Monday 4 June 2018 06:10, UK
Bryson DeChambeau holed a 12-foot putt for birdie on the second play-off hole to clinch his second PGA Tour title at The Memorial Tournament.
DeChambeau shaved the hole with a par putt to win in regulation, but he atoned back on the 18th green at the third time of asking to edge out Byeong Hun An, with Kyle Stanley having been eliminated at the first extra hole.
The leading trio finished tied on 15-under par with Patrick Cantlay a shot further back after a disappointing back nine after he led by two at the turn, while Justin Rose came up just short in his bid to dethrone Justin Thomas as world No 1.
DeChambeau had struggled to make much happen over the front nine as he missed a number of fairways, although he scrambled hard to keep a bogey off his card while picking up a welcome birdie at the fifth.
But he found himself trailing by two strokes as a calm and composed Cantlay took control of the tournament with four birdies in six holes from the third before DeChambeau pulled one back at the 11th.
The 12th proved a pivotal turning point as Cantlay dropped his first shot of the day and DeChambeau leapt into the outright lead with a 10-foot putt for birdie, while Stanley appeared to be out of contention as he ran up a double-bogey five.
Cantlay would go on to bogey the 14th and 17th holes to miss out on the play-off, but Stanley and An suddenly re-emerged as serious contenders when DeChambeau missed his 10-footer for par at the 14th.
Stanley reeled off four consecutive birdies, capping the run with a remarkable 35-foot putt down the slope on the 17th green which lifted him into a share of the lead, while former BMW PGA champion An birdied 15 and 17 and narrowly missed out on another at the last as his 69 set the clubhouse target at 15 under.
DeChambeau then split the 18th fairway, but Stanley's wayward drive cannoned off a tree and into a dreadful lie in the thick rough, forcing him to lay up well short of the green.
With An on the practice putting green, DeChambeau blocked his approach to the back-right of the green to leave himself a tough two-putt from close to 60 feet, and Stanley gave himself a shot at saving par when he clipped a wedge to 15 feet.
Stanley failed to scramble his par after DeChambeau left his tentative first putt eight feet short, and his putt for victory veered across the front of the hole and missed on the low side.
That sent DeChambeau, Stanley and An back to the 18th tee, but Stanley would depart after needing four shots just to hit the green, while An and DeChambeau both pulled off superb saves from the greenside rough to extend the contest.
DeChambeau gained the advantage again as he followed another perfect three-wood with a much better approach to 12 feet, while An tugged his second towards the gallery before playing a sublime flop-shot to five feet to put the pressure on the American.
But DeChambeau was up to the task and rattled in a confident putt for victory and earn warm congratulations from tournament host Jack Nicklaus, lifting his first PGA Tour title since breaking his duck at the John Deere Classic last year.
Rose fired a closing 70 to finish three shots off the pace on 12 under, one ahead of the two players above him in the world rankings as Thomas (68) and Dustin Johnson (67) both enjoyed positive finishes.
Rory McIlroy was also in the group at 11 under as he followed his superb third-round 64 with a five-birdie 69, while Tiger Woods stumbled home in 38 and endured another frustrating day on the greens as a 72 saw him slide 16 places down the leaderboard on nine-under par.
