very unhappy person."
BMW Championship 2022: Keegan Bradley Takes Early Lead Behind Opening-Round 64
Aug 18, 2022
WILMINGTON, DELAWARE - AUGUST 18: Keegan Bradley of the United States plays his shot from the fifth tee during the first round of the BMW Championship at Wilmington Country Club on August 18, 2022 in Wilmington, Delaware. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)
Keegan Bradley sits atop the leaderboard in the 2022 BMW Championship at Wilmington Country Club in Wilmington, Delaware, after a scorching first round that saw him finish with a seven-under 64.
Bradley and Adam Scott went toe-to-toe through much of the first round, but the latter couldn't match the leader's performance on Thursday despite carding seven birdies in a nearly perfect outing.
Here's a look at the leaderboard after one day of action:
Bradley hit 10 of 14 fairways and 15 of 18 greens in regulation, per PGATour.com. He also did not miss a putt within 10 feet.
The Vermont native has four PGA Tour victories in his career, with his last coming in the 2018 BMW Championship. His best finish this year came when he tied for second at the Wells Fargo Championship in May.
At one point during Thursday's action, it looked liked Rory McIlroy was going to take charge and secure the lead, but a triple bogey on the 15th hole dropped him to three under.
Sitting -6 and just 1 back, Rory McIlroy triple-bogeys the 15th to fall 4 off of the lead. pic.twitter.com/JQPnfxV5Zh
Will Zalatoris, who won the FedEx St. Jude Championship at TPC Southwind last week in a playoff against Sepp Straka, finished Thursday's first round one under and in a tie for 33rd place.
Zalatoris got out to a rather slow start, carding a double bogey, birdie and bogey on the front nine before closing out with a scorching back-nine performance, carding four birdies to improve his standing entering Round 2 on Friday.
While it appeared he figured things out, the 26-year-old fumbled on the 18th hole, carding a bogey.
Considering there's still three more days of action in Wilmington, we could see a lot of movement on the leaderboard, and it will be difficult for Bradley to maintain his lead with several players within striking distance.
Rory McIlroy: Meeting with Tiger Woods, Other PGA Golfers amid LIV Saga 'Was Awesome'
Aug 17, 2022
WILMINGTON, DELAWARE - AUGUST 17: Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland hits a shot on the 9th hole during the Pro-Am prior to the BMW Championship at Wilmington Country Club on August 17, 2022 in Wilmington, Delaware. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy and many other top PGA Tour players met in a Wilmington, Delaware hotel Tuesday regarding the future of the league amid the ongoing LIV Golf saga.
After the meeting, McIlroy appeared pleased with the direction the players are headed.
"I think the one thing that came out of it, which I think was the purpose, is all the top players on this tour are in agreement and alignment of where we should go going forward, and that was awesome," McIlroy said, per ESPN's Mark Schlabach.
The PGA Tour is in Wilmington for the upcoming BMW Championship, which marks the second-to-last tournament of the season and the second leg of the playoffs.
McIlroy didn't discuss what was said in the three-hour meeting, noting that those thoughts are not for a "public forum right now."
Xander Schauffele, who also attended the meeting, said the ideas expressed were "new" and "fresh." He also noted that he would like to see a peaceful resolution in the ongoing battle between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf.
"Some sort of unity," Schauffele said regarding what he wants to see. "[Golf is] definitely fractured currently. Yeah, we're just in the middle of it. In a nice peaceful way would be a nice outcome."
As noted by Schlabach, roughly 20-25 PGA Tour players attended the meeting, including Scottie Scheffler, Rickie Fowler, Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas, who also made some public remarks.
"It was a productive meeting," Thomas said. "It's just something that the players who are involved just want the best for the tour and want what's in the best interest. I think it's just one of those things where we all want what's best for the players, and we're working to do that."
The upstart LIV Golf, which is financed by Saudi Arabia's Private Investment Fund, has wooed away some of golf's biggest names, including Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau and Phil Mickelson. LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman said that Woods was offered between $700 million and $800 million to join the league, but he turned it down.
A report from the Telegraph of London stated that reigning Open champion Cam Smith is set to leave the PGA Tour for LIV Golf as well.
Recent drama between PGA Tour and LIV Golf includes a judge denying a restraining order from Talor Gooch, Hudson Swafford and Matt Jones, three LIV golfers who were looking to participate in the PGA Tour's FedExCup playoffs.
The PGA Tour has suspended players who has left for LIV Golf. Other PGA Tour golfers who left for LIV, such as Kevin Na, have simply resigned.
Mickelson, DeChambeau and other LIV golfers have also filed an antitrust lawsuit against the PGA Tour claiming that the tour's restrictive policies hinder LIV's ability to compete.
