Patrick Cantlay sank an 11-foot putt in a playoff Sunday, besting Collin Morikawa for the trophy at the Memorial Tournament in Dublin, Ohio.
Playing extra holes after both golfers finished the final round with 1-under 71s and 13 under for the tournament, Morikawa missed a six-foot putt after Cantlay made his roll-in for par.
Morikawa held the lead going into the 17th hole when Cantlay rolled in a 23-footer for birdie to join Morikawa at the top.
The tournament was still reeling Sunday, after Jon Rahm, who had been leading by six strokes, was forced to withdraw following a positive COVID-19 test.
“It is a very unfortunate situation and not anything I would wish on anybody,” Cantlay said after the tournament. “[Jon] played so great for the first three rounds, so there’s a little something that I can’t quite put my finger on that makes it feel a little different, but I really hit a lot of clutch solid shots today and so I think I’ll remember that mostly.”
Morikawa carded birdies on 11 and 15 to put distance between himself and Cantlay, but his approach shots on 17 and 18 were off the greens. He managed par on those holes, but his approach in the playoff missed the green again, al- lowing Cantlay the chance to make the winning shot.
“Obviously it sucks to lose a playoff. But today was a grind and that’s all I could focus on. I couldn’t really hit a green for my life,” Morikawa said afterwards. “To get into a playoff to make the putts I needed to make, just to keep myself in it, I’m proud of myself. I didn’t feel like I really ever played this game where I’m missing every green, chipping, making 10-footers. I like it the other way where I hit it a lot closer. But it’s going to be something I’m going to learn from a lot and just look back and see how I can grow from this.”