J.T. Poston Archives - Golf Digest Middle East https://mot-backup.golfdigestme.com/tag/j-t-poston/ Golf Instruction, Equipment, Courses, Travel, News Mon, 04 Jul 2022 11:11:35 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.4.2 https://mot-backup.golfdigestme.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/gd-favicon.ico J.T. Poston Archives - Golf Digest Middle East https://mot-backup.golfdigestme.com/tag/j-t-poston/ 32 32 J.T. Poston makes the difficult look easy in wire-to-wire win at the John Deere Classic https://mot-backup.golfdigestme.com/j-t-poston-makes-the-difficult-look-easy-in-wire-to-wire-win-at-the-john-deere-classic/ https://mot-backup.golfdigestme.com/j-t-poston-makes-the-difficult-look-easy-in-wire-to-wire-win-at-the-john-deere-classic/#respond Sun, 03 Jul 2022 17:16:39 +0000 https://golfdigestme.com/?p=56205 He made the hard look easy. Professional golfers have a penchant for that, the best routinely making this impossible game...

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]]> By Joel Beall
He made the hard look easy. Professional golfers have a penchant for that, the best routinely making this impossible game seem impossibly effortless. Even against that standard, going wire-to-wire on the PGA Tour is a rare sight because it is damn tough to do.

Yet that is what J.T. Poston did at TPC Deere Run, a tour-de-force performance that leaves him as the new John Deere Classic champ and now a two-time tour winner.

“It is hard,” Poston said afterwards, his 21-under 263 total in Silvis, Ill., good enough for a three-shot win. “Wire to wire, having the lead for so long, it’s just hard not to think about that fine line all week. I tried to stick to the game plan. Got off to a great start and then kind of started to try and give some back. Hit a lot of good shots down the stretch. [Caddie Aaron] Flener did a great job keeping my head in it and focused on the next one.”

Poston is not known for painting leaderboards red, beginning the month 160th in birdie average on tour. Frankly, the 29-year-old North Carolina native hasn’t been known for much as of late; two weeks ago, he was ranked 112th in the FedEx Cup standings, needing a good summer just to avoid demotion. If you’re wondering what changed in Illinois, the answer can be traced back to Connecticut at last week’s Travelers Championship, where—thanks to an opening 62 and closing 64—Poston finished T-2 at 17 under, his best finish in a full-points tour event since his 2019 victory at the Wyndham Championship.

“I feel like in years past I kind of fizzled out towards the end of the year and not played my best,” Poston said in Cromwell, Conn. “Hopefully this is a different year, and I can play better at the end of the year.”

Poston proved his words true and carried that momentum to the Quad Cities, starting with a 62 on Thursday and backing that up with a 65 Friday and 67 Saturday, giving him a three-shot lead. Sunday’s start featured much of the same: Poston rolled off three straight birdies to begin his final round. With a five-shot advantage, it felt like the proceedings could have been called to allow everyone an early start to backyard barbecues and sparklers.

Of course, golf has a way of icing even the hottest of heaters. After that birdie-birdie-birdie start, Poston made back-to-back bogeys on the fifth and sixth, with a third knocking on the door at the par-3 seventh after he flew the green by a good 20 yards. Suddenly, the issue seemed very much in doubt. Yet when things seemed like they were going south, Poston stayed level. After all, he is a cool customer. He’s a tough read when it comes to body language because he runs on aplomb that is consistent and unchanging no matter the score.

“I’ve always been pretty level, even keel,” Poston explained. “I think that’s a strength, not getting too excited, especially today after a great start.”

Stacy Revere

That nerve came in handy at the seventh, hitting a marvellous chip from a precarious spot and converting the 10 feet that remained for a par. “Flener, he said, ‘you know, just really stick to our game plan and talk through every shot and just to make sure that we’re fully committed,’ “ Poston said. “When you’ve got pressure like that and you’re in that position and you’re not 100 per cent committed, then you can’t really expect to hit a lot of good shots.”

