List makes 45-foot birdie to win 5-way playoff
JACKSON, MISS. >> Luke List won when he least expected it, getting into a five-way playoff Sunday in the Sanderson Farms Championship and ending it quickly with a birdie putt from just inside 45 feet for his second career PGA Tour victory.
The playoff would not have been possible if not for Ben Griffin struggling down the stretch at the Country Club of Jackson. Griffin missed an 8-foot par putt on the final hole.
That gave a chance to List, Swedish sensation Ludvig Aberg, Henrik Norlander and Scott Stallings, all of whom returned to the par- 4 18th hole alongside Griffin. None looked to have a reasonable birdie chance until List poured in his putt and slammed his fist in celebration.
List closed with a 2-under 70 and missed a birdie chance from just inside 10 feet on the final hole, giving away his cap to a fan because he figured that would be the last hole he played.
“It’s been a full roller coaster,” List said. “I hung in there. I didn’t think it was going to be enough, but here we are. It’s been a crazy 20 minutes.”
Griffin had a birdie putt in the playoff from about 35 feet and slapped his left knee when he realized it was going to miss on the low side. This was his tournament to win, starting with a threeshot lead and still leading by two shots with three holes to play.
But he went from the right rough to long and right of the 16th green, chipping to some 20 feet and missing the putt to take bogey. Still with a one-shot lead, he was in the left rough when he pulled his approach to the 18th hole near the grandstands. He chipped 8 feet by the hole and his par putt grazed the right edge of the cup.
Hyo Joo Kim completes a wire-to-wire win
THE COLONY, TEXAS>> Hyo Joo Kim of South Korea started with a five- shot lead and didn’t give anyone much of a chance Sunday, closing with with a 2-under 69 to win The Ascendant LPGA by four shots. It was the second straight week for a wire-to-wire winner on the LPGA Tour, following Hae Ran Ryu in the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship.