Yahoo SportJordan Spieth fends off Patrick Cantlay to win RBC Heritage in a playoff
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- Jordan SpiethAmerican professional golfer
- Patrick CantlayProfessional golfer
Jordan Spiethโs struggles at Augusta National clearly didnโt carry over to Harbour Town.
Spieth posted a final-round 66 on Sunday, thanks largely to a pair of eagles in his first five holes of the day, and then edged out Patrick Cantlay in a playoff to claim the win at the RBC Heritage.
It marks Spiethโs 13th career win on the PGA Tour, and his first since last yearโs Valero Texas Open.
"I needed a lot of things to go right," Spieth said. "I needed to birdie the 18th then needed some help, got some help, dodged a bunch of bullets coming in, and ended up in a one-on-one playoff where my lie in the bunker, although not great, was certainly better than Patrick's. Yeah, it's a bit of a surprise.
"I definitely felt like I was putting myself in the position hole to hole this week to win a golf tournament, and I just was having a hard time early in the week adjusting to the speed differences from last week. Then the hole started to look small to me yesterday, and then just came out today and said I'm not going to leave one putt short. And if they miss, they miss, and just try to be a little bit more aggressive, and made just enough to cap it and win."
First win as a father โค๏ธ@JordanSpieth pic.twitter.com/jDBBJNMiDR
โ PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) April 17, 2022
Neither player found the green in regulation on the first playoff hole, and instead landed in the greenside bunker just a few feet from each other. Spieth nearly chipped in from there, and had just a tap-in par putt to clear the green.
More bunker brilliance by @JordanSpieth in a playoff.
This approach on the first playoff hole sealed the victory @RBC_Heritage. pic.twitter.com/ghI8arP11Pโ PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) April 17, 2022
Cantlay's chip, though, was a different story. His ball was plugged in the sand, which led him to send his chip long and set up a long par putt to keep the playoff alive.
Patrick Cantlay's lie in the bunker on the first playoff hole ๐ pic.twitter.com/j5ONbWSVke
โ PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) April 17, 2022
That putt didnโt drop, which officially gave Spieth the win โ his second straight on Easter Sunday.
"Obviously with it plugged like that, it's darn near impossible to get it close," Cantlay said.
Spieth entered Sunday three shots back from Harold Varner, who held the 54-hole lead at 11-under. He missed a brutal 18-inch birdie putt to close out his round on Saturday, too.
That finish, and last weekโs missed cut at the first major championship of the season, didnโt slow him down any on Sunday. Spieth eagled his second hole of the day after easily holing out from the bunker.
Magic with a wedge.
Eagle to move one shot back for @JordanSpieth ๐ช pic.twitter.com/hdA67HQnLoโ PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) April 17, 2022
He then eagled just two holes later after sinking a deep putt on the par-5, which brought him into a share of the lead.
Though he bogeyed twice in three holes around the turn, Spieth birdied No. 13 and then closed his day with a birdie on 18 to give him the solo lead at the time.
Several others had plenty of opportunities to overtake Spieth while he waited in the clubhouse, including Cantlay โ who birdied No. 17 to tie it up. Cantlay missed his birdie putt on the final hole, however, which set up the playoff.
Seven players finished in a tie for third at 12-under, including Varner, Matt Kuchar and Shane Lowry.
Spieth has struggled following his runner-up finish at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in February. Heโs failed to crack the top 25 in any event since and he missed the cut at both The Players Championship and The Masters last week. The win officially moves Spieth to No. 11 in the FedExCup standings, and up 10 spots to No. 10 in the Official World Golf Rankings.
"I never missed a cut at the Masters before and very rarely had not had a chance to win on the weekend. So I hated it," Spieth said. "It was the worst feeling. It was the worst feeling as a golfer that I can remember. It's my favorite tournament in the world, and I just love contending at that event. I was hitting it really, really well and honestly just didn't feel like I deserved to miss that cut ... I think I can kind of shift the other direction now and get to really working on the stroke, which is what I tried to do this week off of last week. That was the frustration.