FedEx Cup Standings 2022: Points Leaderboard Before BMW Championship
Aug 17, 2022
MEMPHIS, TN - AUGUST 14: Will Zalatoris during the final round of the FedEx St. Jude Championship on August 14, 2022 at TPC Southwind in Memphis, Tennessee. (Photo by Michael Wade/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Less than half of the players entered into the BMW Championship will move on to the final leg of the FedEx Cup playoffs.
Seventy players qualified for the tournament held in Wilmington, Delaware, but only 68 players will fight for the remaining entries into the Tour Championship. That's because Cameron Smith withdrew because of a hip injury, and Tommy Fleetwood will miss the tournament because of personal reasons.
Will Zalatoris confirmed his spot in the Tour Championship with a win at the FedEx St. Jude Championship. Zalatoris moved into first place in the FedEx Cup standings with the win that carried 2,000 points in the playoff rankings.
Scottie Scheffler is second to Zalatoris, and he has a nearly 3,000-point difference between himself and Wyndham Clark in 70th place. Scheffler and Zalatoris are the only golfers with more than 3,000 FedEx Cup points, and they are the only competitors mathematically safe to go through.
Sam Burns, Tony Finau and other golfers in the top 10 are likely safe as well, but that does not mean the BMW Championship will lack drama. Thirty-eight golfers begin the tournament beneath the cut line for the 30th and final berth into the Tour Championship.
You will find motivating factors all over Wilmington County Club this week.
The primary storyline revolves around which golfers move into the top 30 and which ones fall out of qualification for the Tour Championship.
Clark was the last golfer to survive the cut after the FedEx St. Jude Championship. He sits in 70th place with plenty of work to do to play one more week.
Keegan Bradley, Matt Kuchar and Adam Scott are among the notable names sitting between 31st and 70th places going into the BMW Championship.
J.J. Spaun resides on the cut line in 30th place. He could have been much higher in the FedEx Cup standings if he did not go through a final-round collapse in Memphis last week. Spaun was the third-round leader and finished with a final-round 78.
The easiest solution to avoiding the cut is to win the event. Zalatoris went from 12th to first by way of his victory at the St. Jude Championship. A much larger jump could happen if a player further down the standings wins in Delaware.
The points assigned for finishing positions were quadrupled for the playoffs. For example, Zalatoris picked up 2,000 playoff points instead of the regular 500 for his victory in Memphis.
A top-10 finish should get the job done for most of the players beneath the cut to leap into the top 30, but a win is the only guaranteed way for them to get into the Tour Championship without worrying about a points sweat.
The other dynamic in play is the positioning of the top golfers in the FedEx Cup standings. The top player after the BMW Championship starts the Tour Championship with a 10-under score and a two-stroke edge over second place. The second-place golfer starts at eight-under, third place begins at seven-under, fourth in the standings starts at six-under and fifth is alone at five-under.
The rest of the golfers who qualify for the Tour Championship will be grouped in fives and will start anywhere from four-under to even-par.
A year ago, Patrick Cantlay won the BMW Championship in a playoff and went on to win the FedEx Cup. Dustin Johnson won the playoff format in 2020 after he was first in the standings after two postseason events.
Zalatoris, Scheffler and others will be looking for the top spot because history suggests that player will likely come away with the FedEx Cup.
LIV Golf's Patrick Reed Suing Golf Channel's Brandel Chamblee for Defamation
Aug 17, 2022
Patrick Reed of the US attends a press conference prior to the International Series Singapore golf tournament at Tampines Golf course in Singapore on August 10, 2022. (Photo by Roslan RAHMAN / AFP) (Photo by ROSLAN RAHMAN/AFP via Getty Images)
LIV Golf's Patrick Reed has filed a
defamation lawsuit against the Golf Channel and analyst Brandel
Chamblee for "misreporting information with falsity and/or
reckless disregard of the truth."
Reed alleged in Tuesday's filing that the
Golf Channel, Chamblee and PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan
conspired against him for the past nine years in an effort to "destroy his reputation, create hate and a hostile work environment
for him," per Reuters (via ESPN).
The lawsuit states Reed's lawyer sent a cease-and-desist letter to Chamblee in January 2020
demanding that he stop suggesting the golfer cheated in a tournament. Reed received two penalty strokes in the 2019 Hero World
Challenge one month earlier for improving his lie in a bunker, which he denied was done on purpose.
This January, Joel Beall of Golf Digest
noted Reed has faced cheating allegations dating back to his college
career, but he previously told the outlet it wasn't a
fair label.
"Being called a cheater. That's so
far from the truth," he said in 2021. "No athlete, no golfer who
works to make it to the highest level is a cheater."
Reed, whose biggest career win came at
the 2018 Masters, left the PGA Tour to join LIV Golf in June. He was
indefinitely suspended from the tour, as were other golfers who
appeared in the rival organization's events.
