Las Vegas: American Patrick Cantlay parred the second playoff hole on Sunday to defeat South Korea’s Whee Kim and Germany’s Alex Cejka and capture his first US PGA title at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open.
The 25-year-old California collected his breakthrough victory in his 43rd career PGA event, having struggled for two years with a back injury and also the death of his caddie and friend Chris Roth in a hit-and-run accident in February of 2016.
“I had so many lows,” Cantlay said when asked to describe the feeling of his first PGA title. “Just all the hard work I did, it’s so different from where I was it’s hard to describe.”
Kim, Cejka and Cantlay finished 72 holes on nine-under par 275 at the TPC Summerlin layout in Las Vegas to reach the playoff and all three made bogeys on the first extra hole so they challenged the par-4 18th again in the playoff.
Cantlay’s tee shot went behind a tree but he blasted his approach between trees and over the back of the green. Cejka found the right rough on his first two shots and Kim went left under shrubs and rocks, took an unplayable lie and needed two more shots to reach the green.
“I didn’t want to lay up,” Cantlay said. “I figured Alex would make par. I hit the only shot I had.”
Cantlay putted the ball up onto the green and just missed the left edge of the cup, rolling two feet past.
Cejka and Kim were well short of the hole. Kim two-putted for double bogey, Cejka two-putted for bogey and Cantlay tapped in for par and the victory.
“It was a grind the last few holes, just a lot of hard work,” Cantlay said.
Four straight birdies -
Cantlay and Kim each made bogeys at 18 in regulation to fall into a share of the lead with Cejka, who had been in the clubhouse for more than two hours after a final-round 63 with birdies on the last four holes.
— AFP
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