In the final round of the RBC Heritage, where the lead was held by a handful of players, Jordan Spieth defeated Patrick Cantlay in a playoff at Harbor Town Golf Links on Sunday in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, for his 13th career victory.
Spieth’s last victory was also on Easter, one year ago at The Valero Texas Open. He made an enormous comeback making eagles on par-five holes #2 and #5; his eagle on the second hole came from making the shot from the bunker.
“I said (to myself,) this is this is the position that I like to be, and this is why I play golf,” said Spieth recalling his birdie putt on the final hole to get to -13 and eventually a playoff.
After turning professional a decade ago, Spieth won Rookie of the Year in 2013, and held the #1 World Ranking for 26 weeks beginning in August of 2015 following major victories at The Masters and The U.S. Open in 2015. He also placed second at the PGA Championship that year, and would win his third major at The Open Championship in 2017.
Due to setbacks from injury, Spieth was winless from 2017 until last year’s victory in his home state. This latest championship moved Spieth to #11 in The FedEx Cup standings for 2022.
During that winless period, Spieth married Annie Verret in 2018, and added a son to the family, Sammy, in November of last year.
Spieth has a younger sister Ellie who is disabled, and was the inspiration for the Spieth Family Foundation created early in his career. The foundation raises awareness and provides financial assistance to several philanthropic groups, including special needs children, pediatric cancer, military families, and junior golf.
Spieth improved his playoff record to 5–3 Sunday. On their approach shots, both he and Cantlay found themselves short of the green in the bunker as the winds had increased since regulation.
Spieth had a good lie in the bunker with an uphill stance on the grass, while Cantlay was unfortunate with half of his ball buried in the sand.
Spieth hit a nearly perfect bunker shot landing within seven or so inches from the hole to save par. Spieth’s total score was 271, with rounds of 69, 68, 68, and 66.
Cantlay attempted to match Spieth with an up-and-down, but his bunker shot ended 40 feet beyond the hole as he slashed through the sand; his par putt would miss a foot to the left with the break.
“Obviously, with it plugged like that, it’s darn near impossible to get it close,” said the 30-year-old Cantlay.
Last year’s FedEx Cup champion of $15 million and PGA Tour Player of the Year, Cantlay was solid all tournament with excellent ball-striking, with scores of 66, 67, 70, and 68.
However, Cantlay was unable to take advantage of many opportunities missing birdie putts by narrow margins. On hole No. 18 in regulation, the Orange County, California native was unable to convert a 12-foot putt that would have won the tournament.
“I’m playing really well ... and my game is in a good spot,” added Cantlay. “So that’s good because there’s a lot of big golf [tournaments] coming up.”
Following the round, Spieth stated that he won “without a putter.” He missed an 18-inch putt in the third round Saturday, which was reminiscent of the week before at The Masters, where he missed the cut.
That allowed Spieth to come to Harbor Town early to “work on his game.” He had been concentrating on improving his swing. But his famed short game, mainly putting, had been in decline.
Spieth stated that his wife Annie offered advice for the first time, saying that he should take five seconds in between putts to regain concentration and avoid that mental error.
“There’s tournaments where you feel you’ve played well, yet not good enough to win,” said Spieth. “I honestly felt like this was that week. I needed a lot of things to go right.”
Seven players tied for third at -12. The final round leader, Harold Varner III, shot a 70 and nearly made a long putt on the final hole that would have put him in the playoff.
Shane Lowry of Ireland took the early lead with three consecutive birdies on the front nine, before a double-bogey on hole #14 chipping into the water. He too missed a late birdie opportunity on the par three seventeenth with a 5-foot putt, finishing the round with a 69.
Austrian Sepp Straka, winner of this year’s The Honda Classic, shot a 68 and briefly held the lead before making a bogey on the final hole to miss the playoff. Prior champion and tour veteran Matt Kuchar also shot a 68 to tie for third.
Cam Davis of Australia had the low round of the day of 62 to round out third place, along with Cameron Young and J.T. Poston.
The PGA Tour moves to the Zurich Classic of New Orleans for the week of April 21–24.
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