"Despite his exceptional
world-class golfing achievements, in June of 2022, Mr. Reed was
constructively terminated as a member of the PGA Tour, as a result of
threats made and action taken by its Commissioner Jay Monahan and
his PGA Tour, and signed with LIV Golf," the lawsuit reads,
per Reuters.
Reed is seeking $750 million in
damages, according to the Guardian.
On Aug. 3, Phil Mickelson and Bryson
DeChambeau headlined a group of 11 LIV Golf players who filed an
antitrust lawsuit against the PGA Tour.
The U.S. Justice Department began
looking into whether the tour has made any antitrust violations in
regards to LIV Golf in July, per CNN's Wayne Sterling.
Amid the legal battles, Tiger Woods
held a meeting Tuesday night to rally support for the PGA Tour
in an effort to curb defections to LIV, which is financially backed by Saudi
Arabia and is offering lucrative guaranteed contracts to make the
jump.
"It was about all the top players
getting on the same page," a golfer who attended the meeting
told ESPN's Mark Schlabach. "It was a good meeting."
The PGA Tour playoffs continue with the
BMW Championship beginning Thursday, while the next LIV tournament is
scheduled to tee off Sept. 2 in Boston.
Report: Tiger Woods Meets with PGA Tour Golfers to 'Rally Support' Against LIV Golf
Aug 16, 2022
ST ANDREWS, SCOTLAND - JULY 15: Tiger Woods of the USA walks onto the 18th green during Day Two of The 150th Open at St Andrews Old Course on July 15, 2022 in St Andrews, Scotland. (Photo by Ross Parker/SNS Group via Getty Images)
Tiger Woods reportedly met with several of the top golfers in the world on Tuesday amid a steady stream of players leaving the PGA Tour for LIV Golf.
According to ESPN's Mark Schlabach, Woods and his fellow golfer and close friend, Rickie Fowler, flew to Wilmington, Delaware, which is where the BMW Championship is being held this week.
Schlabach noted that the three-and-a-half-hour meeting was held at an off-course hotel and included the likes of Rory McIlroy, Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth, among others.
An anonymous golfer who attended the meeting called it "good," and said it was "about all the top players getting on the same page." Schlabach added that it was meant to "rally support" for the PGA Tour.
Earlier Tuesday, Schlabach reported that the meeting would take place following a scheduled PGA Tour Player Advisory Council meeting. He added that it would involve many of the top 20 players in the world and "other influential PGA Tour members" who have remained loyal to the PGA Tour and refrained from jumping to LIV Golf.
An anonymous golfer who was invited to the meeting said, "It's a meeting to get the top 20 players in the world on the same page on how we can continue to make the PGA Tour the best product in professional golf."
When LIV Golf held its first event in June, the field included a few notable names, including major champions such as Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, Sergio Garcia and Louis Oosthuizen.
Since then, the promise of huge signing bonuses, massive tournament purses and fewer tournaments than the PGA Tour has led to even more high-profile golfers joining the upstart league.
Among them are Bryson DeChambeau, Brooks Koepka, Patrick Reed and Bubba Watson, and they have been joined by several mid-tier players as well.
Golfers who have made the leap have faced criticism since LIV Golf is financially backed by Saudi Arabia, and the country has been accused of "sportswashing," which is the act of using sports to mask or minimize greater issues, such as human rights violations.
The PGA Tour has taken a hardline stance against players who have defected, banning them from PGA Tour events, although those with the proper qualifications have been permitted to play in major tournaments.
A handful of top PGA Tour players have been outspoken against those who have left for LIV Golf, with Rory McIlroy and Woods being chief among them.
Per Schlabach, Tiger had some strong words for LIV Golf members last month, saying: "I disagree with it. I think that what they've done is they've turned their back on what has allowed them to get to this position."
The 46-year-old Woods, arguably the greatest golfer of all time with 15 major victories and 82 PGA Tour wins to his credit, had the opportunity to leave for LIV Golf but turned it down.
LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman said earlier this month that LIV Golf offered Woods a whopping $700 million to $800 million to join, only for Tiger to remain loyal to the PGA Tour.
Injuries have taken a toll on Woods and knocked him from the ranks of the top players in the world while limiting him to only playing in majors.
It is unlikely that he will ever earn close to $700 million to $800 million for the remainder of his PGA Tour career without factoring in endorsements, but Woods still decided to stand by the tour he has called home since 1996.
Adam Sandler Congratulates Will Zalatoris on Winning 2022 FedEx St. Jude Championship
Aug 15, 2022
MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE - AUGUST 14: Will Zalatoris celebrates after making a putt on the 18th green during the final round of the FedEx St. Jude Championship at TPC Southwind on August 14, 2022 in Memphis, Tennessee. (Photo by Ben Jared/PGA TOUR via Getty Images)
Actor and comedian Adam Sandler congratulated professional golfer Will Zalatoris on winning the FedEx St. Jude Championship on Sunday.
