Poston wins for 1st time on PGA Tour
GREENSBORO, N.C. — J.T. Poston kept racking up birdies and pars — but no bogeys — at the Wyndham Championship. They added up to his first PGA Tour victory — and a first-time-in-decades achievement.
Poston shot an 8-under-par 62 on Sunday for a one-stroke victory at the tour’s regular-season finale.
He tied Henrik Stenson’s 2-yearold tournament record at 22-under 258 and became the first player since Lee Trevino in 1974 to win a 72-hole stroke-play event on tour without any bogeys or worse.
“I probably haven’t had that many bogey-free rounds this year,” Poston said. “To be able to do four in a row is pretty special, and finish it off with a 62 on Sunday is pretty awesome.”
The native North Carolinian began his round three strokes back, took the lead for good with — what else? — a birdie on the par-5 15th hole, then finished with three straight pars to earn $1,116,000 and 500 FedEx Cup points.
Webb Simpson was at 21 under after a 65. Byeong Hun An, who held or shared the lead after each of the first three rounds, three-putted the 18th for a bogey and a 67 to finish two shots back. Trying to force a playoff with a birdie, he nearly holed a 60-footer but had it run well past.
“Nothing was really working at the end,” An said. “I just ran out of juice.”
Poston, a former Western Carolina golfer playing a 100-mile drive from his hometown of Hickory, became the third player in 11 years with strong local ties to win at Sedgefield Country Club. He joined 2008 winner Carl Petterson — a Swede who grew up in Greensboro — and Simpson, the 2011 champion who’s from Raleigh and played college golf at Wake Forest.
“To be able to do it here in North Carolina, with a lot of friends and family, I don’t think I could have drawn it up any better,” Poston said.
Poston closed the gap with An with three birdies and an eagle on the front nine.
Then came the key hole: No. 15. Poston took sole possession of the lead with a birdie on that hole after placing a bunker chip 6 feet from the flagstick.
An, playing two groups behind Poston, sent his tee shot on that hole into the weeds. He took a penalty stroke, then landed his third shot left of the green, left his chip 35 feet short and dropped to 20 under after two-putting for his first bogey of the tournament.
“The bogey was definitely the killer, I think, because I knew I needed to make a birdie there,” An said.
After a birdie on the next hole and a par on 17, An needed to finish with a birdie to force a playoff. He sent his tee shot into the trees and recovered by landing his second shot 60 feet from the pin.
Simpson — who finished second for the second straight week — earned his seventh top-10 finish at this tournament since 2010 and climbed to No. 9 on the playoff points list, earning $550,000 in bonus money as part of the inaugural Wyndham Rewards Top 10 program.
Nine players started this tournament with a shot at some of that cash, but only Simpson and Paul Casey came away with some. Casey finished eighth on the points list and earned $600,000.
Former Baylor School player Harris English shot a final-round 64, He finished tied for 39th at 270.