Kisner Triumps Through 6-Man Playoff to Win 2021 Wyndham Championship

 

Through all the chaos and drama, Kevin Kisner wins the 2021 Wyndham Championship (image: Chris Seward/AP)

 

GREENSBORO, NORTH CAROLINA

It's safe to say that the 2021 PGA Tour season went out with a bang.

 

After much drama, on what was perhaps one of the most hectic Sundays of the season, Kevin Kisner has emerged victorious at Sedgefield Country Club. It wasn't easy though; he needed to battle through a six-man playoff that consisted of Adam Scott, Kevin Na, Branden Grace, Si Woo Kim and Canadian Roger Sloan, all who finished their final rounds at 15-under.

 

This is Kisner's fourth win on the PGA Tour and first since 2019. The win propels him up the FedEx Rankings to 29th place and also secures his PGA playing status through the 2022-2023 season.

 

 

15-UNDER TO THE PLAYOFF

The craziness that was the final round was progressing quite normally until the second half. 54 hole leader Russell Henley led the tournament at 17-under, with a two shot lead over Justin Rose. But on the 11th hole, Henley missed a two-foot putt for par and dropped a shot. His lead would soon evaporate, as he would go on to bogey holes 12, 14 and 18, missing the playoff by a single stroke. He shot a 71 on the day; the only score in the 70s out of the top 35 players.

 

Meanwhile, Kevin Kisner, Kevin Na, Brandon Grace and Roger Sloan all started their days four shots off the lead at 11-under, while Adam Scott started five shots back and Si Woo Kim six shots back. 

 

Each player managed to get to the infamous 15-under in their own unique way. Kisner managed to birdie holes 16 and 17, hitting a remarkable approach shot on the 17th hole to a few feet for an easy birdie. Kevin Na eagled the par 5 15th hole, but faced a tough up-and-down on the 18th hole. He sunk his par putt and remained at 15-under.  Brandon Grace birdied holes 15 and 16 and needed birdie on the 18th hole to get into the playoff. One long clutch putt later and he was in. All three shot 66s.

 

Si Woo Kim carded the low score of the bunch, with a 64 that included birdies on 13 and 17, and a eagle on the par 5 5th hole. Adam Scott also played his final few holes well, carding back-to-back birdies on 15 and 16. And finally, the Canadian Roger Sloan carded back-to-back birdies on 16 and 17 to get to 15-under.

 

When it was all said and done, the playoff featured six players, setting the record for the largest playoff in PGA Tour history, in terms of participants. To me, these final rounds summarized exactly what the Wyndham Championship is all about; a hectic, crazy last-dash to get into the playoffs, whether it be the FedEx Cup Playoffs or tournament playoffs.

 

 

A PLAYOFF TO REMEMBER

With the players all set, the sixsome headed back to the 18th tee to start the playoff. 

 

All six players hit decent tee shots, but it was their approaches to the green where things got interesting. Scott and Sloan both found the green with theirs, Kisner landed just short of the green, as did Grace, Na ended up in the greenside bunker and Kim overshot the green. Scott had the advantage, being closest to the hole and on the green. Amazingly though, Na managed to chip out and sink a long putt for par, Kisner, Grace and Kim both chipped and putted for par, and Sloan missed his birdie putt by also carded a par. 

 

It was all down to Scott, who from the looks of it had an easy putt for the win. He studied the putt with his caddie for a little bit, assuming there would be a significant break in it. But there was no break and Scott missed the putt, to everyone's amazement. He too parred so back to the 18th tee box the sixsome went; six players, six different strategies, yet the same score....again.

 

This time though, only Sloan, Kisner and Scott found the fairway, and the advantage was in their favor now. Again, we saw a variety of approaches to the 18th green. Kim found the greenside bunker, Kisner landed on the green and close, as did Brandon Grace. Scott landed on the green but further away from the flag, as did Sloan and Na overshot the green. It looked as though birdie attempts were possible for Grace and Kisner. Grace putted first but missed his birdie putt, after coming very close. But Kisner, keen not to extend the playoff any longer, sank his birdie putt. And it was good enough for the win, as the rest of the field could only manage pars.