It wasn’t the most dazzling of finishes. After providing plenty of pyrotechnics through three days, Poston decided he would wait for the Fourth of July for anymore fireworks. With 21 birdies and two eagles through his first 57 holes, Poston went on a 13-hole stretch without a red figure. Some of that can be chalked up to defensive play because that’s what the lead called for. It partially can be subscribed to the course finally firming up. Truth be told, sometimes one is merely holding on to the bull for dear life and doing whatever they can not to fly off.

“I was just trying to breathe,” Poston said. “I was really—I think there were a lot of nerves, a lot more than the first few days. I was just battling through them. I think after today, after this week, I feel like knowing I can play with those nerves and I can still win, still shoot a solid score considering the pressure and trying to win out here [means a lot].”

Poston’s lead granted enough latitude, although the birdie drought kept the door slightly open for his competitors. Emiliano Grillo, searching for his first win since 2015, got Poston’s lead down to one with a birdie at 10th. But the Argentinian bogeyed the 12th and made matters worse at the drivable par-4 14th. His tee shot found a greenside bunker, he flubbed his second and the third wasn’t much better. When his par attempt did not fall, Grillo gave a sarcastic fist pump, knowing whatever trophy aspirations held were no longer there.

Christiaan Bezuidenhout made a charge with birdies at the 14th, 15th and 17th, and his approach to 12 feet at the final hole had a chance to really apply pressure to Poston, who was facing a tricky eight feet for par at the 16th. Only Bezuidenhout missed the birdie attempt to settle for a 66, and Poston made the par save. Poston shooed away whatever drama remained by ending his birdie slump with an up-and-down at the par-5 17th, returning the lead to three shots that allowed him to enjoy the red-carpet treatment down the 18th fairway.

Though it was Poston’s tournament, the Sunday spotlight was shared with Chris Gotterup. The 22-year-old, who won the Haskins Award as the nation’s top collegiate golfer this season, made the most of a sponsor’s exemption, his final-round 66 liftings him to a T-4 finish. He did so in a way, with long drives (335.1 yards, third in distance) and pinpoint second shots (second in SG/approach), which is the formula for success on tour and portends more of the same. His solid display earned an invite to next week’s Barbasol Championship, and after making the cuts at the U.S. Open and Travelers (to go with a T-7 earlier in the year as an amateur at the Puerto Rico Open), the Oklahoma and Rutgers product has an outside chance at earning his tour card.

“Yeah, kind of I’ve been prepping all year kind of for this,” Gotterup said. “I knew it was going to happen. Not that I played really well, but I knew I had the opportunity, and to take advantage of it is amazing.”

Speaking of opportunities, despite not claiming the top prize Bezuidenhout and Grillo didn’t leave the JDC empty-handed, their T-2s earning them spots into The Open Championship via the Open Qualifying Series. “That’s very special,” Grillo said. “It’s top-three places to play golf in the world, and I’m definitely looking forward to it.”

Joining those two in Scotland will be Poston, who earned his first invite to the Open. Needless to say, the Old Course at St. Andrews for the championship’s 150th edition is not a bad place to make a debut. He also became the first player in 30 years to go wire-to-wire at the John Deere, and just the second individual to do it this season following Joaquin Niemann’s triumph at Riviera in February.

Now, this doesn’t qualify as a breakthrough win; that would be his aforementioned triumph at the Wyndham. It’s not an underdog story, either; with the Deere sandwiched between two New England events (the U.S. Open and Travelers Championship) followed by the Scottish Open and Open Championship overseas, many of the sport’s marquee attractions passed on playing, leaving Poston as one of the handfuls of players ranked inside the top 100 to tee it up.

Poston doesn’t need those sentiments because this win delivered something more cathartic. The list is deep of players who can run into four good rounds and win a tournament, or turn a decent stretch into a tour card. Poston knows because he’s been that guy. But this week was an affirmation of the belief that so many have but few come to find: That Poston doesn’t just belong out here, but truly, unequivocally and without doubt can be something more.

“You know, they don’t come easy out here, and I really wanted to get that second win to sort of validating Wyndham, so it feels good to get it out of the way,” Poston said. “I felt like this was coming, and it’s nice to get it done.”

Players spend a lifetime chasing that question. On this Sunday, Poston got his answer. It sounds easy. It is decidedly not.

