A 95-foot chip leads to playoff
Kevin Kisner deprived the die-hard fans around the rainsoaked 18th hole from seeing a winner in the Zurich Classic’s new team format as darkness fell Sunday night in Avondale, La.
Not that anyone other than Jonas Blixt and Cameron Smith seemed to mind.
Kisner chipped in for eagle from nearly 95 feet, lifting himself and teammate Scott Brown into a Monday playoff with Blixt and Smith.
“We knew we had to have it,” Kisner said. “I knew (Blixt and Smith) were going to make birdie. All I was trying to do was make sure I didn’t leave it short.”
Kisner’s clutch chip skipped on the green and hit the pin before dropping in, whipping the crowd around the final green into a frenzy while Kisner waved both arms in celebration.
“I knew I hit it a little too hard when I touched it, but I loved the line, and when it hit the flag, I said, ‘Just please don’t come out of there,’ ” Kisner recalled. “It’s just one of those shots that you dream about.”
It also forced the 23-year-old Smith to make a 1½-foot birdie putt to remain in contention for his maiden PGA Tour victory.
“It was tough, but we fought well on the back nine,” Smith said.
Kisner and Brown shot a 12-under-par 60 in best-ball play, and Blixt and Smith had a 64 to finish at 27-under at the TPC Louisiana in the PGA Tour’s first team event in 36 years. The score of 60 didn’t count as a course record, but it was two strokes better than any score posted when the Zurich was a traditional stroke-play event.
“I can’t say it’s another day, but you’ve got to go home, recharge, and pretty much forget everything you’ve done the last four days and just go out and make a birdie or eagle or whatever to win it,” Blixt said. “You’ve got to expect the unexpected. I don’t know. We get another shot at it tomorrow, and we’ve just got to leave this behind.”
The round finished in barely playable darkness because of a more than six-hour delay caused by thunderstorms. Kisner said he could see the flag, but perhaps only because of light from a massive video board reflecting off a water hazard.
Each player on the winning team will take home $1.02 million and 400 FedExCup points. LPGA: Hara Nomura outlasted Cristie Kerr with a two-putt birdie on the sixth playoff hole to win the Volunteers of America Texas Shootout in Irving for her third tour victory. Nomura, a 24-year-old from Japan who lives in Hawaii, also birdied the par-5 18th hole at the end of regulation to force the playoff after giving up the lead for the first time with a double bogey at No. 17. Kerr, trying to win consecutive tournaments, and Nomura finished regulation at 3-under 281 at Las Colinas Country Club, then played the 518-yard 18th six more times. European Tour: Alexander Levy of France beat Dylan Frittelli in a playoff in the China Open in Beijing after overcoming a seven-shot deficit to the South African in the final round. Levy won with a 15-foot birdie putt on the first extra hole at Topwin Golf and Country Club.