 

Shortly after sinking the putt, Kisner was heard saying this was his first playoff win. In fact, up to that point in his career, Kisner had been in five previous playoffs on the PGA Tour but couldn't convert in either of them, the most famous being the 2015 Players Championship. His streak was finally broken and what a way to do it.

 

 

SEDGEFILED VERSUS THE WEATHER

The chaos of the final round began even before the first tee shot was taken on Sunday. As a result of the inclement weather forecasted for the afternoon, all tee times were bumped up by several hours, with three to a time slot. The final group teed off just after 9am local time. 

 

This led to all sorts of TV scheduling conflicts, as the Ladies Scottish Open and US Amateur were also being broadcasted, among other sports. In Canada, pre-recorded final round coverage was aired in the afternoon, and viewers were not able to watch the final round live unless they were subscribed to various US network streaming services. 

 

As for Sedgefield itself, the course continued to remain vulnerable, with sub-60 round being had by all players virtually in contention. The low round of the day was a 62 shot by Chesson Hadley, aided by a hole-in-one on the par 3 16th hole. This was Hadley's first hole-in-one ever, both professionally or as an amateur.

 

 

FEDEX CUP RANKINGS SHAKE-UP

As if all the above drama was not enough, the FedEx Cup Playoffs battle was still being hotly contested during the final round. 

 

Ryan Armour (122nd), Patrick Rodgers (123rd) and Bo Hoag (125th) all fell below the 125th place cutoff after all missing the cut.

 

Chesson Hadley remarkably finished right in 125th place. This finish guarantees him his Tour card through next season as well as entry into the playoffs.

 

Roger Sloan shot up 39 places from 131st to 92nd as a result of his T2 finish. 

 

Scott Piercy also made it into the playoffs, going from 126th to 116th.

 

Justin Rose, who needed a good finish this week to get into the playoffs, came up one place short at 126th. He was left with a short par putt on the 18th green, but unfortunately missed it. That putt was costly though, as he finished two shots back, but at T10. In a normal tournament, finishing two back would put you in a higher place on the leaderboard, hence more points, but that was not the case this week due to the large playoff contingent. It also didn't help that Hadley had an excellent finish to the tournament.

 

 

MATTHEW WOLFF IS A WINNER TOO THIS WEEK 

Despite being cut from the tournament, Matthew Wolff is still a winner this week. He wins the season-long AON Risk Reward Challenge this year and a cheque for 1 million dollars.

 

The AON Risk Reward Challenge is quite neat. It's a challenge designed to reward players who score well on the toughest holes in each tournament. The way it works is that each week, a hole at a tournament is chosen, with each player's score for that hole being recorded. Whoever has the best score at the end of the year, wins the challenge. Think of it as a single round of golf made up of one hole from each tournament. For this week, the 15th hole was chosen, where Wolff carded a par and birdie in his two rounds.

 

 

CANADIAN PRESENCE AT SEDGEFIELD

Amidst all the chaos of the Wyndham Championship, it should be noted that Canadians were well represented on the leaderboard, with three being in the top-10 alone (Roger Sloan T2, Nick Taylor T10 and Adam Hadwin T10). 

 

As for the FedEx Cup Playoffs, Sloan, Taylor, Hadwin and Mackenzie Hughes are all in it.

 

We've being saying this for years, but Canadian professional golf is in good hands, both on the PGA and LPGA Tour.

 

 

PICKS RESULTS

To wrap it all up, here is how our picks finished off the week:

 

1) Justin Rose: T10 at 13-under

2) Tommy Fleetwood: T65 at 1-under

 

Again, you have to feel bad for Rose's situation. And Fleetwood's was no better, plummeting down the leaderboard after weekend scores of 72 and 73. The two don't get into the playoffs but on the upside will have some time off in the upcoming weeks.

***

Whew, let's all take a deep breath now and exhale. That ends the 2020-2021 PGA Tour season and what a way to go out. From collapses, to weather disruptions, to TV conflicts, to a six-man playoff, the 2021 Wyndham Championship had it all this year and lived up to the hype. 

But now the serious fun begins, as the FedEx Cup Playoffs commence with the first event of the playoffs, The Northern Trust (formerly The Barclays) at Liberty National Golf Club in New Jersey.

Stay tuned for our coverage of that and much more,

-Nick

Toronto Golf Reviews

Day Leads, Spieth Follows Going Into Final Round of the 2015 PGA Championship

There's just one round left in this year's PGA Championship at Whistling Straits. As it stands now, Jason Day is our leader at 15-under, with a two shot lead over current Masters and US Open champion Jordan Spieth. Just a shot behind Spieth lays Justin Rose and Brandon Grace.

Saturday definitely lived up to it's name "Moving Day". The conditions at Whistling Straits were ideal for scoring low and many players took advantage of this. Day shot a 66, but not in easy fashion. He carded eight birdies, an eagle, two bogeys, and a double bogey. Spieth shot a more traditional 65, carding seven birdies. Interestingly enough, Spieth has only made a two bogeys over his three rounds, the least in the field. The two will be paired in the final grouping today, one seeking his first major one, the other trying to put his name in history. I'm not sure what would be the bigger story, Jason Day winning his first major or Spieth winning 3 of 4 this year?

The low round of the day was that of US Open contender Branden Grace, with a 64 (8 birdies). This would have tied the course record on the Straits Course if Hiroshi Iwata hadn't broken it a couple of days ago. Also lurking behind the lead is 2010 PGA Champion Martin Kaymer, at four shots back. He also shot a 65 today. Kaymer was the last winner of the PGA Championship at Whistling Straits. Due to the controversy with Dustin Johnson in 2010, Kaymer is often overlooked as the winner at times. Kaymer will be paired with PGA Tour rookie and long hitting Tony Finau.

Finally, here's how our picks are doing:

1) Dustin Johnson: T9 at 9-under
2) Jim Furyk: 4-under at T30
3) Jason Day: 1st at 15-under

Johnson is still lurking despite not shooting as low of scores as some players. It'll take some work for him to win today, but golfers have come back from bigger margins before. Furyk may be out of contention, but will be looking for a good finish today; something he does so well.

There's nothing like a Sunday at a major, especially when it's the last one of the year. If the conditions today are as good as yesterday, the winner may not be so clear cut. It wouldn't surprise me if the winner wasn't in the final two groups.

Stay tuned tomorrow morning to see who's won,


-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews

Jason Day Seeks His First Major Win Today

Four Lead Going Into Final Round of 2015 US Open

In recent years, there has never been this much drama or amount of storylines going into a final round of a US Open. As it stands now, four players share the lead: Dustin Johnson, Jason Day, Jordan Spieth, and Brandon Grace. Four players, with a leading score of 4-under and a three shot lead, yet each has a unique story behind them.

Johnson played a solid round of golf and shot a even par 70, which could have easily been higher or lower depending on the hole. He was accurate all day, hitting all fairways, and recovered well when he found trouble. Day, who made headlines on Friday after collapsing at the end of his round, stunned and earned the respect of many during yesterday's round, who have deemed his actions as "superhuman". All day he was visibly cautious around the course and said after that he was about to call it quits three times during his round, again due to vertigo, the worst on the 13th. Despite this, he birdied three of the four final holes to shoot a 68, which was only one of six sub-70 rounds yesterday; a remarkable feat considering his state and that fact that Chambers Bay requires one's full attention pretty much all the time. Many are pulling for him to win and what a story that would be.

Spieth had a solo lead by three shots at one point during his front nine, but had a relatively quiet back nine. He missed a few costly putts to give some shots back and ended off with a 71, despite excellent putting on the front nine. Grace, of South Africa, also played excellent golf and hit a very good number of approach shots during yesterday's round. If it wasn't for Chambers Bay's tough greens, he could have been leading by several shots as well.

Rory McIlroy's round was one full of frustration, especially on the back nine. The World Number one couldn't hole a putt despite numerous excellent approaches. He ended up shooting an even 70 (which wasn't that bad) and stands at 4-over par.

Louis Oosthuizen shot the low round on Saturday, a 4-under 66. Again if it wasn't for the tough greens, be could have been even lower. Remember that this is the man who has been deemed to have one of the "most perfect" swings in golf and is already a major champion (2010 British Open at St. Andrews). There's something about his game that just seems relaxed and effortless. Be sure to keep an eye on him today as he sits at 1-under T5.