 

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]]> https://mot-backup.golfdigestme.com/j-t-poston-makes-the-difficult-look-easy-in-wire-to-wire-win-at-the-john-deere-classic/feed/ 0 J.T. Poston played Friday’s round with blurred vision after freak eye injury https://mot-backup.golfdigestme.com/j-t-poston-played-fridays-round-with-blurred-vision-after-freak-eye-injury/ https://mot-backup.golfdigestme.com/j-t-poston-played-fridays-round-with-blurred-vision-after-freak-eye-injury/#respond Fri, 18 Sep 2020 22:46:06 +0000 https://golfdigestme.com/?p=39479 Getting into the clubhouse anywhere near even par was a huge victory. Now try doing it with one eye.

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]]> Jamie Squire

By Daniel Rapaport
MAMARONECK, N.Y. — Winged Foot was hard enough on Friday. Tougher pins and stronger winds presented a much sterner test than the one players faced 24 hours earlier. Getting into the clubhouse anywhere near even par was a huge victory.

Now try doing it with one eye.

That’s the situation J.T. Poston found himself in during the second round of the U.S. Open after suffering a freak accident the previous day that impaired his vision and made for an usual round of golf.

It all started rather innocuously. After shooting one-over 71 on Thursday, Poston ate lunch, then headed to the range to hit some extra drivers. Standard procedure. What happened next was a freak accident.

“Hit a 9-iron, just trying to get loose,” Poston said. “Hit a shot. I don’t know if there was a rock, or a piece of sand, something underneath the ball. I don’t know what it was, but I guess I hit it just right, and it shot up pretty fast and hit me in the left eye. Right in the middle of the eye.

“Immediately my eye watered up, and my vision was really blurry.”

Poston headed to the medical tent, where officials cleaned it up and checked for any debris. There wasn’t any, but he was told that if it didn’t improve in a few hours, he should see a specialist. It didn’t, so he did. The diagnosis: a scratched cornea right through the middle of his eye, which was both lucky and unlucky. Lucky, because if it had scratched just a bit deeper, the damage could have been permanent. Unlucky, because the location of the scratch is what caused the blurred vision. Anywhere else, and he’d be able to see fine.

During play on Friday, Poston couldn’t see more than two-or-so feet out of his left eye the entire round. It wasn’t necessarily painful, but he said he had a bit of a headache all day from the blurred vision. He wound up shooting a 13-over 83, and while he wasn’t going to blame his score on the injury, it certainly didn’t help.

“The depth perception was really off,” he said. “Teeing the ball up—I’d put my driver behind the ball and couldn’t really see how high the tee was. And then with chipping and putting, you don’t realize how important depth perception on is for those short shots until you don’t have it.

“Just a freak accident.”

 

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]]> https://mot-backup.golfdigestme.com/j-t-poston-played-fridays-round-with-blurred-vision-after-freak-eye-injury/feed/ 0 A new rule comes too late, Matthew Wolff channels (good) Sergio Garcia, and Phil Mickelson’s groovy photo https://mot-backup.golfdigestme.com/a-new-rule-comes-too-late-matthew-wolff-channels-good-sergio-garcia-and-phil-mickelsons-groovy-photo/ https://mot-backup.golfdigestme.com/a-new-rule-comes-too-late-matthew-wolff-channels-good-sergio-garcia-and-phil-mickelsons-groovy-photo/#respond Fri, 09 Aug 2019 04:00:35 +0000 https://golfdigestme.com/?p=28388 Welcome to another edition of The Grind, where we have some tragic news to report, unfortunately. I always thought returning from my annual buddies trip without the green jacket was the worst possible outcome.

