After stunning 18th hole birdie, J.T. Poston wins Memorial in playoff  

Jack Nicklaus, ahead of his Memorial Tournament, says he was approached by Kristoffer Reitan, who had previously never played the event and was seeking its secrets. And Nicklaus said his Muirfield Village welcomes everyone. Long hitters. Medium hitters. Short hitters.

But only those with a good head can wear the crown.  

“I tried to design it so we could take care of everybody and try to give a fair shake to every kind of player,” Nicklaus said. “And when you get that, you can’t just stand up and just whack away at it on every hole.

“I tried that in my early years. I didn’t do very well. So it’s a golf course that takes a little bit of patience and learning.”

Patience and learning? J.T. Poston, your newest Memorial winner, can tell you all about that. 

Entering the week, he hadn’t won. Or top 10’d. Or top 25’d. He said often, he’d play “63 really good holes” — but PGA Tour tournaments, of course, require nine more. Then, after a 70 during Thursday’s first round, he shot a seven-under 65 during Friday’s second round, when most everyone was all over the place. On Sunday he led by a whopping four strokes entering the final round. 

Then he slowly tumbled. He bogeyed 3 on a three-putt. He bogeyed 9 on another three-putt. His lead was one. He bogeyed the par-3 12th after missing the green to the left with his tee shot. He was tied for the lead. He bogeyed the 13th after missing the green with his approach shot. He was out of the lead. 

Patience and learning, though, right? 

He birdied 14 on an 18-foot putt. He birdied 15. On the 16th hole, Poston, Ryan Gerard, Sam Burns, Wyndham Clark and Tommy Fleetwood were all tied for the lead. Gerard then led after a  36-foot birdie bomb on 17, until Poston caught him on 18 with another birdie. On that one, he stuffed an iron to 7 feet, dropped the putt and fist-pumped.  

First playoff hole. Pars. 

Second playoff hole. Gerard three-putted. Poston took two and won. Afterward, as is the custom, he shook Jack Nicklaus’ hand. 

He’s proved him right, too. 

The takeaway

Whew. Poston wins a marathon — and the biggest tournament of his career. 

The leaderboard breakdown 

– Sunday’s final round starts with J.T. Poston holding a four-shot lead, after he shot a three-under 69 earlier Sunday to finish his weather-delayed third round. Poston is at 12-under, Ryan Gerard is at eight-under, Sam Burns is at seven-under, and Wyndham Clark and Tommy Fleetwood are at six-under. 

– Gerard birdies the 456-yard, par-4 2nd on a 13-foot putt, and he moves three back of Poston. Poston is at 12-under, Gerard is at nine-under, and Burns is at eight-under. 

– There is leaderboard movement on the 393-yard, par-4 3rd hole. Poston bogeys the hole on a three-putt; Gerard bogeys after missing the green to the left with his second shot; and Burns birdies after hitting his second shot to 3 feet. And the leaderboard reads this way: Poston is at 11-under; Burns is at nine-under; and Gerard is at eight-under. 

– Gerard birdies the 527-yard, par-5 5th hole on a 9-footer to move two back of Poston. Poston is at 11-under, and Burns and Gerard are at nine-under. 

– Poston birdies the 445-yard, par-4 6th hole after hitting his second shot to 5 feet, and his lead moves back to three shots. Poston is at 12-under, and Burns and Gerard are at nine-under.  

– Clark birdies the 417-yard, par-4 9th hole after hitting his second shot to 3 feet, and he moves three back of the lead. Poston is at 12-under, and Clark, Burns and Gerard are at nine-under. 

– There is a two-shot swing on the 9th. Poston bogeys the hole on a three-putt, Burns birdies on a 23-foot putt — and Poston’s lead is one. Poston is at 11-under, Burns is at 10-under, Clark and Gerard are at nine-under, and Fleetwood is at eight-under. 

– Clark birdies the 593-yard, par-5 11th on a 6-foot putt, and he moves one back of the lead. Poston is at 11-under, Clark and Burns are at 10-under, and Fleetwood and Gerard are at nine-under. 

– Gerard birdies the 11th on a 10-foot putt, and Clark bogeys the 184-yard, par-3 12th after hitting into the left greenside bunker. The leaderboard reads this way: Poston is at 11-under, Burns and Gerard are at 10-under, and Clark and Fleetwood are at nine-under. 

– There is a tie at the top, after Poston bogeys the 12th after missing the green with his tee shot. Poston, Burns and Gerard are at 10-under, Clark and Fleetwood at nine-under, and Eric Cole and Alex Fitzpatrick are at eight-under. 

– Poston is out of the lead, after he bogeys the 448-yard, par-4 13th hole after he misses the green with his second shot. Burns and Gerard are at 10-under, Clark, Fleetwood and Poston are at nine-under, and Fitzpatrick, Cole and Kristoffer Reitan are at eight-under. 

– Poston rebounds, as he birdies the 374-yard, par-4 14th on an 18-foot putt, and there’s a three-way tie at the top. Burns, Poston and Gerard are at 10-under, Clark and Fleetwood are at nine-under, and Fitzpatrick and Reitan are at eight-under. 

– There is a new leader. After Clark birdies the 549-yard, par-5 15th, Fleetwood eagles it, after he hits to 4 feet from 240 yards away. Fleetwood is at 11-under, Clark, Poston, Gerard and Burns are at 10-under, and Fitzpatrick, Reitan and Cole are at eight-under. 

– Gerard, Poston and Burns all birdie the 15th on short putts, and there’s a four-way tie at the top. Fleetwood, Burns, Poston and Gerard are at 11-under, and Clark is at 10-under. 

– Clark birdies the 200-yard, par-3 16th on a 9-foot putt, and there’s a five-way lead at the top. Clark, Fleetwood, Burns, Poston and Gerard are all at 11-under. 

– Fleetwood bogeys the 484-yard, par-4 17th, and there’s a four-way tie at the top. Clark, Burns, Poston and Gerard are at 11-under, and Fleetwood is at 10-under. 

– Burns bogeys 17 after his second shot sails right and ends up on a bridge, and his par putt finishes about an inch to the left of the hole. Then a few minutes later, Gerard birdies the hole on a 36-foot putt, and he takes a one-shot lead. Gerard is at 12-under, Clark and Poston are at 11-under, and Fleetwood and Burns are at 10-under. 

– On the 482-yard, par-4 18th, Gerard’s, Poston’s and Burns’ tee shots find the fairway, and, up ahead, Fleetwood and Clark make par. On the second shots, Gerard hits to 39 feet, Poston stuffs an iron to 7 feet, and Burns hits to 10 feet. On the birdie putts, Gerard runs his 5 feet past the hole, Burns misses to the left, and Poston makes his — Gerard makes his par putt to send the tournament to a playoff. 

– The playoff starts on the 18th hole. On the tee shots, Poston hits the fairway, then Gerard hits the fairway. On the second shots, Gerard hits to 37 feet, then Poston hits to 8 feet, at about the same spot he was in in regulation. On the birdie putts, Gerard misses just to the right of the hole, then Poston misses to the right. They go to a second playoff hole. 

– The second playoff hole is back on the 18th hole. On the tee shots, Poston hits into the right rough, and Gerard hits into the left rough. On the second shots, Gerard hits to 53 feet, then Poston hits to 28 feet. On the birdie putts, both players miss to the right. On the par putts, Gerard misses his 5-footer to the right, then Poston makes his 3-footer, and Poston wins the Memorial.   

The final word 

“A lot of holes. A lot of grit.” — Poston on CBS after his round 

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