Sandler once starred as a hockey player-turned-golfer in the classic film Happy Gilmore. Zalatoris bears a resemblance to Gilmore's first caddy, played by actor Jared Van Snellenberg.
Sandler previously made reference to this notion prior to the final round of the 2021 Masters, when Zalatoris was tied for second going into the final day.
Zalatoris, who has finished second in three majors over the past two years, earned his first-ever PGA Tour victory on Sunday.
FedEx St. Jude Championship 2022: Will Zalatoris Tops Sepp Straka in Wild Playoff
Aug 14, 2022
MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE - AUGUST 14: Will Zalatoris of the United States walks along the second hole during the final round of the FedEx St. Jude Championship at TPC Southwind on August 14, 2022 in Memphis, Tennessee. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
It took three drama-filled playoff holes at the 2022 FedEx St. Jude Championship, but Will Zalatoris is finally a winner on the PGA Tour.
He and the other top 70 golfers from TPC Southwind in Memphis, Tennessee, advance to the next round of the FedEx Cup playoffs at the BMW Championship in Wilmington, Delaware. However, that was surely far from his mind as he went shot for shot with Sepp Straka down the stretch and finally came out on top after so many narrow misses.
Zalatoris, who shot a four-under 66 in Sunday's final round to bring his tournament total to 15 under, drained a 10-foot par putt on the 18th that was just shorter than the one he missed that could have forced a playoff at the U.S. Open.
The playoff became a story of surviving poor shots, as Zalatoris scrambled to save par following a brutal drive on the second hole, only for Straka to do the same after he considered taking his shoes off and hitting from the water's edge before taking a penalty.
Things took another turn on the par-three third playoff hole when Zalatoris' tee shot wedged itself between rocks and the grass, and Straka's found the water. The eventual victor took a drop instead of risking catching the rocks with his club face and making things worse, and it proved to be the right call when he won with an up-and-down from the drop zone.
Even before the wild playoff, there was no shortage of storylines coming into the final round, with J.J. Spaun one stroke ahead of Straka and two strokes ahead of Zalatoris, Cameron Smith and Trey Mullinax.
Spaun and Straka were both first-time PGA Tour winners this year, and a win for either would have been enough to clinch a spot in the FedEx Cup finale at the Tour Championship.
Then there was Zalatoris, who was trying to join them as first-time winners. He had come close on the sport's biggest stages with a playoff loss at the PGA Championship, a second-place finish at the U.S. Open and a top-10 showing at the Masters earlier this year.
What's more, Smith was arguably the biggest story of the entire tournament. There is speculation he will be joining LIV Golf, and there was an opportunity for him to become No. 1 in the world with a victory at TPC Southwind following victories at The Players Championship and The Open Championship this year.
"That's been one of my goals probably since the start of the year is to try to get to that top spot," he told reporters. "Try and chase it down."
Yet chasing it down became much more difficult before he even teed off, as he was given a two-stroke penalty for "improper placement of the ball" upon review of his third round and fell four shots back:
Cameron Smith has been penalized two strokes for improper placement of the ball in the penalty area in Round 3.
That, along with just two birdies from Smith on his way to an even-par 70, opened one more window for challengers to make a run up the leaderboard. It appeared as if Denny McCarthy would be the one to seize the opportunity in the early going with four birdies on the first seven holes to move to 12 under.
One of the birdies even came after he hit the ball into a chair's cup holder:
However, McCarthy dropped from contention by shooting four over on the final 11 holes. Adam Scott also got as low as 12 under and was within one stroke of the lead, but his chances realistically ended when his tee shot on the 18th found the water to set up a closing bogey.
Elsewhere, Collin Morikawa missed a short birdie putt on the 17th also bogeyed the 18th to end a run that saw him climb as low as 12 under, while Lucas Glover's bogey on the final hole dropped him to 12 under after he briefly tied for the lead with birdies on the 16th and 17th.
The theme of challengers coming up just short continued when Tony Finau's bid for a third consecutive tournament win after victories at the 3M Open and Rocket Mortgage Classic ended without enough birdies (three) to go with 14 pars.
Throw in Brian Harman bogeying two of the final five holes after tying the lead with a birdie on No. 13, Spaun free-falling down the leaderboard with an eight-over 78, and Mullinax bogeying three of the last four holes, and it was a two-man race to the title between Zalatoris and Straka.
Zalatoris caught the first major break when his drive on the par-five 16th kicked out from the trees and into the fairway to set up a birdie.
The bounce of the week! 😲
The lucky break led to a birdie for @WillZalatoris on the par-5 16th.
Zalatoris, who birdied the first three holes and seemed to hold on for much of the rest of the round, also had a clutch moment on the way to the playoff with the cold-blooded putt to save par on the 18th.