Saturday yielded the toughest conditions for Chambers Bay, as indicated by the higher leading score compared to Friday. As we said only a few players managed sub par rounds and conditions worsened as the round progress. This was partially due to the course itself drying up as the day went on, making everything harder and firmer. A low 70's round was a good score and any overall round at par or better means you're still in contention. With all this unpredictability, who knows how Chambers Bay will play today?

Finally, here's how are picks stand:

1) Phil Mickelson: T66 at 10-over
2) Justin Rose: T25 at 4-over 

Phil had a disastrous round that started off bad and stayed that way. He carded a total of nine bogeys and two birdies and he was seen hitting from all sorts of rough and fescue yesterday. Once again, it looks like Lefty's dream of the career grand slam is looking slim. Rose on the other hand played a decent round and neither increased or deceased his chances at winning. His score relative to this position on the leaderboard, shows just how tough it's been to go low this week.

Well it all comes down to the final round today. Who can step up and attack Chambers Bay? Who can defend from it as well when need be? We'll find out shortly and stay tuned for our post tomorrow morning about who won it.


-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews

 Johnson, Spieth, Day, Grace; all looking for glory today
(Toronto Golf Reviews)

Spieth and Reed Lead at Chambers Bay

With just two rounds to go, things have started to get a bit more interesting at the 115th US Open. Chambers Bay responded to those early scores in Thursday's round and gave the golfers more difficult conditions for Friday. As it stands now, the leading score still remains at 5-under, but it is now held by 2015 Masters Champion Jordan Spieth and the notorious Patrick Reed, closely followed by opening round co-leader Dustin Johnson and Branden Grace at 4-under. The cut has also been set at 5-over.

Spieth held his ground during his round and struggled with his driver; he's hit only 9 of 28 fairways thus far at Chambers Bay. Reed on the other hand has been driving the ball excellently, and said in an interview that he feels that he could hit the ball as hard as he wants and it'll find the fairway. This confidence is great and a must-have when playing Chambers Bay and it's what makes Reed such a fierce competitor.


TGR favourite Graeme McDowell wasn't really in the running this week, but did show us why he is a world class player on the par 3 207 yards 3rd hole. GMac landed his tee shot short and watched it roll up the right side of the green, nearly falling in the bunker, before rolling down the hill towards the pin stopping about a few inches from the hole for an easy birdie.

Apart from the golf, one of the biggest headlines yesterday was Jason Day's (physical) collapse on the 18 hole (which was a par 4). Day was walking on the sloped 18th fairway when he suddenly fell to the ground in a state of dizziness. Vertigo was to blame and it has been an issue for Day for the past few months now. After staying down for a few minutes, Day got back up, walked with some assistance to the greenside bunker where his ball lay, and went on to hit the best bunker shot I've seen, given the circumstances of his. To give you an idea of the state he was in, there was a loose stone behind his ball in the bunker and Day needed the rules official to remove it for him, as his hands were too shakey. He missed the par putt and finished off his round with a bogey, whereafter he was immediately taken to his onsite trailer. Despite this, Day sits at 2-under and is by all means still in contention scoring-wise. We hope Jason will be able to recover so he can continue playing, but his health is of course the most important.

Yet again Tiger Woods had a new milestone, this time it was his highest score in the US Open to date, a 16-over. His game was all over the place yet again and he was subsequently cut from the tournament. Also, amateur Brian Campbell is also in the mix at 1-under T12. He's currently the low amateur in the field and was close to leading at one point during his opening round.

Finally, here's how are picks are doing:

1) Phil Mickelson: T35 at 3-over
2) Rickie Fowler: CUT
3) Justin Rose: T28 at 2-over

Phil battled through his second round and it's resulted in him still being in the mix of things. So did Justin Rose. Fowler on the other hand was cut due to his surprising play, which was still a shock to us all.

Today is "Moving Day" and with the uncertainty that Chambers Bay brings every round, there's bound to be some movement on the leaderboard. Stay tuned for our recap post tomorrow morning,


-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews

Jordan Spieth aims to go 2/2 in majors this year