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]]> By Alex Myers
Welcome to another edition of The Grind, where we have some tragic news to report, unfortunately. I always thought returning from my annual buddies trip without the green jacket was the worst possible outcome. I never thought we’d return without one of our buddies. Sadly, we said goodbye to Tom Roksvold, 46, way, way too soon. The longtime teacher will be greatly missed by his family, students and golf friends—but he will never be forgotten. Forgive this awful photo taken with a Kodak disposable camera at the 2007 HGGA Championship, where Roks and I won the event’s only ever two-man team championship thanks to a legendary 80 in alternate shot:

Roks was so into the event that he bought a Wake Forest golf shirt to match the one he knew I was bringing. And he drained the last five putts he looked at and we danced around the 18th green as we had just hit the lottery. Good times. Anyway, with a heavy heart, let’s turn to everything else happening in the world of golf.

WE’RE BUYING

J.T. Poston: What a performance by Poston, who is winning the Wyndham Championship matched Lee Trevino at the 1974 Greater New Orleans Open (now the Zurich Classic) by not making a single bogey for 72 holes and winning a PGA Tour event. Remarkable.

Streeter Lecka

A couple of weeks ago, a newspaper spelt his name wrong when he was leading the Barbasol Championship. And just a couple of years ago, Poston tweeted that he was mistaken for a valet at the Honda Classic and that he needed to play better. Now he’s hash-tagging tweets with “playED” better.

Well played. By the way, J.T. Poston has a win this season while JT (Justin Thomas) remains winless. Golf is a crazy sport, huh?

Hinako Shibuno: Speaking of crazy, how about this 20-year-old Japanese golfer’s debut outside of her home country at the AIG Women’s British Open? A closing 20-foot birdie gave her a one-shot win over Lizette Salas at England’s Woburn Golf Club. And it’s a good thing it went in because it might have rolled to Scotland if it hadn’t hit the hole:

Too bad Mike Breen wasn’t on the call … BANG! In addition to her superb play, Shibuno, who became just the second Japanese golfer to win a major championship, was praised for her pace of play and attitude. She’s nicknamed “the Smiling Cinderella,” and we are looking forward to seeing more of her in years to come.

“The Hovland Rule”: First of all, I’m buying Viktor Hovland, who continued his impressive play since turning pro after the U.S. Open with a fourth-place finish in Greensboro. But second, I’m into the new USGA rule clearly made with him in mind that will allow the reigning U.S. Amateur champ to turn pro and still keep his exemption into the U.S. Open the following year. Had Hovland’s T-13 at Pebble Beach counted toward his PGA Tour earnings, he would have still just missed wrapping up his card for next season (he is eligible to play in the Korn Ferry Tour Finals), but at least he would be roughly $250,000 richer. Hopefully, the Masters will allow its amateur qualifiers to turn pro as well, but it’s the Masters, and the people there do whatever they want, so they probably won’t. And again, it’s too bad the Hovland Rule won’t actually help Hovland.

WE’RE SELLING

Dumb penalties: Brendan Steele was docked two strokes for using an alignment stick during a round. This is dumb, A) Because alignment sticks are dumb in general and he could have just used a club or a regular stick instead, and B) Because how did he not realize instantly that using an alignment stick during a round is a penalty? Then there was Josh Teater, who picked up his ball in the fairway because lift, clean and place were used the first two rounds. More understandable, but again, dumb. Not that I should say anything like someone who once just scooped a ball up during a stroke-play event. Unfortunately for Steele and Teater, neither were able to climb into the top 125 and get into the FedEx Cup Playoffs. If they decide to play in the Korn Ferry Finals, we’re betting they won’t commit either of these infractions again.

Jordan Spieth: Seriously, what is going on? A 77 after putting himself in contention heading into the weekend? At the Wyndham Championship?! Why is Jordan Spieth even playing in the Wyndham Championship?!

Tyler Lecka

In any event, the struggle is real.

The Women’s British Open venue: I’m sure Woburn Golf Club is a fantastic track, but it seemed odd seeing a British Open being played on a course that looked like it was in central New York.

Richard Heathcote

Boring.

ON TAP

The PGA Tour’s top 125 head to Liberty National, AKA that place with the views of the Statue of Liberty, for the Northern Trust, the first of three FedEx Cup Playoff events. Yep, that’s three instead of the usual four. Another tweak? That bonus has been bumped up to $15 MILLION. For more about the postseason, check out this postseason preview from GolfDigest.com’s newest hire, Greg Gottfried.

