J.T. Poston Wins Maiden PGA Tour Title at Wyndham Championship

0
J.T. Poston Wins Wyndham Championship
J.T. Poston celebrates after winning the Wyndham Championship at Sedgefield Country Club on August 04, 2019 in Greensboro, North Carolina. Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images

J.T. Poston fired a final-round 62 at Sedgefield Country Club to win his maiden PGA Tour title at the (regular) season-ending Wyndham Championship.

Poston entered Sunday’s finale three shots off the pace of 54-hole leader Byeong Hun An, but following a low-round 8-under par, highlighted by a four-hole stretch of an eagle and two birdies on Nos. 5, 7 and 8, the North Carolina native’s dreams became reality: He was posing with the Sam Snead Trophy and is now forever a PGA Tour champion.

“Yeah, it feels unbelievable. I mean, a dream come true. You know, I’ve always dreamt that I could win out here and I felt like I kind of proved that,” said a smiling Poston, who finished all 72 holes without a single bogey.

“Gave myself some chances over the years. But 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.”

Webb Simpson, also a native of the Tar Heel state, carded Sunday 65 to reach 21-under par and secure his second-consecutive runner-up finish – and the third in his last five starts.

Despite another close call, Simpson was happy for his fellow North Carolinian.

“Congrats to JT. He played phenomenally today. Happy for him,” said Simpson, who moves to No. 13 in the world rankings. “He’s a young player, such a nice kid, so I’m happy for him.

“It wasn’t the start that I needed. I needed to make some birdies early on. I was 2 over through three, which kind of killed me.

“But despite the disappointment, I’m really happy and proud of the way we finished being 7 under on my last 15 holes after starting like that. So disappointed, but a lot of positives going to the playoffs.”

Overnight leader An (67) maintained his lead until two late bogeys on Nos. 15 and 18 sent him tumbling to solo third-place at 20-under par. Up until those two dropped shots, An had played bogey-free through 68 holes.

“Yeah, it was disappointing, especially the last couple holes. That 15 was just very disappointing because I didn’t hit that bad of a drive to end up wherever I was,” said a disappointed An.

“And then yeah, a bit disappointing. You know, especially with the bogey trying to hole my last putt. But just nothing was really working at the end, I just ran out of juice, I think.”

Super rookie Viktor Hovland once again came to play on Sunday – this time shooting a 5-under 65 to secure solo fourth-place on 19-under par. Despite posting four-straight top-16s in only five pro starts, Hovland will miss out on the FedExCup playoffs as he needed a win to secure PGA Tour membership. He will now enter the Korn Ferry Tour playoffs in an attempt to secure his big tour card for 2020.

“Yeah. I mean, I feel like I’ve just playing better and better every single week, and obviously this is my best finish throughout the five tournaments that I played,” said Hovland.

“I’ve just got to keep it going in the Korn Ferry Finals and hopefully I’ll make it through.”

Si Woo Kim shot a 64 to round out the top-5 finishers in Greensboro. The 23-year old Korean signed for a four-day score of 17-under par.


Final Scores: Top 5

Pos-Player-To Par (Final Rd)
1. J.T. Poston -22 (-8)
2. Webb Simpson -21 (-5)
3. Byeong Hun An -20 (-3)
4. Viktor Hovland -19 (-5)
5. Si Woo Kim -17 (-6)


Winner’s Stats

Topline Numbers

Driving: 296 yards (101st)
Fairways: 45/56, 80.36% (4th)
Greens: 62/72, 86.11% (3rd)
Putts/GIR: 105/1.694 (24th)
Scores: 1 Eagle, 20 Birdies, 51 Pars

Strokes Gained

SG: Off the Tee: 1.742 (44th)
SG: Approach to Green: 6.821 (1st)
SG: Around the Green: 1.891 (28th)
SG: Putting: 4.126 (17th)
SG: Tee to Green: 10.455 (1st)
SG: Total: 14.580 (1st)


Quotable

“Yeah, it was awesome. I’ve got so many friends and family that are here coming in from all over the place. Some came in last night, some came in this morning. The celebration’s going to be a lot of fun. There’s a lot of Hickory cheers and a lot of Western Carolina cheers out there. I definitely heard them all day, so I can’t wait to celebrate with them.”
J.T. Poston

Advertisement

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your name here