Will Zalatoris was so focused on the importance of the 10-foot par putt in regulation and the moment was so crucial that he doesn’t recall yelling out “What are they gonna say now?” in excitement after making it.
Zalatoris emerged victorious at the FedEx St. Jude Championship, winning in a three-hole playoff against Sepp Straka, earning his first PGA Tour title in his 56th start. With this win, he moved to the top spot in the FedEx Cup standings. He is the second player to make a FedEx Cup Playoffs event his maiden PGA Tour title, following Camilo Villegas’ win at the 2008 BMW Championship.
“It’s hard to say, ‘About time,’ when it’s your second year on tour, but it’s about time,” Zalatoris said. “Considering all those close finishes, it means a lot.”
Straka, already a winner this year in the Honda Classic, narrowly missed a 20-foot birdie putt for the victory on the 18th for a 67. He had a 25-foot putt for the win on the 18th on the first playoff hole and had to make a 7-footer the second time around to stay in the game.
“This course is where every shot you hit you’re on the edge of your seat,” Straka said. “Add the nerves of competing for a tournament to that, especially for a playoff event, and yeah, it can get a little crazy.”
In the end Zalatoris’ won on the third playoff hole with a bogey, making him the first player to win a sudden-death playoff with a bogey since Sean O’Hair at the 2011 RBC Canadian Open. Straka, as the runner-up, moved to No. 8 in the FedEx Cup standings and secured his first appearance in the Tour Championship.
In other news, Cameron Smith was given a two-stroke penalty for a breach of Rule 14.7 (playing ball from the wrong place) on hole No. 4 during the third round, and his 54-hole score was adjusted from 199 (-11) to 201 (-9).
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