Random tournament fact: Liberty National’s 13th hole was the site of Tiger Woods’ famously falling to his knees in pain at the 2013 (Is that enough 13s for you?) Barclays. It’s also the site of his ominous, “Yeah, definitely,” press conference at the 2017 Presidents Cup when he was asked if he could see a scenario in which he didn’t return to professional golf. Fingers crossed that he has a more positive outlook when he plays for the first time since saying, “I just want to go home,” after missing the cut at the Open last month. And in 2009, he missed a short birdie on the 72nd hole to lose to Heath Slocum, the No. 124 player in the FedEx Cup standings. In other words, this isn’t Tiger’s favourite place in the world.

PHOTO OF THE WEEK

https://www.instagram.com/p/B0rTQAODPPW/?utm_source=ig_embed

What a year for the Woodlands.

VIRAL VIDEO OF THE WEEK (YOUNG STUDS DIVISION)

How about Matthew Wolff going full Sergio Garcia on this incredible approach shot?

https://www.instagram.com/p/B0yn3OuHm7V/?utm_source=ig_embed

To clarify, that’s going full GOOD Sergio Garcia. Not the videos of the Spaniard destroying golf courses and throwing golf clubs that have been going viral of late …

VIRAL VIDEO OF THE WEEK (YOUNGER STUDS DIVISION)

https://twitter.com/Max_Marcovitch/status/1156232679450431493

SIX-foot-EIGHT at 14?! Good lord, what a beast this guy is going to be.

VIRAL VIDEO OF THE WEEK (EVEN YOUNGER STUDS DIVISION)

A hole-in-one at 10?! And I’m still waiting for my first? Must be nice, kid.

VIRAL VIDEO OF THE WEEK (OLD STUDS DIVISION)

Bernhard Langer has more trophies than you:

He also has a very understanding wife to let him just toss those trophies all over the house.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

J.T. Poston’s caddie, Aaron Flener, when learning his man is paired with Tiger Woods this week:

THIS WEEK IN PHIL BEING PHIL

Admittedly, I thought this was Dick Fowler, P.I., when I first saw it. But nope, it’s Phil. Wow. Just … wow.

THIS WEEK IN DUSTIN JOHNSON-PAULINA GRETZKY BROOKS KOEPKA-JENA SIMS PUBLIC DISPLAYS OF AFFECTION SORCERY

Remember those white pants Jena ruined last week? Well, apparently, one of her friends saved them somehow:

Amazing.

THIS AND THAT

Congrats to NHL referee Garrett Rank, who won the prestigious Western Amateur. Rank also qualified for the 2018 U.S. Open. Talk about having some serious street cred at the next hockey game he officiates. … Congrats to Jake Beber-Frankel, the son of Oscar-winning director David Frankel, who broke Akshay Bhatia’s scoring record at the Junior PGA Championship. And now 6-foot-8 Tommy Morrison is coming for them. … Long Drive champ Maurice Allen hit one across Niagara Falls 14 years after John Daly failed to do so. To summarize: John Daly hits it hard, but Maurice Allen hits it harder. … And finally, one more shout-out to my fallen friend by looking back to when he won his second green jacket at the 2013 HGGA Championship:

Of course, that was the year he showed up to Myrtle Beach as a “16” handicap. The rest of us had no chance.

RANDOM QUESTIONS TO PONDER

Which golfer has the biggest trophy collection?

Can Jena’s friend work on a couple of my golf shirts?

Do sandbaggers go to heaven? (Kidding, Roks. RIP buddy.)

 

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]]> https://mot-backup.golfdigestme.com/a-new-rule-comes-too-late-matthew-wolff-channels-good-sergio-garcia-and-phil-mickelsons-groovy-photo/feed/ 0 Pa Doc: The grandfather behind J.T. Poston’s first PGA Tour win https://mot-backup.golfdigestme.com/pa-doc-the-grandfather-behind-j-t-postons-first-pga-tour-win/ https://mot-backup.golfdigestme.com/pa-doc-the-grandfather-behind-j-t-postons-first-pga-tour-win/#respond Mon, 05 Aug 2019 05:58:19 +0000 https://golfdigestme.com/?p=28323 Twenty-three years ago, a commercial real-estate agent named Charles (Doc) Cunningham took an old persimmon 5-wood and sawed it down for his 3-year-old grandson.

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]]> J.T. Poston, proud grandson of Pa Doc, kisses the Sam Snead Cup presented to him as the winner of the Wyndham Championship. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)

By Shane Ryan
GREENSBORO, N.C. — Twenty-three years ago, a commercial real-estate agent named Charles (Doc) Cunningham took an old persimmon 5-wood and sawed it down for his 3-year-old grandson. It was the start of a long three-sided relationship between the man, the boy and the sport of golf. Cunningham, a competitive golfer who would play in senior amateur events, now had a new shadow when he went to the driving range, and the boy learned a little bit of everything from his grandfather, including how to behave on the course. They spent hours together, and the boy became very good, even better than his teacher in time, and took home two conference championships in college.

On Sunday, that grandson, J.T. Poston, won his first PGA Tour event at the Wyndham Championship, just 100 miles east of his Hickory, N.C., home.

Poston grew up playing on Lake Hickory Country Club, a course that bears some similarity to Greensboro’s Sedgefield Country Club, and though he lives in Georgia now, he was surrounded this week by friends and family from Hickory, along with more than a few fans wearing the eye-catching purple of his unlikely alma mater, Western Carolina (as far as anyone knows, Poston is the first alum to make the PGA Tour). But perhaps the most meaningful supporter was Cunningham himself, who Poston calls “Pa Doc.” He’s 85, and hasn’t been able to travel to many tournaments lately because of medical issues. His presence on the course for Poston’s maiden victory was one of those happy coincidences that, for Poston, was almost inexpressible.

RELATED: Closing 62 gives N.C. native J.T. Poston first PGA Tour title

“It was pretty special to have everybody here, especially my grandfather,” he said. “I have so many memories of the golf course with him, following him to the range, playing golf with him growing up. Definitely would not be here without him, without his guidance.”

“For him to be here,” Poston added moments later, his eyes welling up just slightly, “is, you know, that’s something that I will never, never forget.”

RELATED: Bubble boys find Sunday at the Wyndham is all about keeping the nerves, the swing and the cursing under control

Of course, it would be easy to cast Cunningham as the kindly grandfather, but “kindly” is not a trait that wins PGA Tour events, and Poston’s mentor was every bit as focused as his grandson is today. Cunningham used to keep track of how often he shot his age, starting in his mid-60s when he first managed the feat, but the count rose so high as he grew older that he had to give up.

“I want to say the last time I asked him and he told me, it was in the 600s, the number of times he shot his age,” Poston said.

Even their games were similar—not extremely long off the tee, but very accurate and with a dynamic short game. And Poston didn’t just learn to love golf from Pa Doc, and he didn’t just learn to master the etiquette; he learned to win.

“That was kind of how I learned how to play golf, was watching him at a competitive level, learning from him.”

There’s quite a lot for Poston to celebrate after his big win, including a FedEx Cup Playoff berth, lots of money, a spot in next year’s Masters and the new tour status that he referred to as “job security.” (He’s uncertain on his precise celebration plans, but he did say it would involve Coors Light.) Yet his eagerness to talk about his grandfather is a good sign that the longest-lasting satisfaction will be winning in front of the man who got it all started. It’s the start of a new phase in Poston’s career, but it’s also the consummation of the priceless relationship that led to this point.

Somewhere, in the family home, the Postons still have that old sawed-off 5-wood. Maybe, in time, it will hold a place of honour next to the Sam Snead Cup that J.T. held on Sunday. Between persimmon and silver, between Pa Doc and J.T., there will be quite a story to tell.

 

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]]> https://mot-backup.golfdigestme.com/pa-doc-the-grandfather-behind-j-t-postons-first-pga-tour-win/feed/ 0 North Carolinian J.T. Poston equals his career low, a 62, to win the Wyndham Championship before a hometown following https://mot-backup.golfdigestme.com/north-carolinian-j-t-poston-equals-his-career-low-a-62-to-win-the-wyndham-championship-before-a-hometown-following/ https://mot-backup.golfdigestme.com/north-carolinian-j-t-poston-equals-his-career-low-a-62-to-win-the-wyndham-championship-before-a-hometown-following/#respond Mon, 05 Aug 2019 00:56:34 +0000 https://golfdigestme.com/?p=28301 It was not a home game for North Carolinian J.T. Poston, but it was close enough, and with a large hometown following on hand, he won the Wyndham Championship in Greensboro, N.C., his first PGA Tour victory.

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]]> Streeter Lecka

By John Strege
It was not a home game for North Carolinian J.T. Poston, but it was close enough, and with a large hometown following on hand, he won the Wyndham Championship in Greensboro, N.C., his first PGA Tour victory.

Poston, whose hometown is Hickory, N.C., 100 miles west of Greensboro, shot an eight-under-par 62 at Sedgefield Country Club, equaling the low round of his PGA Tour career. He completed a bogey-free 72 holes in 22-under par 258, one better than runner-up Webb Simpson and two ahead of 54-hole leader Byeong Hun An.

“Any win out here on tour is a dream come true, but to do it here in N.C. and Greenboro, an hour-and-a-half from where I grew up, and to have so many friends and family and people who came in this morning and last night, to be able to play like this and get a win on the PGA Tour is something I never could have imagined.”

Poston and An were engaged in a duel for virtually the entire final round. An, similarly, was seeking his first PGA Tour win and also was closing in on playing 72 holes without a bogey.

Playing ahead of An, Poston birdied the par-5 15th hole to take a one-stroke lead, then parred out. An, however, hit his tee shot at 15 right of the fairway and into tall fescue grass, requiring he take an unplayable lie. The penalty stroke led to his first bogey of the tournament, on his 69th hole, and he fell two behind.

An followed with a birdie at 16 and again was one off the lead, but after a par at 17, he bogeyed 18, shot a three-under 67 and fell to third place when Simpson made birdie to complete a round of 65.

“Those par putts the last five or six holes, there were some nerves,” Poston said. “But I tried to tell myself I’d been in that position before in college and amateur golf and this is no different and just knock in another three or four-footer.”

Poston, who played college golf at Western Carolina, is in his third season on the PGA Tour. His best finish had been a tie for fourth, last season in the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open. His best finish this season had been a T-6 at the RBC Heritage, one of two top 10s he had prior to this victory.

As for Simpson, another native North Carolinian who won here in 2011, it was the second year in a row he finished second.

 

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]]> https://mot-backup.golfdigestme.com/north-carolinian-j-t-poston-equals-his-career-low-a-62-to-win-the-wyndham-championship-before-a-hometown-following/feed/ 0 Nate Lashley posts second 63 of the week, leads by six at the Rocket Mortgage Classic https://mot-backup.golfdigestme.com/nate-lashley-posts-second-63-of-the-week-leads-by-six-at-the-rocket-mortgage-classic/ https://mot-backup.golfdigestme.com/nate-lashley-posts-second-63-of-the-week-leads-by-six-at-the-rocket-mortgage-classic/#respond Sun, 30 Jun 2019 09:51:28 +0000 https://golfdigestme.com/?p=27389 In 32 career starts on the PGA Tour, Nate Lashley has zero wins and has finished in the top 10 only once, and that result came in an opposite-field event earlier this season at the Puerto Rico Open.

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]]> Gregory Shamus/Getty Images
Nate Lashley reacts after making par on the 15th green during round three of the 2019 Rocket Mortgage Classic.

By Christopher Powers
In 32 career starts on the PGA Tour, Nate Lashley has zero wins and has finished in the top 10 only once, and that result came in an opposite-field event earlier this season at the Puerto Rico Open. On Sunday, he’ll enter the final round of the Rocket Mortgage Classic with a six-shot lead following his second round of nine-under 63 on Saturday at Detroit Golf Club.

Lashley, 36, does have previous winning experience, his lone professional victory coming at the 2017 Corales Puntacana Resort and Club Championship on the Korn Ferry Tour. He’s made only one bogey this week, and his 24 total birdies are the most of any player in the field.

While the tournament is not over yet, Sunday could very well be a victory lap for Lashley, whose heartbreaking backstory came to light following his Korn Ferry Tour win in 2017. During his junior year at the University of Arizona in 2004, Lashley’s parents and his girlfriend visited him in Oregon while he competed in the 2004 NCAA West Regional. Afterwards, Lashley returned to Arizona, while his parents and girlfriend flew back to his hometown of Scottsbluff, Neb. Days later, Lashley was informed that they had been killed in a plane crash near Gannett Peak in Wyoming.

“It was pretty tough for quite a while, definitely for a few years,” Lashley told the Lake County News Sun in 2016. “I tried to use golf in college as something to do other than always think about it. Golf is very mental. It was difficult to play and tough because you always are going to think about it.”

Fifteen years and one month later, Lashley has a chance to notch is very first PGA Tour win.

The next closest competitor is J.T Poston, who fired a six-under 66 to reach 17-under 199. Cameron Tringale is alone in third at 16 under, while Patrick Reed is in solo fourth at 15 under.

 

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]]> https://mot-backup.golfdigestme.com/nate-lashley-posts-second-63-of-the-week-leads-by-six-at-the-rocket-mortgage-classic/feed/ 0 Justin Rose in control at Colonial, leads by four after third-round 66 https://mot-backup.golfdigestme.com/justin-rose-in-control-at-colonial-leads-by-four-after-third-round-66/ https://mot-backup.golfdigestme.com/justin-rose-in-control-at-colonial-leads-by-four-after-third-round-66/#respond Sun, 27 May 2018 06:30:16 +0000 http://golfdigestme.com/?p=16420 If his play at Colonial is any indication, Justin Rose has made himself one of the favourites to win a second U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills in three weeks time.

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]]> FORT WORTH, TX – MAY 26: Justin Rose of England reacts after his putt on on the 18th green during round three of the Fort Worth Invitational at Colonial Country Club on May 26, 2018 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

By Christopher Powers
If his play at Colonial is any indication, Justin Rose has made himself one of the favourites to win a second U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills in three weeks time, if he wasn’t already. The Englishman has been a machine, carding rounds of 66, 64 and Saturday’s four-under 66 to take a commanding four-shot lead into Sunday at the Fort Worth Invitational.

Rose, 37, had yet to tee off as Jon Rahm and Corey Conners each made a huge move, with Rahm eventually finishing off a six-under 64 and Conners a seven-under 63 to get into a tie for fourth at eight-under 202. Rose was able to distance himself from them immediately, making three consecutive birdies to open his round. With a chance to really do some damage though, he made just two more birdies and a bogey the rest of the way, putting him at 14-under 196.

“It was nice to get going, nice to sort of build up that lead,” said Rose. “No one seemed to do too much behind me today, so it felt like it was in my hands to try and get as far ahead as I could. Obviously, that’s the only thing, I kind of struggled toward the end. It was so hot out there I really felt I was battling the golf course and my concentration.

“It was kind of tough to finish that off in that heat I found today. All in all, happy to be in the clubhouse, good day’s work.”

Rose will have to beat the heat again on Sunday in Fort Worth, with temperatures expected to be in the high 90s again. For the 14th time in his career, he holds a 54-hole lead or co-lead, something he’s converted on just three times.

“You’re kind of caught between trying to play great and also go out there and not make mistakes,” he said. “For me it’s just going to be about one shot at a time, to make birdies here. I feel like there’s a score in this golf course. So I’ve got to expect the chasing pack to go out there and play well, I don’t think I can just rest on my laurels and shoot even par tomorrow.”

Among that chasing pack is the reigning U.S. Open champion Brooks Koepka, who will play in the final group with Rose on Sunday after posting a three-under 67, a round made all the more impressive by Koepka’s ability to bounce back after a double-bogey at the par-5 11th. Birdies at 12, 14 and a 16-footer at the 18th saved his round, and have him tied for second with Emiliano Grillo at 10-under 200.

Rahm and Conners are joined at eight under by Louis Oosthuizen, J.T. Poston and Ryan Armour.

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